Events.

Events

Strike Debtors' Assemblies will continue in 2019.






older events:


Join strike debt Portland for a mini-debtors' assembly on student debt---June 23rd, 2018, noon-1pm at the annual free Strawberry short course event***Mt. hood community college, 26000 SE Stark, Gresham in Room AC 1267. follow the signs for strike debt Portland managing and avoiding student debt.
lots of booths, music, free strawberry shortcake cupcakes. ample free parking. bus 20.
Contact Sandra if you would like to help lead a small group on personal debt stories.
www.mhcc.edu/strawberry
see our course write-up in community resources section.





May 5, 2018 Debtors' Assembly Event Review:
​Thanks to everyone who participated in the May 5, 2018 Strike Debt Portland/Debtors Assembly and Portland Public Bank Alliance forum. Our goal is to Strike Debt down.  Also we thank our sponsors: KBOO Radio, Jobs with Justice, Jubilee Oregon, Move to Amend, EJAG, Alliance for Democracy. 

A few things you can do right now:
Share you debt stories.
Plan to attend our monthly Strike Debt meetings.
Join Strike Debt Portland on Face Book. Share articles on debt solutions on FB.

Donate or help to raise funds for our Strike Debt 2019 Grandparent Scholarship fund.

Speaker Lane Thompson with CASA/Innovative Changes told us they help many people to get out of debt through classes and one on one very affordable counseling. Lane specializes in counseling student debtors. Perkins Loans from schools that students attend may be completely forgiven by the school. Check out the day and evening classes being offered every month at their Lloyd Center PDX and Sherwood offices. Lane: 503-537-0319 ext.330. lane@casaoforegon.org
www.innovativechanges.org


Dr. Nicholas Hartlep spoke about the neoliberal agenda that is keeping us all in debt. It is intentional and like free market theory, deregulation, smaller gov. and privatization, benefits the super rich, not the rest of us. One action we can all take is to challenge corporate business language connected to education (and health care). Education is not a business opportunity, privatization is bad policy, YOU ARE NOT A LOAN. 
The Neoliberal Agenda and the Student Debt Crisis in US Higher Education won the 2018 Society of Professors of Education Outstanding Book Award. Strike Debt Portland has two copies to loan.
we are Starting a Strike Debt book group. Meet Monday May 21st 2018 at Bi-Partisan Cafe SE Stark & 74th, 7:30- 9:00 pm. (Montevilla.) Call me. Sixteen chapters by different writers including Hartlep. There is a chapter on what free education might look like. Two on monetary critique. One on Work Colleges and much more!  Your choice of chapter topics--  I will copy and mail your choice(s) or have them at the first Monday book group.  Sandra 650-303-1176. 
We will have some information about the progress of gaining a Portland Public Bank on this website since it is related to helping eliminate debt for individuals as well as our City.


Strike Debt Portland and Portland Public Banking Alliance

 DEBTORS' ASSEMBLY
​(May 5, 2018)
​YOU ARE NOT A LOAN!​

THROUGH SPEAKERS AND SHARING OUR OWN STORIES,
​WE WILL LEARN TO STRIKE DEBT TOGETHER. 

Confirmed Speakers:

Nicholas D. Hartlep, PHD, author  of "The neoliberal agenda and the student debt crisis in the U.S. Higher Education"

Nicholas D. Hartlep, Ph.D. is currently an Assistant Professor of Urban Education and Early Childhood/Elementary Education Program Coordinator in the School of Urban Education at Metropolitan State University in Saint Paul, Minnesota. Before moving to Saint Paul, he was at Illinois State University in Normal, Illinois. He was an Advanced Opportunity Program Fellow at the University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee, an “Urban 13” University, where he earned a Ph.D. in the Social Foundations of Urban Education and was named an “Outstanding Doctoral Student.” Dr. Hartlep also has a Master of Science Degree in K–12 Education and Bachelor of Science Degree in Teaching, both conferred from Winona State University. As a former public school teacher he has taught in Rochester, Minnesota and Milwaukee, Wisconsin, as well as abroad in Quito, Ecuador. Dr. Hartlep’s research interests include urban in-service teachers’ dispositions, the impact neoliberalism is having on schools and society, the model minority stereotype of Asians, transracial adoption, and student loan debt. His book The Neoliberal Agenda and the Student Debt Crisis in U.S. Higher Education (2017, Routledge) has received positive praise.

"An ideology which makes higher education a privilege instead of a societal benefit has commodified human life and human freedom and placed high academic achievement out of the financial means of many young Americans. This book is a deep exploration of the disastrous educational funding system of America. It is required reading for every person concerned about whether future generations will be equipped intellectually to defend our freedoms, which will require access to higher learning, as a basic right." 
--Dennis Kucinich, Member of Congress, 1997-2013, Senior Member of House Committee on Education. Presidential candidate 2004 and 2008

"Laying the foundations for a prosperous America begins with ensuring that every student—regardless of race, income, or any other factor—is able to obtain the best education possible. This work recognizes this fundamental principle of our democracy and its economic importance in an increasingly competitive global job market. By providing an in-depth history of student-debt financing, and giving a face to the millions of students who have been victims of the student-loan crisis, this book is essential to both understanding the magnitude of the crisis we’re currently in and providing the steps to guaranteeing a quality and affordable higher education for every aspiring student in America." 
--Congressman Raúl M. Grijalva (D-AZ)

"When I graduated from the University of Minnesota Law School in 1990, students were graduating from college with an average of about $12,000 in debt. Today, the average student debt for undergraduates in Minnesota is more than $31,000; the fifth-highest in the nation. One of the basic principles of the progressive movement has always been that getting a good education in America should be a right enjoyed by all–not privilege reserved for the rich and the lucky."
--Congressman Keith Ellison (D-MN)
 

Nicholas D. Hartlep, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Urban Education
Early Childhood/Elementary Education Program Coordinator
Metropolitan State University
School of Urban Education
1450 Energy Park Drive
Suite 100-B1
St. Paul, MN 55108
Office Phone: (651) 999-5936
Department Fax: (651) 999-5935
The Model Minority Stereotype Project
Twitter | @nhartlep
UTP Student Handbook
Order my latest book here
Endorsement of The Neoliberal Agenda and the Student Debt Crisis in U.S. Higher Education,
ed. Nicholas D. Hartlep, Lucille L. T. Eckrich, and Brandon O. Hensley, Routledge, © 2017
https://www.routledge.com/The-Neoliberal-Agenda-and-the-Student-Debt-Crisis-in-US-Higher-Education/Hartlep-Eckrich-Hensley/p/book/9781138194656
 
A REVIEW By Roberta Badger-Cain
OF "THE NEOLIBERAL AGENDA AND THE STUDENT DEBT CRISIS IN U.S. HIGHER EDUCTION"

The most salient theme in this up-to-date analysis of student debt in U.S. higher education is the revelation and evidence that the economic model of neoliberal capitalism of individualism rather than the common good, is the root cause of the well-orchestrated student debt crisis, as well as contributing to growing weaknesses in the academy.  
 
The editors have selected authors who have diverse knowledge and experience and who show how the debt game is played and how students are caught in the system’s wide net.  They provide poignant personal exposes, and give potential solutions, and finally provide ultimate solutions post-neoliberal U.S. higher education.  The value of a college degree(s) is also rightfully brought into question, as we are thus led to ask, “Do today’s students have degrees that prepare them to tackle and solve the needs of our communities, country, the international community, and our planet?”
 
The intellectual level and target audience of this book is not a majority of high school students preparing to enter college, or under-educated parents of such students, a large percentage who, themselves, struggle with debt.  Rather, this book is for well-educated, intellectually curious and/or savvy young and older adults who have the desire and wherewithal to influence or make systemic changes in systems of thought, economics, and personal, academic and public policies. 
 
As a member of Strike Debt Portland, I endorse and recommend this book to all who care about social and economic justice and the future of our youth, our higher education system, our country, and our world.
 
Roberta Badger-Cain
Strike Debt Portland (and Jubilee Oregon)
​

David e. Delk, president, Portland public banking alliance

David Delk, Chair of the Portland Public Banking Alliance. More information on this topic at: http://www.afd-pdx.org/public-bank.html or contact  David Delk   ​PPBA meets second Thursdays at the First Unitarian Church, SW 12th and Salmon, Portland at 7:30 pm.

Lane Thompson - family economic opportunity program 

As the IDA enrollment specialist at CASA, and student loan coach at Innovative Changes, Lane serves a dual role. This suits her well, as she is passionate about consumer advocacy and protection, as well as asset building in the name of erasing the racial wealth gap.  Working one on one with student borrowers gives her the chance to support folks directly, while her enrollment work focuses on qualifying folks for our statewide IDA Network. This allows her to exercise many parts of her mind, and means that her day to day is determined by what's on the calendar, and what partners have submitted for enrollment consideration.  As a north east Portland resident, she is so happy to be here at the Lloyd Center a few days a week! 

In her free time, she likes hanging out at the park with her puppy, going to hip-hop shows, and solving the world's problems over drinks with friends.
P.S. Do you have student loans? Come get some coaching from Lane!

Ellen Brown, Founder and Chair, Public banking institute

Ellen Brown, J.D., developed her research skills as an attorney practicing civil litigation in Los Angeles. She is the author of 12 books, including the groundbreaking Web of Debt and The Public Bank Solution. In the latter book, Ellen traces the history and evolution of the current private banking system, showing how it usurped the power to create money from the people themselves, and how the people can take that power back through public banks operating in the public interest. Ellen has written over 200 articles, and originally served as Chairman and President. She has degrees from UC Berkeley and UCLA School of Law.