Don’t Kick the Kicker
Now that Oregon’s economy is finally showing signs of life, we are again…
Read Blog DetailThe forgotten Thanksgiving lesson
Thanksgiving is the quintessential American holiday. We learned in grade school that it…
Read Blog DetailThe 65 percent solution
Can states solve their public education problems by directing a higher percentage of…
Read Blog DetailProsperity or Portland?
Remove Portland’s Business Income Tax to improve the city’s economy Summary The City…
Read Blog DetailThe Case for Price Gouging
Summary Proposed legislation against “price gouging” is a bad idea. Rising prices in…
Read Blog DetailThe Convention Center Hotel Hustle
The Portland Development Commission is close to spending millions of public dollars to…
Read Blog DetailFreedom Fuel: How and Why Biodiesel Policy Should Reflect Freedom
Two years ago my family began making our own homemade diesel out of…
Read Blog DetailKatrina’s children
Hurricane Katrina’s 372,000 displaced school children have become pawns in a political game…
Read Blog DetailHow Not to Fight Meth
Oregon recently became the first state to require prescriptions for medications whose ingredients…
Read Blog DetailMeth laws need a good dose of sanity
Summary Oregon is repeating Prohibition-era mistakes with the state’s new meth laws. Regulating…
Read Blog DetailSuspending Flawed Policy in Katrina’s Wake
Hurricane Katrina’s devastation is throwing a spotlight on federal regulations that could get…
Read Blog DetailThe Wapato Refugee Center
Multnomah County Sheriff Bernie Guisto has suggested using the new and unused Wapato…
Read Blog DetailNot with my money
Imagine your door bell ringing at dinner time. It’s a politician asking for…
Read Blog DetailOregonians Are Losers
Willamette Week recently touted Oregon’s congressional delegation as “winners” for bringing home $2.7…
Read Blog DetailIn Defense of Wal-Mart
Recently, there has been a lot of debate around Wal-Mart’s plans to open…
Read Blog DetailSubsidized Science
This week US Senate Majority leader Bill Frist took a position in favor…
Read Blog DetailFreedom requires real free markets
Summary A Fourth of July flea market is a fitting celebration for the…
Read Blog DetailLegislators: Go Home!
This week, the Oregon State Legislature will meet for the 200th calendar day…
Read Blog DetailSocialized Medicine: A powerful symbol of national identity?
Summary Canada’s single-payer health care system was dealt a near-fatal blow in June…
Read Blog DetailHybrid Tax Credits Promote Inefficiency
Companies buying hybrid gas-electric cars might be saving more on their taxes than…
Read Blog DetailForcing people to be good
Summary Proponents of new and more extensive laws against discrimination seem to lack…
Read Blog DetailSun City Retirements
A recent front-page photograph in The Oregonian featured two retired public school teachers,…
Read Blog DetailThe Lost Liberty Hotel
Government action often has unintended negative consequences. Of course, these consequences are generally…
Read Blog DetailA License to Kill (Competition)
Summary Occupational licensing boards often make licensing requirements arbitrarily difficult, limiting the competition…
Read Blog DetailIs Your Home Up For Grabs?
Last week “the Supreme Court put a big UP FOR GRABS sign on…
Read Blog DetailCongress Tilts at Windmills
Last Thursday, the Senate approved an energy plan requiring large utilities to generate…
Read Blog DetailOregon Unemployment Insurance Overpayments
Summary Fraudulent unemployment insurance claims cost Oregon taxpayers $76.3 million in 2003, or…
Read Blog DetailCourt Faults Canadian Health Care System
The Canadian Supreme Court recently dealt a serious blow to the notion that…
Read Blog DetailPortland Business Tax Unfair
Last year, Inc. magazine rated Portland the nation’s eighth worst metro area in…
Read Blog DetailTaxing Business Taxes Us
Critics are complaining that corporations pay less than their fare share of taxes…
Read Blog DetailTime for Social Security Reform is Now
As the debate over Social Security reform heats up, one area of disagreement…
Read Blog DetailTreat all businesses as special
Oregon food processors are the latest business interests flocking to Salem seeking tax…
Read Blog DetailMust this Teacher be Fired?
Summary Oregon’s teacher certification process keeps accomplished individuals from teaching their subjects in…
Read Blog DetailBuy Local First?
The opposition to globalization and free trade is now evident in a new…
Read Blog DetailDon’t Tax Broadcasters
Not too many years ago, the Public Broadcasting Service asked this provocative question:…
Read Blog DetailDeconsolidate Oregon’s School Districts
Summary Consolidating school districts sounds like a good idea, but in reality costs…
Read Blog DetailPrice Gouging is Not the Problem
Summary Imposing price controls to protect consumers is one of the worst things…
Read Blog DetailThe $13,000 Student
It’s not hard to understand why many parents and students believe that Oregon’s…
Read Blog DetailProperty Rights Defended Before Court
The U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments today in a case that will…
Read Blog DetailBigger Isn’t More Efficient
Oregon’s Education Service Districts administer state and federal programs and provide services such…
Read Blog DetailDoes Oregon Deserve a D in Money Management?
A new national report card funded by the Pew Charitable Trusts finds that…
Read Blog DetailPublic School Monopoly Fails Latino Children
Summary Both nationwide and in Oregon, Latino students score far below their white…
Read Blog DetailGive Workers the Choice to Save
If no changes are made to the Social Security system, it will be…
Read Blog DetailCredibility Must Be Earned
Everyone agrees that the Oregon Legislature has a credibility problem. The Oregonian described…
Read Blog DetailJob Seekers Need Wheels to Wealth
Summary Many public policies are designed to “get people out of their cars,”…
Read Blog DetailDo Schools Need More Money?
Click here to read the report in PDF format The most pervasive…
Read Blog DetailBetter, Cheaper Health care for Oregonians
Click here to read the full report in PDF format As the…
Read Blog DetailWho know public schools best?
Test scores are one way to judge our public schools. But no one…
Read Blog DetailHow Does Oregon Government Spending Rank? Ideas for Budget Stability
Summary This report updates and expands on a previous Cascade Policy Institute report…
Read Blog DetailWho is Bankrupting America?
Click here to read the report in PDF format Conventional wisdom tells…
Read Blog DetailDe-politicizing Science
Politicians often use science as a source of statements to place their policy…
Read Blog DetailA Major Victory for Property Rights
Property rights — and liberty — were victorious on July 30th when the…
Read Blog DetailSmall Loans Make a Big Difference
A new tool for helping the poor is proving effective around the world….
Read Blog DetailRecall the Multnomah Income Tax?
In 2003, Portland and Multnomah County politicians cried crisis and pushed a new…
Read Blog DetailCharter School: Better Results for Less
Many public school supporters blame poor academic results on stingy taxpayers. On July…
Read Blog DetailFailing Grade for PSU and Light Rail
On Thursday, July 8, a Metro committee will finalize the funding plan for…
Read Blog DetailAboard the Starship Private Enterprise
Last Monday, an historic event occurred in the skies over the Mojave Desert….
Read Blog DetailGet with the Times: Sell SAIF
Recent revelations about SAIF Corporation have caused some to demand that the state…
Read Blog DetailOne Small Step for Property Rights
Last week, the Portland City Council adopted a plan to build and finance…
Read Blog DetailFiscally Responsible Democrats
We should applaud the demise of an Oregon Legislative Special Session for one…
Read Blog DetailFound: 162 million education dollars
People who argue that Oregon’s public schools need more tax dollars lost another…
Read Blog DetailDoor to door transit for less
On May 1, Portland’s North Interstate light rail line opened for business. The…
Read Blog DetailSmall step for the OLCC, giant step for liberty
In April, the Oregon Liquor Control Commission (OLCC) announced a two-year pilot project…
Read Blog DetailSeparation of electrical and political power
Even after voters soundly rejected a government takeover of Portland General Electric, Portland…
Read Blog DetailPower of the purse accountability
Bob Williams, president of the Evergreen Freedom Foundation, once served as a Washington…
Read Blog DetailPrioritize police, privatize entertainment
For the 2004-05 city budget, Portland Mayor Vera Katz proposes hiring 20 police…
Read Blog DetailThe benefits of outsourcing
Oregon finds itself in the middle of one of this year’s hottest presidential…
Read Blog DetailClueless in Portland
Earlier this month, Portland was designated by Inc. magazine as the eighth worst…
Read Blog DetailNo crystal ball for jobs
Federal job retraining programs ended up helping only 44 percent of the Oregonians…
Read Blog DetailChoosing children over teachers unions
While the D.C. school system spends more per pupil than most US cities,…
Read Blog DetailWhy is government in the marriage business?
Oregonians are busy debating whether the state should approve same-sex marriages. The better…
Read Blog DetailThe Field of Schemes
Paul Allen owns the Portland Trail Blazers and has privately funded the team…
Read Blog DetailReservations anyone?
The Portland Development Commission (PDC) just rejected the only Convention Center hotel proposal…
Read Blog DetailTobacco tax shakedown
Public health nannies complain that the defeat of Measure 30 reduced Oregon’s tobacco…
Read Blog DetailTruth in taxation and an educated, active citizenry
Various groups are organizing tax reform meetings throughout the state. The big question:…
Read Blog DetailAfter Measure 30: A first step toward fiscal responsibility
Voters did more than reject a big tax package on Tuesday, they gave…
Read Blog DetailThe high cost of transit math
Last week we discovered that the Washington County commuter rail line, which is…
Read Blog DetailLower taxes strengthen the economy
Some folks are pushing higher taxes in Oregon as a way to strengthen…
Read Blog DetailLower spending will balance the budget
Oregonians will soon vote on the legislature’s $1 billion tax package. Because this…
Read Blog DetailThe myth of under-investment in public schools
Sharon Kitzhaber was interviewed for the Dec. 24, 2003 Willamette Week. The former…
Read Blog DetailCan-do unions compete to reduce cost of government
Union workers in Patient Business Services at Oregon Health & Sciences University (OHSU)…
Read Blog DetailDo you believe in Santa Claus?
Do you believe in Santa Claus? By the time most of us stop…
Read Blog DetailHalfway There: Measure 5 and the Road Ahead
Preface Watershed events often become dividing lines in history. Twenty-five years ago, Californians…
Read Blog DetailODOT embraces congestion
The Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) just announced its intention to increase traffic…
Read Blog DetailTo build a greater sense of community
Until the February 3, 2004 vote on recalling the legislature’s $1 billion tax…
Read Blog DetailImproving Public Schools Requires Changing the System
Despite reform efforts, school performance is improving slowly, if at all, and continues…
Read Blog DetailCan you hear us now?
As Yogi Bera said, “this is like deja vu all over again.” Last…
Read Blog DetailAttorney General begs for more federal regulation
On October 23 the Attorneys General for 12 states, including Oregon, joined with…
Read Blog DetailDoctors cut prices!
A movement is afoot that is driving health care costs down. Among the…
Read Blog DetailEminent domain can’t pay for memories
At 70-years old, Bob Lowery isn’t anxious to sell the home he and…
Read Blog DetailOregon’s hunger ranking: Much ado about nothing
Oregon can no longer claim the dubious honor of being the “hungriest state…
Read Blog DetailWhy are health care costs going down?
People are becoming smart shoppers when it comes to health care. That’s helping…
Read Blog DetailWho’s responsible for your children’s education?
Who is responsible for your children’s education? One hundred fifty years ago the…
Read Blog DetailThe gridlocking of Portland
Last week the Texas Transportation Institute released its annual congestion rankings, and named…
Read Blog DetailDo I hear $75,000? $65,000 plus benefits?
Competitive bidding has been successfully employed around the world to help reduce the…
Read Blog DetailHow unfriendly to small business can Oregon get?
The Small Business Survival Committee just released its 2003 Small Business Survival Index,…
Read Blog DetailCheck your wallets
During the 2003 session of the Oregon legislature, TriMet submitted legislation authorizing the…
Read Blog DetailThe Mythical World of Transit-Oriented Development: Steele Park in Washington County, Oregon
Introduction During the past decade, Portland-area planners have embraced Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) as…
Read Blog DetailA fine-tooth budgetary comb
On September 9, Alabama voters rejected a $1.2 billion tax increase. Some 67…
Read Blog DetailFreedom to trade promotes peace
When goods don’t cross borders, armies will, warned 18th Century French statesman Frederic…
Read Blog Detail