Lars Larson on Urban Renewal

Well, yesterday we talked about urban renewal in Oregon. What a waste of tax dollars it can be.

You hear it all the time””urban renewal this and urban renewal that. Let’s get to the bottom line. It’s a way for politicians to take property tax dollars from communities throughout the state and spend them with their favorite local developer. You know that developers can be awfully generous when it comes time to call them up and ask them for campaign donations.

So, let me give you the latest bad example. In Oregon City, the city decided it needed restaurant to spruce up one corner of Oregon City. It’s actually a pretty nice corner of the city. They put $200,000 behind the idea. The problem is, the restaurant business is a place where it is easy to make a million if you start with two. In this case, Oregon City put in $200,000 and ended up with nothing””just one end of a bankruptcy.

That’s urban renewal for you, a waste of property tax dollars. A real hit to the local schools and law enforcement.

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