In this episode, we examine how the Trump administration’s decision to end the federal food security report threatens to hide the reality of hunger in America. Oregon Center for Public Policy analyst Tyler Mac Innis explains what losing this data means for families and policymakers, while Georgetown Center on Poverty and Inequality executive director Lelaine Bigelow discusses why poverty endures in one of the richest nations in history—and what it would take to end it.

From data suppression to policy failure, this conversation reveals how political choices keep millions struggling to feed their families—and how we can fight back.

Starbucks does more business in Oregon than in just about any corner of the world. For one, the U.S. is the largest market for the world’s largest coffee chain.  And in the U.S., there are more Starbucks stores per capita in Oregon than any other state.

So how much in profits does Starbucks make in Oregon and how much does it pay in taxes to the state? We don’t know. That information is secret. But one thing we do know is that Starbucks uses accounting tricks to keep its profits from being taxed where they were made. 

In this episode of Policy for the People, we look into how big corporations like Starbucks hide their profits to avoid taxes. Jason Ward of Centre for International Corporate Tax Accountability and Research and Spandan Marasini of the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy share stories about corporate tax avoidance and their insight into what to do about it. 

Rideshare drivers have had enough. Confronting low pay and tough working conditions, drivers for Uber and Lyft are organizing and fighting to change public policy. In this episode of Policy for the People, we speak with Nathaniel Hudson-Hartman and Joe Jackson, rideshare drivers and organizers with Drivers Union OR, about the realities of the industry and how drivers are fighting back. 

 Much of the progress Oregon has made in expanding health care access is at risk as a result of the federal budget reconciliation bill enacted by Congress.  In this episode of Policy for the People, we discuss the past, present and future of Oregon’s system of health care, including the threats posed by the federal budget reconciliation bill. Our guest is Dr. Bruce Goldberg. Bruce is a professor at the OHSU-PSU School of Public Health and a nationally recognized health policy expert. 

It's hard to overstate the danger that lies ahead for many families in Oregon and across the country, especially the families already struggling the most to stay afloat economically, as a result of the budget reconciliation law passed by Congress. This law will leave many Oregon families less healthy, hungrier and poorer.

The reconciliation bill passed by the U.S. House is truly monstrous, slashing health care and nutrition assistance to help pay for tax cuts that mainly would go to the rich. But there's more harm that would flow from the bill.

One thing that hasn't gotten a lot of attention is the fact that the reconciliation bill threatens to shrink Oregon revenue collections, due to the way our state tax code connects to the federal tax code. As OCPP Deputy Director Daniel Hauser explains in this episode of Policy for the People, if the US House reconciliation bill becomes law and the Oregon legislature does nothing, Oregon will end up having less money to address the needs of Oregonians, just when there will be greater need due to the federal cuts to health care and nutrition assistance. 

Just ahead of the Memorial Day weekend, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a budget reconciliation bill – a massive tax and budget package. If this bill ultimately becomes law, it will – among other things – force deep cuts to safety net programs, especially Medicaid and nutrition assistance.

One of the members of Congress who voted no on the bill was Representative Andrea Salinas, who represents Oregon’s 6th Congressional District.

We spoke with Representative Salinas about what the budget reconciliation bill would mean for Oregonians and the people of this country.

Food banks across Oregon are seeing record numbers of people coming in through their doors. Ever since the pandemic, the rising cost of living has been making it harder for families to afford food. 

And now, at a time when there is a hunger crisis going on, actions by the Trump administration and Congress threaten to make matters worse – far worse.

In this episode of Policy for the People, we examine the dire state of hunger in Oregon. Our guest is with Andrea Williams, President of the Oregon Food Bank. Andrea discusses what food pantries in Oregon are seeing, the actions by the Trump administration that have cut support for food bank networks across the country, and the risk that Congress may weaken the nation’s most important nutrition program.

We also talk about the kinds of policy changes that can take us in a better direction, including Food For All Oregonians, a policy that would ensure that all young children in Oregon, regardless of their immigration status, have access to nutrition assistance. It is a policy proposal premised on the recognition that food is a human right.

In celebration of May Day, International Workers Day, we are issuing this special episode of Policy for the People examining the state of the labor movement. Our guest is Don McIntosh, editor of the Northwest Labor Press, who has been reporting about the labor movement for over two decades. Don discusses the present state of the labor movement, what the Trump Administration means for organized labor, and the policy changes that would remove the barriers that workers face when seeking to form a union.

Right now, the Republican controlled Congress is speeding down a path that would raise costs for food and health care for millions of families by taking away Medicaid and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits. It would do so in order to help pay for massive tax cuts primarily benefiting the most well-off, including millionaires and billionaires.

In this episode of Policy for the People, we speak with Oregon Senator Ron Wyden about what the budget blueprint currently being discussed in Congress means for Oregonians and the nation. 

We also speak with Steve Wamhoff, Federal Policy Director at the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, about his recent report titled: Federal Tax Policy: What Should It Accomplish? In it he argues that our federal government needs to raise more revenue, not less, and do so in a progressive way. In other words, we need to go in the opposite direction from the current plan in Congress.