Opposing More Top-Down Control of Oregon Education Chair Hass, Co-Chair Morse, and members of the Committee, my name is Steve Buckstein. I’m Senior Policy Analyst and founder of Cascade Policy Institute, a non-partisan, non-profit public policy research organization based in Portland. Our mission is to promote policies that enhance individual liberty, personal responsibility, and economic [...]

The Right to Work Is Right for Oregon: A Comprehensive Analysis of the Economic Benefits from Enacting a Right-to-Work Law By Randall Pozdena, Ph.D. and Eric Fruits, Ph.D. Cascade Policy Institute • February 2012 Click here to read the full report.

Click here to listen to the testimony. Christina Martin’s testimony to the House Interim Committee on Business and Labor starts at 41:00.   Co-Chair Garrett, Co-Chair Kennemer, members of the Committee:   My name is Christina Martin. I am a policy analyst with Cascade Policy Institute.   I am here today to talk about unemployment [...]

The recent firing of University of Oregon President Richard Lariviere has unleashed strong feelings on both sides. While he was officially fired by the Oregon Board of Higher Education “without cause,” news reports made the real reasons clear: “The board said Lariviere had to go because he refused to be a team player. Against their [...]

The Wall Street Journal recently called 2011 “The Year of School Choice.” According to the July editorial: “No fewer than 13 states have enacted school choice legislation in 2011, and 28 states have legislation pending….Louisiana enhanced its state income tax break for private school tuition; Ohio tripled the number of students eligible for school vouchers; [...]

By Christopher Robinson In 2006 and 2007 the Oregon legislature passed two bills which significantly curtailed the ability of traditional “brick and mortar” payday lenders to operate within the state. Senate Bill 1105 (2006) and House Bill 2203 (2007) capped interest rates greater than 36%, limited origination fees to 10%, established a waiting period between [...]

By Michael Bastasch Congress is still debating raising the federal debt ceiling. This would allow the U.S. government to continue to borrow and to add to the already staggering $14.3 trillion in debt. However, the feds aren’t the only ones with debt problems. State and local debt is rising, including $3.1 trillion in unfunded liabilities. [...]

By Michael Bastasch Governor John Kitzhaber’s new “green” energy ploy, the Oregon “Cool Schools” Initiative or House Bill 2960, directs the Oregon Department of Energy to give out zero to low-interest loans and grants to school districts for energy efficiency building improvements, and also create jobs in Oregon. HB 2960 is a bad idea for [...]

This week, legislators and lobbyists are working frantically behind the scenes on an education package that could help transform educational opportunities for students across Oregon. The package features reforms that will shape the state’s oversight of education as well as parents’ ability to choose a public school based on a school’s merits rather than its [...]

By Michael Bastasch The Oregon “Cool Schools” Initiative (House Bill 2960) directs the Oregon Department of Energy to provide zero to low-interest loans and grants to school districts for energy efficiency building improvements. Governor John Kitzhaber, the bill’s main proponent, argues that HB 2960 will create healthier, more energy efficient schools and create jobs. However, [...]