Rent Control Is a Steal
By Miranda Bonifield Remember that emotional final episode of the now-classic sitcom Friends?…
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Education Savings Accounts: Fiscal Analysis of a Proposed Universal ESA in Oregon
By Eric Fruits, Ph.D. Executive Summary Education Savings Accounts deposit a percentage of…
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More Money for Schools Is Meaningless Without Controlling PERS Costs
By John A. Charles, Jr. Several members of the Portland Public Schools Community…
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Press Release: Report shows Oregon’s “smart growth” policies make housing less affordable for Oregonians
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Media Contact: John A. Charles, Jr. 503-242-0900 john@cascadepolicy.org PORTLAND, Ore….
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The Housing Affordability Crisis: The Role of Anti-Sprawl Policy
By Randall Pozdena, Ph.D. Executive Summary So-called smart growth policies are advocated as…
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ODOT’s Passenger Rail Project Equals Increasing Costs, High Taxpayer Subsidies
By Justus Armstrong The Oregon Department of Transportation recently published its Tier 1…
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Prosper Portland’s Latest Business Grants Program Oversteps Again
By Justus Armstrong Should the City of Portland invest taxpayer money in local…
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QuickPoint! – “They Left Out Radio!” – The Human Genius Behind Economic Growth
By Kathryn Hickok Bull market? Bear market? Growth? Uncertainty? What does 2019 have…
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Fake Leadership
By John A. Charles, Jr. Governor Kate Brown’s proposed two-year general fund budget…
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Metro Should Let Transit Customers Drive Transportation Innovation
By Justus Armstrong ABC’s Shark Tank may be coming to the Portland region—not…
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Another Tax Increase from Kate Brown
By John A. Charles, Jr. Governor Kate Brown’s top health care administrator is…
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Metro’s Bond Measure 26-199 Raises Taxes on Homeowners, Requires No Accountability for Money Spent
By Miranda Bonifield Metro claims Measure 26-199 is designed to address affordable housing,…
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Electric Buses: Another Costly Fad
By John A. Charles, Jr. The TriMet Board recently approved a plan to…
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The Kicker Debate Continues
By Steve Buckstein Because of Oregon’s recent and projected strong economy, a personal “kicker”…
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Metro’s Poorly Thought-Out Grants Program
By Justus Armstrong Portland’s Metro Council plans to award grants for its Investment…
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23 Million Reasons for Metro to Repeal Its Construction Excise Tax
By Jakob Puckett How much do we have to tax something to make…
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Private Developers Leading the Way for Affordable Housing
By Rachel Dawson The Metro Council voted June 7 to place a housing…
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Metro’s Waste Reduction Program Lacks Direction and Accountability
By Justus Armstrong This October, the Portland-area Metro Council will award the first…
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Gov. Brown, lawmakers, unions decry court ruling / Published in News Channel KTVZ
SALEM, Ore. – Top Oregon Democrats, including Gov. Kate Brown and Sen. Jeff…
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Local unions rally against SCOTUS union decision / Published in KOIN
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Unions, and the people that make them up, headed…
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Supreme Court deals big setback to labor unions, local groups gather in Portland / Published in KATU
The Supreme Court issued a ruling in an Illinois labor case Wednesday that…
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Local unions react the ruling by the Supreme Court / Published in KVAL Eugene Oregon
EUGENE, Ore. – Top public employee unions in Oregon are less than pleased…
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Supreme Court Decisions Deals Blow to Labor Unions / Published in KAST 1370AM
The Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that government workers can’t be forced to contribute…
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Direct Primary Care Puts Patients First, Lowers Health Care Costs
By Justus Armstrong Could forgoing health insurance make health care more affordable? That’s…
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Is Metro’s Affordable Housing Plan Really That Affordable?
By Rachel Dawson The Metro City Council voted June 7 to place a…
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Time to Stop the PERS Pac-Man from Eating Teachers’ Salaries and Taxpayers’ Pocketbooks
By Steve Buckstein What do Pac-Man and public pensions have in common? An…
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How the PERS Pac-Man Eats Teacher Salaries
By Steve Buckstein and Kathryn Hickok What do Pac-Man and public pensions have…
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New Transportation Tax Is on the Wrong Side of History
By John A. Charles, Jr. Oregon employers began receiving notices this week regarding…
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Underestimating Public School Spending
By Steve Buckstein A 2017 national poll on education issues found, among other…
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Throwing Money at Homelessness Is a Failed Strategy
By John A. Charles, Jr. Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler hopes to spend $31…
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What’s Better for Low-Skilled Workers: Higher Minimum Wages or Lower Taxes?
By Kathryn Hickok What’s better for welfare recipients and low-skilled workers: a higher…
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End PERS—For a Day!
By Steve Buckstein Most Oregonians know that our state’s Public Employees Retirement System…
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TriMet Shows Public Pension Reform Is Possible
By John A. Charles, Jr. The Oregon legislature recently adjourned and once again…
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Study: School Trust income would go up by 600% if lands were sold
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Media Contact: John A. Charles, Jr. 503-242-0900 john@cascadepolicy.org PORTLAND, Ore….
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Oregon Small Businesses Deserve the Tax Break They Expected
By Steve Buckstein While most Americans are reaping the benefits of the recent…
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TriMet Shows That Public Pension Reform Is Possible
By Scott Shepard and John A. Charles, Jr. The Oregon Legislature is currently…
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Following in TriMet’s Tracks: Defined-Contribution Pensions a Necessary First Step to Oregon’s Fiscal Health
By Scott Shepard Scott Shepard is a lawyer and was a visiting law…
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If Health Care Becomes a “Fundamental Right,” Who Pays for It?
By Steve Buckstein The Oregon House of Representatives has voted for HJR 203,…
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Innovative Technology Can Reduce Tobacco Harm and Save Oregonians Tax Dollars
By Steve Buckstein To eventually end cigarette use in America, rather than rely…
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Poll Shows Voters Are Smarter Than Politicians Think
By John A. Charles, Jr. In November the regional government, Metro, released the…
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Measure 101 Deserves Your No Vote
By Steve Buckstein By now you should have your ballot for the January…
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Taxpayers Aren’t at Fault for Oregon’s Abysmal Graduation Rate
By Kathryn Hickok Willamette Week recently reported that, sadly, Oregon has the third-lowest…
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Don’t Allow the Skimming of Medicaid Funds for Unions
By Aaron Withe and Steve Buckstein Each year, hundreds of millions of dollars…
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Winning Is Not the Only Thing That Matters
By John A. Charles, Jr. Last Friday the Republican-controlled Senate passed a 479-page…
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Straightforward policy reforms can reverse Oregon’s lower-than-average incomes and high cost of living
By Eric Fruits, Ph.D. Oregon’s economy seems to be chugging along, yet many…
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Vote NO on Health Care Tax Measure 101
By Steve Buckstein Oregonians will have the opportunity in January to vote No…
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Metro’s New Plan to Keep Voters out of Chehalem Ridge Nature Park
By John A. Charles, Jr. On October 19 the Metro Council adopted an…
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When Is a Health Care Tax Not a Tax?
By Steve Buckstein Oregon state legislators who voted for you to pay higher…
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“Shuffling” Is for Playing Cards, Not School Kids
By Kathryn Hickok Portland Public Schools is redrawing the boundaries of more than…
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Too Late to Fix PERS by Fooling Oregonians
By Scott Shepard Governor Kate Brown’s task force, assigned to find ways to…
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Health Care Tax Would Hurt Middle Class
By Eric Fruits, Ph.D. Many Oregonians are now spending as much on health…
Read Blog DetailGovernor Brown Wants Oregonians to “Take One for the Global Team” over CO2
By John A. Charles, Jr. Oregon Governor Kate Brown has announced her intention…
Read Blog DetailWhose Money Is Your Oregon Kicker Refund?
By Steve Buckstein and Kathryn Hickok State economists have confirmed that individual Oregon…
Read Blog DetailCascade Policy Institute Endorses Referendum 301 to Stop New Health Care Taxes on Oregonians
August 2, 2017 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Media Contact: Steve Buckstein (503) 242-0900 steven@cascadepolicy.org…
Read Blog DetailOregon’s New Health Care Taxes Are Unjustifiable
By Lydia White Soon after the Oregon Legislature passed a bill expected to generate $550…
Read Blog DetailStop Health Care Taxes dot com
By Steve Buckstein The Oregon legislature just passed, and the Governor signed, a…
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Transportation Finance Isn’t as Complicated as Legislators Make It
By John A. Charles, Jr. Some members of the Oregon Legislature think you…
Read Blog DetailKicker Envy 2017
By Steve Buckstein Individual Oregon income taxpayers may receive kicker refunds when they…
Read Blog DetailOvertaxed and Underbuilt
By John A. Charles, Jr. An Oregon Legislative committee is proposing a massive…
Read Blog DetailOregon Legislature Should Make It Easier for Individuals to Enter the Landscaping Business
Below is a letter being distributed to all members of the Oregon House…
Read Blog DetailOregon Taxpayers, Not Riders, Pay Most Costs of Public Transit Operations
By John A. Charles, Jr. In a recent interview with the Portland Business…
Read Blog DetailHow Legislators Can Balance Oregon’s Budget—Without Raising Taxes
By Eric Fruits, Ph.D. Despite an eight percent increase in general fund revenues,…
Read Blog DetailThere’s Never Enough Money for Government
By John A. Charles, Jr. The news from Portland is that despite record…
Read Blog DetailMetro Should Dump the Garbage Tax
By Allison Coleman Portland-area voters just approved Ballot Measure 26-178, which imposes a…
Read Blog DetailPortland’s 100% Renewable Energy Claim Is “Greenwashing”
By Allison Coleman In 2001, the Portland City Council declared that by 2010,…
Read Blog DetailSomething’s Rotten in Metro’s Missing Garbage Tax Money
By John A. Charles, Jr. and Allison Coleman Metro is asking for a…
Read Blog DetailDoes Oregon Rank Dead Last in Corporate Taxes? NO
Trying to sell voters on the largest tax increase in Oregon history, Measure…
Read Blog DetailDoes Oregon Rank Dead Last in Corporate Taxes? NO
By Steve Buckstein Trying to sell voters on the largest tax increase in…
Read Blog Detail“The Rent Is Too Damn High!” — Why Rent Control Won’t Help
Once again, Portland led the nation this July with its home prices rising…
Read Blog DetailCascade Policy Institute Says NO to Measure 97
ELECTION RESULT: 59 percent of Oregon voters said NO to this sales tax…
Read Blog DetailMeasure 97: A $30 Billion Gamble Oregon Voters Shouldn’t Make
The massive gross receipts tax Measure 97 on Oregon’s November ballot (previously known…
Read Blog DetailOregonians Should Oppose Measure 97’s Regressive Taxation
The biggest proposed tax increase in Oregon history now has a measure number….
Read Blog DetailCascade Policy Institute Opposes Measure 97, the “Sales Tax on Steroids”
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Media Contact: Steve Buckstein steven@cascadepolicy.org 503-242-0900 PORTLAND, Ore. – Cascade…
Read Blog DetailLike a Sales Tax on Steroids
Now that the massive Gross Receipts Tax measure IP 28 will be on…
Read Blog DetailA Sales Tax by Any Other Name…
Public employee union backers of Initiative Petition 28 have turned in more than…
Read Blog DetailA Sales Tax by Any Other Name…
Public employee union backers of Initiative Petition 28 have turned in more than…
Read Blog DetailVoters Decided to Leave Themselves Stranded by the Side of the Road
In the month since voters in Austin, Texas upheld new city regulations on…
Read Blog DetailIf Gambling Is a Problem, Who Is Responsible?
Governor Kate Brown opposes a plan by the Coquille Indian Tribe to build…
Read Blog DetailA Sales Tax by Any Other Name
Public employee union backers of Initiative Petition 28 appear to have turned in…
Read Blog DetailNew Report: Transportation Funding Should Be a State and Local Responsibility
Study Finds That Transportation Funding Should Be a State and Local Responsibility May…
Read Blog DetailWho Profits from Gambling?
Governor Kate Brown opposes a plan by the Coquille Indian Tribe to build…
Read Blog DetailEnjoy the illusion that you’re not really paying taxes, when you cash that expensive refund check
Are you happy getting three extra days to file your income tax returns…
Read Blog DetailHow Much of the Year Do Your Taxes Cost?
If every penny earned since the beginning of the year went to pay…
Read Blog DetailNo Fake Emergencies
I’ve written and spoken about the damage that minimum wage laws do, not…
Read Blog DetailNot One Dollar More
The State of Oregon will sell 84,000 acres of the Elliott State Forest…
Read Blog DetailPolicy Picnic – February 25, 2016
Please join us for our monthly Policy Picnic led by Cascade President and CEO John A….
Read Blog DetailTaxpayers Bear the Risk of a Very Rich Oregon Public Employees Retirement System
By Randall Pozdena The Oregon Public Employees Retirement System (PERS) fund is, once…
Read Blog DetailU.S. Supreme Court Today Hears Teachers’ Case to Be Free from All Union Dues
The U.S. Supreme Court hears oral arguments this morning in the Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association case aimed at protecting the First Amendment rights of free speech and free association for public employees nationwide, including Oregon.
Read Blog DetailFreedom in Film: Becket (1964)
Film and stage legend Peter O’Toole died December 14, 2013, at age 81….
Read Blog DetailPortland Worries About Homelessness, While Metro Makes Housing Less Affordable
The Portland City Council has decided to allocate $20 million to solve a…
Read Blog DetailPolicy Picnic – September 16, 2015
Please join us for our monthly Policy Picnic led by Cascade guest speaker Herb Grey…
Read Blog DetailMost Teachers Oppose Mandatory Union Fees
A national education journal, EducationNext, has just released results of its annual poll…
Read Blog DetailPut Individual Rights Above Those of Powerful Unions
By the time the U.S. Supreme Court rules in the Friedrichs v. California…
Read Blog Detail“Right to Try” Is a Good First Step, Should Be Expanded
By Anna Mae Kersey Oregon House Bill 2300 gives terminally ill patients access…
Read Blog DetailTaking Leave of Sickness
By Maxford Nelsen A version of this article by Freedom Foundation labor policy…
Read Blog DetailPress Release – Should Charities Be Required to Disclose the Names of Donors?
June 12, 2015 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Media Contact: John A. Charles, Jr. 503-242-0900…
Read Blog DetailEvent Video – Do Citizens Have a Right to Privacy in Charitable Giving?
Cascade Policy Institute hosted a debate on the topic of donor privacy versus…
Read Blog DetailDon’t Steal the Kicker
Would you like to pay $284 less in Oregon personal income tax next…
Read Blog DetailA Generational Mistake
The Oregon Supreme Court last week struck down key 2013 legislative reforms to…
Read Blog DetailAmerica’s 2015 Tax Bill? It’s 31% of the Work Year
Tax Freedom Day arrives this year on April 24, six days later than…
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