What if everything we thought we knew about homelessness was wrong? If that’s the case, many of the policies we’re pursuing are making things worse instead of better. It’s becoming clearer that much of the accepted wisdom regarding homelessness may be nothing more than convenient myths—myths that lead to doomed policies. The Oregon Office of […]
If you guessed that Oregonians think homelessness is the most important problem facing the state, you’d be right. That’s no surprise. What’s surprising is what came in second. It turns out, according to a poll by DHM Research, more than 1-in-6 Oregonians think politicians and government are the biggest problem facing our state. At the […]
Last month, the Oregonian excitedly reported some great news: From 2010 to 2019, our great state had the fastest income growth in the entire country. For any doubters out there, the paper tells us, “the numbers are clear as day.” However, there are doubters. Economists working for the state are “flummoxed,” according to the article. […]
Economist Milton Friedman passed away 15 years ago this week. In celebration of his life, I’d like to recount part of his interview with ultra-liberal talk show host Phil Donahue. Donahue asked, “When you see the greed and the concentration of power, did you ever have a moment of doubt about capitalism and whether greed’s […]
Last week, I attended my first out-of-state conference in nearly two years. This week, Portland City Council is considering an emergency ordinance banning the city and its employees from doing business with the State of Texas. The ordinance is in response to a new Texas law effectively banning abortion in the state. What do these […]
On Saturday, police responded to a call that a man was in the middle of I-84, swinging a pipe at cars. As police approached, the man jumped the freeway barrier onto the MAX tracks, where he got creamed by a train and was pronounced dead at the scene. But there’s more. Just two hours earlier, […]
By adopting a near-zero assumed rate of return, PERS can become solvent in the next decade No one wants to talk about the biggest problem facing Oregon. It’s not the pandemic. It’s not homelessness. It’s not racial justice. The biggest crisis facing Oregon is its public employee retirement system, or PERS. No one wants to […]
As Oregon students return to the classrooms, watch out for a new fad that could make our state’s academic performance even worse. That fad is known as the “four day school week.” Oregon is one of only nine states that allows four day school weeks and more than 130 districts operate on a four-day schedule. […]
PORTLAND, Ore. – Cascade Policy Institute submitted testimony strongly opposing Oregon Senate Bill 223, which would effectively force private schools to register with the state. The bill would ban from interscholastic activities any school that does not register. Proponents of SB 223 characterize the bill as merely a “voluntary” scheme to register private schools. But, […]
A recent Oregonian/OregonLive editorial criticizes Metro’s lack of “vision” in implementing its homeless services measure (“Metro lacks vision for homeless services measure,” Feb. 21). In particular, the editorial questions what the measure will achieve or what “success” will look like. This should not be a surprise. Metro never had a vision for the measure. Last […]