The mantra of this legislative session has been “jobs, jobs, jobs.”
In the Capitol, one sees pins on lapels of Republicans and Democrats, lobbyists and legislators alike that simply say “JOBS.” And yet a simple bill, House Bill 4142, aimed at protecting not just jobs, but well-paid green jobs, was killed this week by surprisingly virulent opposition from global corporations, including the notorious Koch Industries, financiers of right-wing super PACs.
Koch Industries owns Georgia-Pacific, which has three paper mills in Oregon. You might think Koch would have been in favor of a bill that provides a purchasing preference for paper made in Oregon. But, no, it is ideologically opposed to any bill that “picks winners and losers.” It, like other multinational corporations, has little loyalty to place, but seeks the lowest wages and the most lax environmental regulations anywhere in the world. There are indeed “winners and losers” in that calculus, and we need not look far to see who they are.
