Beloved brewery closes … a story remains

By Taxpayers Association of Oregon
OregonWatchdog.com

This year, entrepreneur George Johnson, will be closing both his breweries.  George was made famous in Portland for bringing Detroit pizza to Portland and making it a local hit it is today with many other Portland restaurants following suit.   George is also beloved for helping to revive the Foster neighborhood with his successful businesses.

Johnson’s farewell notes says ” The craft beer industry is dynamic and ever-evolving and we navigated through various hurdles, from heightened costs and market fluctuations to the impacts of global events. Each challenge taught us resilience and adaptability. Unfortunately, the hits kept coming and we no longer have a financial cushion to weather the storms ahead.”

His mention of “heightened costs” is a familiar phrase from other closing Portland businesses.

We asked Google AI “what is causing beer cost to rise?

Here is what it said:

“Beer prices have risen due to broad inflation, increasing the costs of essential ingredients like barley and hops, as well as materials such as aluminum for cans. Higher energy costs for brewing and shipping, rising labor wages, and increased taxes have also contributed to the price hikes.”

This explains everything.

Broad inflation = caused by President Biden spending $7 trillion in new programs.

Higher energy costs = caused by the West Coast choosing to close hydroelectricity dams, coal plants while jacking up electricity demands by spending hundreds of millions of tax dollars on subsidies for people to buy electric vehicles and hundreds of millions of tax subsides for big tech data centers that drain up our electricity and our water use.

Rising labor wages = adding on the cost of higher minimum wages, higher wage taxes (paid leave), statewide transit wage taxes, local Tri-met wage taxes, drive up costs and reduce employment.

Increased taxes = Portland has drowned businesses with new taxes (1) property (2) income (3) gas (4) business license (5) vehicle fees, etc..

If we want more businesses like the very cherished ones from George Johnson, then Portland must create a more business friendly environment.