Miss Virginia
By Miranda Bonifield Virginia Walden Ford is a mom whose extraordinary sacrifice and…
Read Blog DetailTag: cascade Policy Institute
Voters Should Reject Ballot Measure 26-203
By Eric Fruits, Ph.D. By now, Oregon voters have received their ballots for…
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Enough Is Enough: Voters Should Reject Metro’s Bond Measure
By Eric Fruits, Ph.D. By now Oregon voters have received their ballots for…
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Metro’s Housing Philosophy is Political, Not Practical
By Miranda Bonifield Metro’s attempts to provide low-income public housing since last year’s…
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Press Release: Cascade Policy Institute Publishes Comprehensive Study of Metro’s Parks and Nature Program
October 15, 2019 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Media Contacts: John A. Charles, Jr. Eric…
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Like Other MAX Projects, TriMet’s Green Line Underdelivers at 10th Anniversary
By Rachel Dawson TriMet has proven time and again that it is unable…
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TriMet Broke Key Promises About MAX
Published in Portland Tribune By Rachel Dawson TriMet’s payroll tax has been increasing…
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Oregon Distilleries Deserve Better
By Helen Cook Oregon has a booming craft distilling industry. That’s why it’s…
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Shrinking Roads and Rising Fatalities Don’t Bode Well for Portland’s Vision Zero
By Rachel Dawson Portland hasn’t seen 50 road fatalities since 1996. With 43…
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Where Is Our Metro Park at Chehalem Ridge?
By Helen Cook This summer, I was walking on an old logging road…
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Dumbing Down Voters
By John A. Charles, Jr. In 2016 Val Hoyle, then a legislator from…
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Portland’s Rising Bills are Purposeful Accidents
By Eric Fruits, Ph.D. Portland City Council has just learned that what it…
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The MAX Yellow Line: A Look Back After 15 Years
By Rachel Dawson TriMet’s MAX Yellow Line first opened 15 years ago in…
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Cascade Policy Institute Presents a Special Event with Economist Stephen Moore
Join Cascade Policy Institute for a conversation with economist Stephen Moore. This special…
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Better Buses May Be the Transit Solution the SW Corridor Needs
By Rachel Dawson TriMet may have found a better alternative to the proposed…
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Portland’s Temporary Gas Tax Should Stay Just That
By Rachel Dawson Portland’s temporary gas tax should stay just that: temporary. Portland…
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Residents Say Portland is Not the City that Works
By Eric Fruits, Ph.D. What if the self-proclaimed “City that Works” isn’t working?…
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Stop Raising Rents in Portland
By Micah Perry On Wednesday, August 7, 2019, the Portland City Council passed…
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The Government-Sanctioned Cat-And-Mouse Game
By Vlad Yurlov Governments often try to pat themselves on the back. The…
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Congestion Pricing in Portland: Good in Theory, Bad in Practice
By Eric Fruits, Ph.D. “Good in theory, bad in practice.” Sure, it’s a…
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Metro: Where Temporary Means Forever
By Rachel Dawson Milton Friedman once famously said that “nothing is more permanent…
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Portland’s City Council Wants Rent to Go Up
By Micah Perry The Portland City Council recently passed a new ordinance that…
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Oregon Distilleries Deserve Better
By Helen Cook How much would you be willing to pay in taxes…
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Think TriMet’s New Electric Buses Run on Wind Power? Think Again.
By Rachel Dawson TriMet unveiled five new battery-electric buses (BEBs) in April 2019,…
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Charter Schools Create Diverse Choices for Students with Different Needs
By Miranda Bonifield Parents know the educational needs of their children are as…
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WES at 10: Time to Admit Failure
By John A. Charles, Jr. TriMet recently marked the ten-year anniversary of the…
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You and Your Car: Portland Public Enemy No. 1
By Micah Perry Driving around Portland could get a lot more expensive. The…
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Congestion by Design on the New Sellwood Bridge
By John A. Charles, Jr. Portland-area motorists who have to regularly cross the…
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Fresh Spinach for Indifferent Students: Oregon’s Costly Farm-to-School Program
By Helen Cook When did you last hear a child profess his love…
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Portland’s Clean Energy Tax: A High Cost with Low Benefit
By Rachel Dawson In January 2019 the City of Portland implemented a voter-approved…
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Public Debt for Public Housing
By Vlad Yurlov In the 2018 general election, voters approved a bond measure…
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Portland’s Ill-Considered Climate Action Tax
By Micah Perry Last fall, Portland voters approved a new 1% tax on…
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Oregon Legislator to Oregon Business: “Let ‘em Leave!”
By Eric Fruits, Ph.D. “Let ’em leave. Someone else’ll come in.” That was…
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SW Corridor Project: A Net Negative for the Environment
By John A. Charles, Jr. Portland politicians claim to be concerned about carbon…
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The New Sellwood Bridge: Promises Unfulfilled
By John A. Charles. Jr. Executive Summary Portland has an international reputation for…
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Press Release: Multi-year case study of Multnomah County’s Sellwood Bridge explains the history behind worsening traffic congestion in the SE Portland bridge corridor
June 6, 2019 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Media Contact: John A. Charles, Jr. 503-242-0900…
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Testimony of Kathryn Hickok Before the Senate Education Committee Regarding SB 668 Education Savings Accounts
June 5, 2019 Chair Wagner and Members of the Committee, my name is…
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Metro Transportation Funding Task Force Testimony
By John A. Charles, Jr. At the last meeting, there was a fair…
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Carbon Regulation: Another Legislative Circus
By John A. Charles, Jr. According to the state’s Global Warming Commission, Oregon…
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Is Oregon Really “Disinvesting” in Education?
By Eric Fruits, Ph.D. The Portland Association of Teachers declares Oregon has suffered…
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Education Savings Accounts Give Parents the Power of Choice in K-12 Education
By Kathryn Hickok This month, the Tennessee legislature passed a new Education Savings…
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Tennessee’s New Education Savings Account Law Puts More Parents in the “Driver’s Seat” of Their Kids’ Education
By Kathryn Hickok This month Tennessee enacted a new Education Savings Account (ESA)…
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Why Record-Breaking Revenues Aren’t Enough
By Eric Fruits, Ph.D. This week, Oregon is facing a one-day teacher strike,…
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May 8 Should Be Declared “Fix PERS Now Day”
By Eric Fruits, Ph.D. The Oregon Education Association is organizing a statewide walk-out…
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Florida Legislature Gives 18,000 More Children the Chance for a Great Education
By Kathryn Hickok This week, the Florida legislature passed a bill that would…
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A Trio of Terrible Bills for Oregon Employers
By Eric Fruits, Ph.D. Apparently, there is no limit to the Oregon legislature’s…
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Wind Energy is Just Hot Air
By Miranda Bonifield TriMet recently announced its first “zero-emission” bus is ready to…
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There’s No Such Thing As a Free Government
By Miranda Bonifield April 16 was the first day of 2019 where the…
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Testimony Before the Joint Subcommittee on Capital Construction HB 5005
By John A. Charles, Jr. Members of the subcommittee, my name is John…
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Road Widening, Congestion Pricing Can Improve Metro-Area Drive Times
By Eric Fruits, Ph.D. I’ve got a big family, which means we do…
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Portland’s Affordable Housing Bond: Nothing for Money
By Eric Fruits, Ph.D. Remember that song about getting money for nothing? In…
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Read My Lips: Metro’s Promises Are Doubtful at Best
By Miranda Bonifield There’s nothing so permanent as a temporary government program, and…
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Free to Choose with Freedom Scholarships
By Miranda Bonifield School choice made a splash in the headlines last month…
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Oregon Taxpayers Can’t Celebrate $146 Million Debt Service on the Elliott State Forest
By John A. Charles, Jr. This week our State Treasurer, Tobias Read, issued…
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What’s Causing Oregon’s “Housing Affordability Crisis”?
By Miranda Bonifield Here’s a question for you: Why is housing so expensive…
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Cultivating Educational Choice with Education Savings Accounts
By Miranda Bonifield A Portland public school made headlines last week for offering…
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Local News Brings Accountability to Local Government
By Eric Fruits, Ph.D. Fake news is bad, but no news is even…
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Testimony Before the Transportation and Economic Development Subcommittee of Ways and Means Regarding HB 5039
By John A. Charles, Jr. Members of the Subcommittee, my name is John…
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Education Savings Accounts: A “Ticket to the Future” Today
By Kathryn Hickok Derrell Bradford has spent his adult life passionately advocating for…
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Our Most Pressing Environmental Crisis Is at Home
By Miranda Bonifield Oregon’s most pressing environmental crisis isn’t in forests or renewable…
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Metro’s Priorities Don’t Match Yours
By John A. Charles, Jr. The Portland regional government known as Metro recently…
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A Done Deal and a Bad Deal: Why Rent Control Won’t Solve the Housing Crisis
By Eric Fruits, Ph.D. Oregon will soon be the first state to have…
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Cap and Trade in Oregon: All Pain, No Gain
By Eric Fruits, Ph.D. The Oregon legislature is expected to pass a carbon cap-and-trade…
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Rent Control Is a Steal
By Miranda Bonifield Remember that emotional final episode of the now-classic sitcom Friends?…
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How Ride Hailing Services Can Complement Bus and Rail—and Save TriMet Money
By Eric Fruits, Ph.D. After teaching an evening class at Portland State University,…
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What’s at the Root of Oregon’s Rock-Bottom Graduation Rate?
By Kathryn Hickok Last week the National Foundation for Education Statistics released the…
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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 [email protected] PORTLAND, Ore….
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Taiko Drums, Jazz Choir to Perform at Salem School Fair during National School Choice Week
RSVP for FREE to Options in Education Fest – 2019 SALEM (Jan. 11,…
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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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Ride-Hailing Could Give an Uber-Needed Lyft to TriMet Service
By Miranda Bonifield TriMet’s ridership has been steadily declining in recent years, to…
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Annual School Choice Week Celebrates K-12 Education Options
By Kathryn Hickok Every January, National School Choice Week shines a spotlight on…
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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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Ride Hailing as a Solution to TriMet’s High-Cost Bus Lines
A Proposal for a Pilot Project By Eric Fruits, Ph.D. Summary and recommendation…
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A Proposal To Generate Adequate Returns From Common School Trust Lands
By Eric Fruits, Ph.D. Summary of Conclusions Across the Western States, approximately 80…
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Proof by Assertion
By John A. Charles, Jr. Many Portland drivers probably wonder why there are…
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More Spending Won’t Solve Educational Woes
By Miranda Bonifield Increasing funding to Oregon’s school system may seem like an…
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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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Lessons in Education from Gandalf the Grey
By Miranda Bonifield Cascade Policy Institute has supported parental choice in K-12 education…
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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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School Choice Improves Student Mental Health
By Miranda Bonifield If you’ve done your homework on school choice, you know…
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The Story Behind Thanksgiving That Every Elected Official Should Know
By Kathryn Hickok The quintessential American holiday, Thanksgiving evolved from the Pilgrims’ celebrations…
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TriMet’s New Electric Buses Will Be Less Reliable, More Costly
By John A. Charles, Jr. The TriMet board recently voted to replace the…
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Survey Shows Florida Scholarship Parents Are Overwhelmingly Satisfied with Their Children’s Schools
By Kathryn Hickok Florida’s Tax Credit Scholarship Program currently helps more than a…
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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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Watch “School Choice Changes Lives!” Online Now
By Steve Buckstein On September 25, Cascade Policy Institute and its School Choice…
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Kate Brown’s Environmental Showmanship Has No Substance
By John A. Charles, Jr. Governor Kate Brown has announced a legislative proposal…
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Oregon Parents Need More Options for Children with Learning Challenges
By Miranda Bonifield For students born with learning disorders like dyslexia, learning to…
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Can School Choice Change Lives?
By Steve Buckstein Can School Choice Change Lives? Join Cascade Policy Institute and…
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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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Better Forest Management Can Prevent Oregon WIldfires
By Justus Armstrong Wildfires in Oregon this summer have burned thousands of acres,…
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Moving in the Wrong Direction
By Jakob Puckett Oregonians have a proud tradition of giving back to distinguished…
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Reform of Oregon’s Foster Care System Is Long Overdue
By Justus Armstrong Are we failing Oregon’s foster kids? A January audit from…
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When Did ODOT Become a Consumer Advocate?
By Jakob Puckett Do you need to be protected from your own judgment?…
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Missing from Mayor Wheeler’s Homelessness Program: Long-Term Independence
By Rachel Dawson Give a man a fish and you feed him for…
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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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