Prevailing wage laws disadvantage minority and low-skilled workers and reduce affordable housing Why is “affordable housing” so expensive? Many politicians, bureaucrats, and affordable housing advocates treat the question as one of life’s many mysteries. But it’s really not that mysterious. Many regulations governing public projects add up, piece by piece, to affordable housing’s staggering price […]
Oregon is home to NuScalePower, the nation’s leading small modular nuclear reactor (SMR) developer. However, our state isn’t able to take advantage of NuScale’s innovative technology because it is illegal to site a nuclear plant in Oregon. Three bills being considered in Oregon’s current legislative session could change that. HB 2332would repeal current legal provisions […]
Should governments use taxpayer dollars to support select companies of their choice? The recent closure of SolarWorld’s Portland area solar panel factory and the failure of the government-backed SoloPower Systems show why public dollars shouldn’t be spent to subsidize private firms. SolarWorld opened the nation’s largest solar panel factory in Hillsboro in 2008.[1] It was […]
If you thought hospital food was bland now, get ready to hear this. The Oregon Legislature is considering a bill that bans hospitals from serving bacon and every other salted, smoked, or cured meat. Because House Bill 2348 also requires hospitals to make plant-based food available, proponents argue that this is simply about promoting good […]
Recent freezing temperatures and power outages in both Oregon and Texas demonstrate why going “all in” on intermittent energy resources like solar and wind power will end up costing utility customers. Governor Kate Brown declared a state of emergency on Saturday, February 13, due to a snow and ice storm that left up to 300,000 […]
Portland values its “green” projects; but local policymakers are attempting to address the region’s homelessness crisis by creating new facilities, rather than repurposing properties that already exist. Cascade Policy Institute has released a new report offering straightforward solutions to aid the unsheltered homeless by using public resources more effectively. Publicly owned and operated buildings should […]
January 24-30 is National School Choice Week, the world’s largest celebration of parental choice in education and the diversity of options available to help today’s students learn. Since 2011, National School Choice Week has affirmed that “every child deserves an effective, challenging, and motivating education.” “School choice” means empowering parents to choose the education options […]
Cascade Policy Institute released a new research report addressing the homelessness crisis in Oregon. Homelessness in the Portland Region: Some Straightforward Solutions to a Complex Problem was authored by Eric Fruits, Ph.D. and Vlad Yurlov. The report provides several recommendations, including: ● Opening unused public buildings as emergency shelters; ● Converting the Portland Expo Center […]
With the clock ticking down to midnight on December 31, my family was looking forward to putting 2020 behind us. The New Year held at least a small hope that the pandemic would subside, vaccines would be distributed, schools would re-open, and the chaos and violence would taper off. While the year didn’t kick off […]
A recent article in The Atlantic argues that developments during the COVID-19 pandemic have disproven the claim that new housing construction causes gentrification. The author writes: “The pandemic has radically decreased demand for big-city living while also increasing the quantity of available apartments. Yet this basic fact, plain for all to see, flies in the […]
