Snowstorm Shows Taxpayers the City of Portland’s Dystopian Side
By Eric Fruits, Ph.D. Last week’s snowstorm was more than a snow-pocalypse, it…
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ODOT Says Households Will Pay $575 a Year in Its First Round of Tolls
By Eric Fruits, Ph.D. This next week is going to be a big…
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When the State Stays Silent, It’s Easy to Assume the Worst
By Eric Fruits, Ph.D. What do spy balloons, a state liquor scandal, and…
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Press Release: Cascade Policy Institute Research Shows Education Savings Accounts Can Foster School Choice While Boosting Pre-Student Funding
February 9, 2023 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Cascade Policy Institute48/50 SW Scholls Ferry Rd.,…
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Small Steps Toward the Stone Age: Biden’s Gas Stove Ban
By Eric Fruits, Ph.D. My, how time flies. Just last month, I warned…
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ODOT Is Gassed Up and Ready to Go on Tolling: But They Don’t Know Where They’re Going
By Eric Fruits, Ph.D. “We got a full tank of gas, half a…
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A Holiday Wishlist for Oregon
By Eric Fruits, Ph.D. ‘Tis the season for holiday wishes. And, toward that…
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Tolling’s Political Pile-Up
By Eric Fruits, Ph.D. If the Oregon Department of Transportation has its way,…
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Multnomah County Is Going “Ban”-anas
By Eric Fruits, Ph.D. First they banned styrofoam, then last week they banned…
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Magical Thinking Won’t Fill the Fuel Tank
By Eric Fruits, Ph.D. Portland is a world leader in magical thinking on…
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For Oregon’s New Governor, Great Power Comes with Great Responsibility
By Eric Fruits, Ph.D. It’s the day after Election Day and the votes…
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Oregon Needs a Free-Market Makeover
By Eric Fruits, Ph.D “What’s the one thing you’d do to fix Oregon?”…
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Mayor Wheeler Offers a Mixed Bag of Homelessness Solutions
By Eric Fruits, Ph.D. Last week, Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler and his council…
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Portland’s “Moon Shot” to Solve Homelessness: Lessons from Apollo 13
By Eric Fruits, Ph.D. This week, Portland City Council is considering five resolutions…
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No on Measure 26-225: Metro’s Parks and Nature Program Needs a Reset
By Eric Fruits, Ph.D. Yet again, Metro is asking for more money for…
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ADA Lawsuit Is a First Step Toward Addressing Region’s Homelessness Crisis
By Eric Fruits, Ph.D. For most of us, homeless tents blocking sidewalks are…
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PCC Wants More of Your Tax Dollars to Spend Its Way out of a Slump
By Eric Fruits, Ph.D. The ballot for November’s election is filling up, and…
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Oregon’s Budget: Out-of-Control Spending and Misplaced Priorities
By Eric Fruits, Ph.D. If you feel like Oregon politicians are spending more,…
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Oregon Legislature Should End the GET Green Energy Fiasco
By Eric Fruits, Ph.D. It seems everywhere you look, “clean energy” is in…
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Gotta Get Rid of the GET Green Energy Boondoggle
By Eric Fruits, Ph.D. It seems everywhere you look, “clean energy” is in…
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Solar Panels in a Dark Room
By Taylor Marks In 2014, Fire Station 21, located on SE Madison St….
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TriMet’s Electric Bus Plans Could Burst into Flames
By Mia Tiwana Connecticut’s bus service just pulled its entire fleet of electric…
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Portland’s Clean Energy Fund Didn’t Deserve a Green Light
By James Swyter and Mia Tiwana This month, Portland City Council approved $118…
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Local Governments Must Change Course to Fix Their Policy Crises
By Eric Fruits, Ph.D. Things are not going well in the Portland region….
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This Green Fund Doesn’t Deserve a Green Light
By Mia Tiwana Have you heard of the Portland Clean Energy Fund? Portlanders…
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Welcome to Portland, Where Getting a Job Is Easy but Staying Safe Is Hard
By Eric Fruits, Ph.D. Two of my kids are young adults working retail….
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Portland’s all-or-nothing city charter ballot measure may add up to no reforms at all
By Taylor Marks Too much, all at once. Portland’s city charter is long…
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Lights Out: A Lesson in Local Government
By Eric Fruits, Ph.D. Last week, an Oregonian story reported that for years,…
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Portland’s “EV Ready Code” Isn’t That Electric
By Mia Tiwana Portland City Council is trying its best to bring electric…
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A Boring Budget Item Highlights Public Safety Dysfunction
By Eric Fruits, Ph.D. It’s budget season for local governments in Oregon. Budgets…
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Press Release: The $60 Million Question: Cascade Policy Institute Questions PPS Bond Spending
May 24, 2022 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Media Contacts: Eric Fruits, Ph.D.Office: (503) 242-0900eric@cascadepolicy.org…
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The $60 Million Question: What Is the Center for Black Student Excellence?
By Eric Fruits, Ph.D. and Mia Tiwana Executive Summary In November 2020, Portland…
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State Legislators Created Their Own Pay Problem
By John A. Charles, Jr. State Representatives Karin Power (Milwaukie), Anna Williams (Hood…
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Portland’s Self-Inflicted Rental Housing Shortage
By Micah Perry According to a revised report from economic consulting firm ECONorthwest,…
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Nostalgia and NIMBYism Stand in the Way of Sheltering the Homeless
By Eric Fruits, Ph.D. For more than a year, Cascade Policy Institute has…
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Better Late Than Never at the Expo Center
By Micah Perry For years, Portland residents have dealt with homeless individuals parking…
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Are Taxes Driving People Out of Portland?
By Eric Fruits, Ph.D. The Census just released the latest population estimates and,…
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Fossil Fuels Are Not Going Anywhere
By John A. Charles, Jr. Many Oregon politicians have convinced themselves that we…
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Oregon Secretary of State Says No “Clear Purpose” for Mortgage Tax Deduction
By Eric Fruits, Ph.D. This time they’re coming for your home. Earlier this…
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Portland’s Parking Price Hike Proves City Council Hates You
By Eric Fruits, Ph.D. Just five months ago, Portland City Council announced that…
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Legislators Can Work Less Instead of Asking for More Pay
By Micah Perry Everyone loves getting a raise. Our Oregon state legislators are…
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Metro’s Playing Farmville With Taxpayer Money
By Eric Fruits, Ph.D. People in the Portland area love their parks and…
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Local governments seeking to ban natural gas are willfully ignoring Oregon voters.
By Rachel Dawson Think the natural gas industry is dying? The latest data…
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Bud Clark Was More Than “Whoop! Whoop!”
He Had the Right Approach on Homelessness By Eric Fruits, Ph.D. Fewer than…
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Portlanders are fed up with homelessness, crime, and their elected officials.
By Rachel Dawson A recent poll by the Portland Business Alliance found that…
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Metro’s New Parks Took Too Long, Leave Too Much to Be Desired
By Micah Perry In December 2021, Metro, the Portland-area regional government, opened Newell…
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Don’t own an EV? Too bad. Oregon says you’ll pay for the infrastructure anyway.
By Rachel Dawson With the start of a new year, power customers will…
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Portland’s YOYO Approach to Solving Crime
By Eric Fruits, Ph.D. Just after dinner on New Year’s Eve, my oldest…
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Homelessness: Outdated Theories Lead to Doomed Policies
By Eric Fruits, Ph.D. What if everything we thought we knew about homelessness…
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Fudged Numbers and a Failed Response
By Micah Perry It’s been more than six years since Portland declared a…
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Lincoln County’s Harmful Blame Game
By Micah Perry In a recent November special election, Lincoln County approved a…
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Innovation, not regulation, is the most effective way to control GHG emissions
By Rachel Dawson Governor Kate Brown has joined other state and national representatives…
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A Once-in-a-Lifetime Opportunity to Shake Up Metro
By Eric Fruits, Ph.D. With the retirement of Bob Stacey earlier this month,…
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Portland officials need an attitude adjustment when it comes to violent crimes
By Rachel Dawson Just over a year ago the Portland City Council cut…
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The Real Problem with Metro’s Parks and Nature Spending
By Micah Perry Over the course of more than 25 years, Metro’s parks…
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Save Your Money, Save the State: Keep the Kicker
By Eric Fruits, Ph.D. A few months ago, Oregonians learned they will be…
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A Pile-Up in the Rose Quarter
By Eric Fruits, Ph.D. Apparently, “COVID time” is a real thing. A week…
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A Developer’s Departure Gives Portland a Chance to Reconsider Its Priorities
By Micah Perry At a time when many Portlanders are sleeping on sidewalks,…
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Oregon’s 2021 Energy Regulations Are Already Hurting Consumers
By Rachel Dawson Did you just have an order for a desktop computer…
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Big Questions for Harriet Tubman Middle School Property
By Mia Tiwana Portland’s Harriet Tubman Middle School might be on the move….
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Portland Parks are Wrecked
(Photo is a stock photo.) By Stew Robertson You would think Portland Parks…
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Portland’s Next Step to Thriving Is a Trusted Police Force
By Mia Tiwana If we want to continue seeing downtown Portland improve, maybe…
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Ratepayers are struggling to pay their utility bills and Kate Brown doesn’t care
By Rachel Dawson Oregonians are struggling to pay their utility bills. So then…
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Portland’s Housing Affordability Debacle
By Stew Robertson The City of Portland’s housing state of emergency, first declared…
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When the Police Go Away, The Criminals Will Play
By Mia Tiwana Portland is on its way to having more than three…
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Homelessness Is More Than a Branding Problem
By Eric Fruits, Ph.D. Portland’s housing crisis is now in its sixth year….
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Portland Cannot Ignore “Low-Impact” Camps
A proposed ordinance aims to deprioritize some homeless camps considered “low impact” By…
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The PERS Crisis at 21: The PERS Board Must Act
By adopting a near-zero assumed rate of return, PERS can become solvent in…
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PDX to Invest $150,000 in Failed Housing Policy
Portland’s policy of Inclusionary Zoning makes housing less affordable for families. By Vlad…
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Zero Out Oregon’s PERS Crisis
By adopting a near-zero assumed rate of return, PERS can become solvent in…
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The Results of the Motel Program for the Homeless
How the Housing First approach keeps failing to support homeless reentry into independent…
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Homeless Programs are Promising Excuses
By Vlad Yurlov The Portland region’s top homelessness officials delivered another set of…
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Oregon Senate Passes Largest School Budget in State History
State spending per student in public school is $2,000 more than average private…
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Portland Street Response: What Are You Waiting For?
By Vlad Yurlov Portland’s Lents neighborhood got a new homeless program in 2021….
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Vlad Yurlov, Policy Analyst at Cascade Policy Institute, testified against funding ineffective homeless services
Chair Kafoury and Commissioners, Over the last year, the Joint Office of Homeless…
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The Era of DIY Government Will Not End Well
By Eric Fruits, Ph.D. Last week, a Craigslist post brought it home—we’re in…
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Portland’s Homeless Policy Must Switch Gears to Achieve Long-Term Results
Doubling down on failing policy puts both homeless residents and taxpayers at risk…
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Press Release: Re: Metro Council Resolution No. 21-5171
April 29, 2021 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Cascade Policy Institute4850 SW Scholls Ferry Rd.,…
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Testimony Re: Metro Council Resolution No. 21-5171—Multnomah County Local Implementation Plan
Via Email April 29, 2021 Metro Council600 NE Grand Ave.Portland, OR 97232 Re: …
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Press Release: Oregon’s Legislature Seeks to Give up Taxpayer Bargaining Power
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEApril 2, 2021 Cascade Policy Institute4850 SW Scholls Ferry Rd., Ste….
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Oregon May Vote to Constantly Increase Infrastructure Spending
Raising prevailing wages would burden taxpayers and marginalize minorities By Vlad Yurlov Bad…
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In Search of an Oregon Drug Policy
By John A. Charles, Jr. Last November, Oregon voters approved three ballot measures…
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Green Shoots of Business Need Room to Blossom
By Vlad Yurlov It’s a bad sign when businesses need to fortify their…
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Price Gouging
By Eric Fruits, Ph.D. Last week, Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum’s office reached…
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A Vision for Homeless Services: Open Up the Expo Center
By Vlad Yurlov and Eric Fruits, Ph.D. A recent Oregonian/OregonLive editorial criticizes Metro’s…
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Why Is “Affordable Housing” So Expensive?
By Vlad Yurlov Why is “affordable housing” so expensive? Many politicians, bureaucrats, and…
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Oregon Legislators Should Vote Yes on Nuclear Power
By Rachel Dawson Oregon is home to NuScale Power, the nation’s leading small…
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Empower Oregon Families Today by Funding Students, Not Systems
By Kathryn Hickok and Helen Doran Every parent knows a solid education prepares…
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SolarWorld factory closure is the latest among government subsidy mistakes
By Rachel Dawson Should governments use taxpayer dollars to support select companies of…
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Banning Bacon Won’t Heal the Sick
By Vlad Yurlov If you thought hospital food was bland now, get ready…
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Make Oregon the Opportunity State
By Eric Fruits, Ph.D. Oregonians blame Californians for many of our state’s woes….
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Take Stock, Then Take Action on Portland’s Homeless Crisis
By Vlad Yurlov Since 2015, Portland City Council has declared continuous housing emergencies….
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Press Release: Cascade Policy Institute Offers Straightforward Solutions to Oregon’s Homeless Crisis
January 22, 2021 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Media Contacts: Eric Fruits, Ph.D.Office: (503) 242-0900eric@cascadepolicy.org…
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Homelessness in the Portland Region
Some straightforward solutions to a complex problem By Eric Fruits, Ph.D. and Vlad…
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Willamette Cove Is the Reset Button Metro Needs
By Helen Doran What does an old industrial site from World War II…
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Why are we still paying a “temporary” energy tax 19 years later?
By John A. Chalres. Jr. Every month when you pay your electricity bill,…
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Portland’s toxic taxes will do little for clean air
By Rachel Dawson In the middle of a worldwide pandemic that has decimated…
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Oregon’s new cigarette taxes will hurt, not help, low-income residents
By Rachel Dawson Oregon couldn’t let a new year commence without the rollout…
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Employers Are Left With the Bill After Lockdowns
By Vlad Yurlov When businesses fail, they shut down. But when the government…
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Portland Has Highest Income Taxes in the U.S.: Are We Getting Our Money’s Worth?
By Eric Fruits, Ph.D. This year, Oregon passed a major milestone. In 2020,…
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