The coronavirus is already taking a toll on our pocketbooks. Families are facing layoffs. Businesses are closing—and some may never reopen. Our elected leaders are urging everyone to do their fair share. Property owners have been asked to give tenants a six-month grace period to pay their rents. They’re considering forcing small businesses to provide […]
At the first—and likely only—public hearing on Metro’s “supportive housing” tax measure, one resident asked a question on everyone’s mind: “Our money isn’t being spent the way it should be now, so what assurances do we have that this will be any different?” The question highlights the fact that trust in local government is at […]
This is one time I would like to make a bargain with Democrats. Do you suppose that they will promise to return all the BILLIONS of dollars with interest that they are proposing to steal from Oregonians with their draconian ‘Carbon Tax,’ if our climate does not improve one bit? Their scheme to drive up […]
Research Thursday, Metro Council will be receiving from staff an annual report on Metro’s Parks and Nature program. Cascade Policy Institute urges the Council reject the Annual Report and demand a revised report that includes details of the program’s skyrocketing administrative costs. In addition, the Council should replace the current members of the Oversight Committee with individuals who […]
Oregon’s Corporate Activities Tax went into effect New Year’s Day. Nine times, Oregon voters have rejected a state sales tax. But this year we ended up with something much worse than a sales tax, and voters had no voice in the matter. While it’s called a “corporate” tax, the name is misleading. The steep new […]
With Time magazine naming 16 year-old Greta Thunberg as their ‘Person of the Year,’ one has to wonder what that means in a world dominated by political correctness and Leftist ideology. Greta is an autistic Swedish child who has been programmed by her parents to promote a children’s crusade against climate change. Never mind that […]
By most accounts, American colleges and universities are highly successful businesses, with students clamoring for admission and willing to pay whatever tuition, room, board, and books the school demands. That may seem like an ideal business relationship, where the customers are very happy with the products offered and the business is very happy with the […]
In the next week or so, Portland area voters will receive their November ballots. One of the items is Measure 26-203: a $475 million bond measure by Metro, the regional government for the Portland area. Metro wants the money so it can buy more land for its so-called parks and nature program. Measure 26-203 will […]
When I was a small boy in Sweden many years ago, the Swedes were emphatic. At movie theaters where American Westerns were being shown, signs proclaimed “Barn Förbjudna” or “Children Forbidden.” That was the first Swedish I learned. The Swedes were trying to protect me from the very mild violence in American Westerns of that […]
Portland City Council has just learned that what it thought was a $500 million water filtration plant will now be an $850 million project–and may go as high as $1.2 billion. The reason for the 70% spike: The water bureau did not include the cost of the pipes leading to and from the plant. Those […]