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Portland: Groupthink and Violence
Portland – not Oregon, just Portland – is one of the most liberal cities in America. Portland (Multnomah County) has about 515,000 registered voters – nearly 54% are Democrats and less than 13% are Republicans. Many of the remaining 33% … Continue reading
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Posted in Liberalism, Political Correctness, Portland, Portland Politics
8 Comments
Political Correctness Driven to the Absurd
Rigid adherence to any political ideology will ultimately produce foolish results. For instance the accepted norm for conservatives is to oppose abortion on demand while supporting imposition of the death penalty. I have been a conservative all of my adult … Continue reading
Oregon Must End “Economic Apartheid”
By Randal O’Toole The housing affordability crisis is turning Portland, already one of the whitest cities in America, into one that is even whiter. Census data indicate that, between 2010 and 2014, the number of whites living in the city … Continue reading
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Posted in Economy, Government reform, Government Regulation, Housing, Land Use Laws, Metro, Portland, Portland Politics, State Government
Tagged Land Use, Urban Growth Boundary
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Metro Should Dump the Garbage Tax
By Allison Coleman Last month, Portland-area voters approved Ballot Measure 26-178, which imposes a five-year property tax that will generate $80 million dollars for Metro to maintain parks owned by the agency. On the surface, this seems like a wonderful … Continue reading
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Posted in Environment, Government Spending, Initiative & Referendum, Local Taxes, Metro, Portland Politics, Taxes
Tagged Metro
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Portland’s Zoning Policies Make the Housing Crisis Worse
By Lydia White The masterminds behind Portland’s newest inclusionary zoning recommendations have proven once again to be economically illiterate. The Portland Planning and Sustainability Commission unanimously recommended requiring developers with 20 units or more to make 20% of units “affordable” … Continue reading
Uber Translated: Better Service for the Underserved
By Lydia White It’s not news that free-market visionaries provide better service than their corrupt competitors, but big government advocates are reluctant to admit it, even when such enterprise benefits their causes. Ride-hailing services like Uber and Lyft provide cheaper, … Continue reading
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Posted in Economy, Employment, Individual Responsiblity, Portland, Portland Politics, Transportation
Tagged Portland City Council, Uber
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Portland’s 100% Renewable Energy Claim Is “Greenwashing”
By Allison Coleman In 2001, the Portland City Council declared that by 2010, all electricity used by city agencies would come from renewable energy. However, by 2010, only 9 percent of Portland’s power was renewable. Undeterred, in 2012 Portland leaders … Continue reading
Something’s Rotten in Metro’s Missing Garbage Tax Money
By John A. Charles, Jr. and Allison Coleman Metro is asking for a new tax levy this November (Measure 26-178 on your ballot) despite the fact that it already has sufficient funds to operate all its parks. In 2002, the … Continue reading
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Posted in 2016 Election, Environment, Government reform, Government Spending, Metro, Portland, Portland Politics, Taxes
Tagged Metro, Metro parks levy
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Abolish Growth Boundaries to Ensure Fair Housing
By Randal O’Toole A recent Supreme Court decision found that government policies that make housing expensive may violate fair housing laws. This decision could have a profound impact on Portland’s housing market. Portland’s rapidly growing housing prices are a major … Continue reading
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Posted in Economy, Government reform, Government Regulation, Housing, Land Use Laws, Metro, Portland, Portland Politics, State Government
Tagged Land Use, Urban Growth Boundary
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Metro’s $32 Million Broken Promise
— Why You Should Vote Down Metro’s Natural Area Levy By John A. Charles, Jr. and Allison Coleman In 2006, the Metro Council submitted to the voters a general obligation bond measure in the amount of $227.4 million to fund … Continue reading
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Posted in Environment, Local Taxes, Metro, Portland, Portland Politics, Taxes
Tagged Metro
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“The Rent Is Too Damn High!” — Why Rent Control Won’t Help
By Steve Buckstein Once again, Portland led the nation this July with its home prices rising 12.4 percent year-over-year versus the national average of just 5.0 percent. As of April, Portland remained the 12th most expensive rental market in the … Continue reading
MAX at 30: Portland Transit Needs a New Plan
By John A. Charles, Jr. September 5 marked the official 30th anniversary of the opening of TriMet’s light rail system. Like many Portland residents, I took a free ride that day and felt that this was a big step forward … Continue reading
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Posted in Metro, Political Correctness, Portland, Portland Politics, Public Transportation, Transportation
Tagged light rail, MAX, TriMet
5 Comments
Repeating Mistakes Is Not a Housing Strategy
By John A. Charles, Jr. The Portland City Council has approved a plan for the Housing Bureau to lease industrial land in North Portland for $10,000 per month, beginning October 7. The site is to be used for the construction … Continue reading
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Posted in Government Spending, Health & Human Services, Portland, Portland Politics
Tagged Portland homeless
12 Comments
Portland Chases Another Dream
By John A. Charles, Jr. The U.S. Department of Transportation announced last week that Portland is one of seven cities still in the running for a $50 million grant as part of DOT’s “Smart Cities” challenge. Portland is proposing to build … Continue reading
WES at 7: Still a Financial Train Wreck
By John A. Charles, Jr. February marks the seven-year anniversary of the Westside Express Service (WES), the 15-mile commuter rail line that runs from Wilsonville to Beaverton. While the train’s owner, TriMet, promotes WES as a transit success story, the … Continue reading
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Posted in Metro, Oregon Government, Political Correctness, Portland Politics, Public Transportation, Taxes, Transportation, TriMet
Tagged TriMet, WES, Westside Express Service
5 Comments
Oregon Legislature Should Continue Open Enrollment in Public Schools
By Bobbie Jager On Sunday the fifth-annual National School Choice Week concluded, and states across the nation have had much to celebrate. In the past decade, choice advocates across the political spectrum have worked to pass legislation including full funding for … Continue reading
Give Every Oregon Employer a Personalized Minimum Wage
By Steve Buckstein Union-backed and activist groups are trying to put measures on the November 2016 ballot to raise Oregon’s minimum wage from the current $9.25 to either $13.50 or $15, and to allow local governments such as the city … Continue reading
Corruption in Arizona Begins With Attitudes in Portland
Corruption and waste, like so many other governmental viruses, have a tendency to spread. In this case it is the monumental corruption and waste attendant to the far left Portland government’s infatuation with light rail. It is an infatuation that … Continue reading
The Futility of Public Hearings
By John A. Charles, Jr. Over the past four years, TriMet and Metro have been planning something called the SW Corridor Project. Metro describes it as a multi-modal project featuring new transit capacity, local street improvements, and enhancements to trails, … Continue reading
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Posted in Ethics, Land Use Laws, Metro, Portland, Portland Politics, Public Transportation, Transparency, Transportation, TriMet
Tagged Metro, SW Corridor Project, TriMet
3 Comments
Portland Worries About Homelessness, While Metro Makes Housing Less Affordable
By John A. Charles, Jr. The Portland City Council has decided to allocate $20 million to solve a perceived crisis with “homelessness” and another $67 million to subsidize “affordable housing.” As usual with Portland spending, these numbers were pulled out … Continue reading
