RECENTLY ON TOL:
TOL Our Town
- A tumblr site dedicated to the people and places that make up Oregon and Southwest Washington.
TAGS:
Tony at Milagros's comments:
on Funding Parks and Candidates
We are business owners and supporters of the Voter-Owned Election system in Portland.
Although we would like to believe that participation in the political process and the value of free expression can't be counted in dollars, it can be. Without deep pockets to employ lobbyists or free time to walk the corridors of City Hall, local independent businesses often lack an effective voice at the political table.
Voter-Owned Elections has produced candidates that spend their time talking and listening to the people and groups that need a voice in City Hall: small business owners, neighborhood associations and everyday Portlanders who care about our community. Also, echoing the coments by Marshall Runkel and GreenNinja, VOE has reduced the cost of elections overall and, ideally, the influence of well-financed special interests.
These outcomes of limiting the cost of elections and allowing grassroots issues to gain visibility are the key reasons we will be voting yes on 26-108.
- Jennifer and Tony Fuentes
Milagros Boutique
posted 2 years, 7 months ago
view in context
on Battling Over Birth?
Thank you for doing this show!
We haven't had a chance to listen to it yet but are glad to see that the comments are well-thought out and don't actually make this issue an "us vs. them" battle as the show title suggests.
We had both of our children at home. It was the right fit for us and both births were beautiful in their own ways.
Our choice to go with homebirth was far from uninformed. As such, we do not "push" our choice on other folks as being "right". However, because of our experience, we get numerous requests for mid-wife recommendations.
We loved our midwives and they were the "right" fit for us but that doesn't mean they are the right choice for everyone. So rather than pointing folks solely to our choice, we pulled together some thoughts a while back on "mid-wife shopping" in general.
So it may be a little off-topic but we wanted to share that information here since it may inform expectant parents who are considering a mid-wife assisted birth (in any setting):
http://milagrosboutique.com/2007/04/18/midwife-shopping/
All the best,
Tony and Jennifer Fuentes
Milagros Boutique
posted 4 years ago
view in context
on Paying for Family Leave
There are many businesses that strongly support this legislation and we are one of them.
SB 966 is not government at its worst. This proposal was not designed in a bubble, it has been carefully crafted to be successful.
Assessments of the proposal by the Bureau of Labor and Industries and the Women's Policy Institute, review of the California paid leave program - which this program primarily mirrors, and other private cost reviews point to a self-sufficient program.
As an employer, we have reviewed the employer requirements for program administration. It is exceedingly simple for employers. There is no new reporting form, just another line on the OQ worksheet. There is no need to determine eligibility, manage or administer funds, all program benefits are managed by BOLI - not the employer.
Of course, ease of administration and cost-effectiveness are only some of the considerations for a program like Paid Family Leave.
Many Oregon workers who have the right to take unpaid time off to care for their families cannot afford to do it (unpaid family leave is provided under the Oregon Family Leave Act, passed in 1995).
There has been some rhetoric on this issue around "personal responsibility" and the like. However, workers who have to stretch every paycheck are not less responsible than other workers. And facing the economic reality of living paycheck-to-paycheck does not make you less of a parent, less of a son, less of a daughter, or less of a human being.
Hardworking Oregonians deserve the opportunity to welcome a newborn baby, aid an ill family member, and address other family needs.
This modest proposal will make this opportunity real for many Oregonians who have no real choice at all.
All the best,
Tony and Jennifer Fuentes
Milagros Boutique
http://milagrosboutique.com
posted 4 years, 1 month ago
view in context
on Toying with Safety
When you look at the issues that emerged last year, there were two common threads. First, every recalled toy was made in China:
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/19/business/worldbusiness/19toys.html?partner=permalink&exprod=permalink
Second of all, the facilities that actually made the toys in question were independent overseas contractors. The US-based toy companies that contracted these factories had limited objective oversight on safety and factory conditions. However these companies were active in trying to get production services at as low a cost as possible. Lack of oversight plus a lowest cost expectation created a perverse incentive for contractors to try and "cheat the system".
Why was lead in the paint on toys? It is a cheap paint additive that lessens the overall expense. This same dynamic is what resulted in toxic pet food and, more recently, dairy products.
This highlights what is missing in the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA): clear and substantial fines for noncompliance with safety standards.
At its core, the "toxic toy" issue is one that emerged from companies focusing on cost savings at the expense of other concerns such as safety and quality. The best way to combat that perverse incentive legislatively is to "head it off at the pass". Yes, there should be more testing and opportunities to determine non-compliance, but the financial penalty for non-compliance by a company who puts cost before safety should be a palpable threat its bottom-line. Basically companies should think twice before turning a blind eye to how their product is being made.
Instead the CPSIA relies solely on a labeling and testing requirement that may be willfully circumvented - since it may still be cheaper to not comply or game the system somehow.
Another effect of the CPSIA that has been noted before is that it passes on an expense that will be substantial for small companies and it may cull responsible manufacturers from the marketplace as a result.
For instance, all of the wood toy lines we carry at Milagros are made in USA. More importantly, these toys are designed and manufactured by the companies or individuals themselves - no third parties are involved.
They source all the materials, they have full control of every step of the manufacturing process and they are fully responsible for it. There is no passing of the buck to a contracted facility and there is an overall level of quality and responsibility that you can count on. This ethic is reflected in statements like this from one our vendors:
http://milagrosboutique.com/2007/08/21/maple-landmark-toys/
Toys are a very small part of our business so I doubt the CPSIA will have much effect on us but having heard from one of our vendors that that may be pulling out of the market because of the CPSIA, it is hard not to be very, very bothered by what is to come.
Ultimately, it is more than ironic that the folks who will pay the price for the "mistakes" made by Chinese manufacturers will be small, responsible companies who have maintained control of their supply chain and their manufacturing practices; it is a travesty.
posted 4 years, 5 months ago
view in context
