It’s budget season for local governments in Oregon. Budgets may sound boring. In reality, they are the best demonstration of what politicians truly prioritize. Forget the campaign promises and the press releases. The budget is where the action is. This year, there is a line item tucked into the City of Portland budget for Prosper […]
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. […]
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 […]
Voters approve Measure 110, decriminalizing drugs while creating an unaccountable bureaucracy Oregon voters recently approved a ballot measure that decriminalizes possession of small amounts of “hard” drugs, including heroin, cocaine, LSD, and methamphetamine. Supporters see the measure as a big step toward ending the failed 50-year “War on Drugs.” Opponents fear the measure will lead […]
The regional government plans to borrow money to implement its new income taxes. Hardly a week goes by that Metro isn’t reaching into your pocketbook or getting deeper in debt. This week, Metro will move forward on issuing $28 million in bonds. Why does Metro need to borrow $28 million? There are two reasons. First, […]
On Monday, September 21, Cascade’s Vice Policy of Research provided testimony to the Oregon Senate, who was holding a hearing on “Equity in Education Policy Proposals.” Cascade urges the legislature to flip its education funding model. Instead of funneling money through its dysfunctional public school system, the state should support students directly by providing each student their share of the State School Fund. On […]
President Trump is frequently accused of lying. But he doesn’t have a monopoly on falsehood. Look around the Portland region and you’ll see our local politicians lying to us. We live in our own Pinocchio-land. Metro’s “Get Moving 2020” ballot measure is a $5.2 billion tax increase disguised as a transportation measure. It’s a permanent […]
On July 24th, the New York Times ran a 2,300-word piece describing the challenges owners of vacation homes have faced in converting their second homes into their primary residences during the COVID-19 pandemic. Challenges included the inability to get a Starbucks vanilla latte or find a bagel shop. Readers overwhelming responded: “Read the room, New York Times!” […]
While much of the region is stuck at home under the governor’s “stay home, stay safe” order, the Metro regional government is charging ahead with a $7 billion “T2020” transportation package focused on an expensive and unneeded light rail line. Unlike Metro’s recently passed taxes for housing services, T2020 will impose hundreds of dollars in […]