Cascade CounterPoint

Should we breach Northwest hydropower dams to replenish native fish species on the Columbia or continue benefiting from hydro’s cheap and reliable power? With the innovative Whooshh Fish Passage System , our region wouldn’t have to choose between the two. And, yes, the company is really called “Whoosh.” The system is set up alongside dams to help fish reach their spawning grounds. It knows the fis...

The president of the National Education Association recently said she does not expect schools to be back to normal in the fall . “We still have a lot of questions,” she concluded. For many Oregon parents, the thought of some form of distancing learning in the fall is the last straw, especially as school leaders hesitate to promise a full-time return . Despite mounting pressure from parents, Oregon...

Bad legislation often hides in “tweaks” and what sponsors call “housekeeping” measures. Oregon House Bill 2419 and Senate Bill 493 are two examples. With just a few words, the bills tweak Oregon’s formula for calculating prevailing wages throughout the state. Their results would increase costs for nearly every public works project in the state with no end in sight. The prevailing wage is the rate...

As Oregon students return to the classrooms, watch out for a new fad that could make our state’s academic performance even worse. That fad is known as the “four day school week.” Oregon is one of only nine states that allows four day school weeks and more than 130 districts operate on a four-day schedule. Post-pandemic that number is sure to climb. Many teachers and administrators like that it pro...

Every student deserves access to a quality education. Despite the setbacks caused by closing public school buildings, many Oregon students were already struggling to succeed in the public school system before the pandemic. According to the National Association of Education Progress, only 34% of Oregon fourth-graders tested “proficient” in reading in 2019. Moreover, Oregon continues to have one of...

For 30 years, the Portland metro region has dutifully followed Oregon’s Transportation Planning Rule. By attempting to “manage demand” instead of building new capacity for automobiles, the region has some of the worst congestion in the country. Learn more at cascadepolicy.org.

It’s a bad sign when businesses need to fortify their storefronts to survive. But after the pandemic and lockdowns shuttered many Portland businesses, spiraling crime rates added to the damage. The Portland Police Bureau reports burglary and vandalism are up 35% over the past year. Reported arsons doubled. Eager to re-open, many businesses are trying to beef up security by installing gates and mor...

Last week, Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum’s office reached a settlement with four hotels over price gouging during last year’s wildfires. The hotels have to pay more than $100,000 to the state. In addition, they have to reimburse more than a hundred families for their hotel costs. Laws against price gouging are about as old as the price system itself. But these laws miss the entire point...

In 1991, Oregon adopted a goal of reducing vehicle miles traveled by 20% over a 30-year period. Proponents claimed that such a reduction would improve air quality, increase demand for public transit, reduce the rate of global warming, lower traffic-related fatalities, and help improve the livability of cities. The 30-year clock is running out, and it's clear that the original goal will not be met....

Oregon has always been a national leader in providing clean energy to ratepayers due to our hydroelectric dominated energy portfolio. In 2018, around 54% of Oregon’s electricity use resource mix was zero-emitting. The current renewable portfolio standard (RPS) does not reflect this reality. Oregon’s RPS was established in 2007 and created a requirement for how much of our electricity must come fro...

Why is “affordable housing” so expensive? Many politicians, bureaucrats, and affordable housing advocates treat the question as one of life’s many mysteries. But it’s really not that mysterious. Many regulations governing public projects add up, piece by piece, to affordable housing’s staggering price tags. Learn more at cascadepolicy.org or by emailing info@cascadepolicy.org.

Oregon is home to NuScale Power, the nation’s leading small modular nuclear reactor (SMR) developer. However, our state isn’t able to take advantage of NuScale’s innovative technology because it is illegal to site a nuclear plant in Oregon. Three bills being considered in Oregon’s current legislative session could change that. HB 2332 would repeal current legal provisions requiring that there be a...

If you thought hospital food was bland now, get ready to hear this. The Oregon Legislature is considering a bill that bans hospitals from serving bacon and every other salted, smoked, or cured meat. Because House Bill 2348 also requires hospitals to make plant-based food available, proponents argue that this is simply about promoting good health. But who’s to say that a room full of legislators kn...

Oregonians blame Californians for many of our state’s woes. They drive up our housing prices, crowd our roads, and import nanny-state policies like banning plastic bags, plastic straws, and styrofoam cups. Many Oregonians wish they’d just go back home. But what if the Golden State stopped sending us their residents? The short answer: We’re toast. Over the past two years, Californians accounted for...

With teachers’ unions slow-walking the governor’s guidance for reopening schools, it is looking more likely that many of Oregon’s largest school districts will not return to full-time in-person instruction for all students this year. In Cascade Policy Institute's February online Policy Picnic, Vice President of Research Dr. Eric Fruits argues that families should be compensated for the time and re...

Since 2015, Portland City Council has declared continuous housing emergencies. We’re now into the sixth year, and the City’s housing and homelessness crises are still in full swing. Yet nobody even knows where or how many shelter beds are available in the metro area. Cascade Policy Institute released a new report that offers straightforward solutions to the growing number of unsheltered homeless i...

A recent column published in Forbes has caused quite a stir. The editorial, by Oregon economist Bill Conerly, asks whether Portland is experiencing the death of a city. For months, the Oregonian, Willamette Week, and the Mercury have run articles reporting on business closures, vandalism, and rising violence. Yet, when Cascade Policy Institute’s chairman comments on these same things, the local me...

January 24-30 is National School Choice Week , the world’s largest celebration of parental choice in education and the diversity of options available to help today’s students learn. Since 2011, National School Choice Week has affirmed that “ every child deserves an effective, challenging, and motivating education .” “School choice” means empowering parents to choose the education options that are...

Learn more at cascadepolicy.org or by emailing info@cascadepolicy.org. Be sure to leave a review on iTunes! Despite its many “green” policies, the Portland region is attempting to solve its homelessness crisis by creating rather than reusing public resources. In response, Cascade Policy Institute’s latest report offers straightforward solutions that use public resources more effectively. Publicly-...

Learn more at cascadepolicy.org. Be sure to leave us a review on iTunes! In Metro’s latest quarterly newsletter, “Our Big Backyard,” the reader is invited to agree with Metro’s vision of nature on the condition that he or she keeps off Metro’s properties. Ways readers can have access to Metro’s “Big Backyard” are glaringly absent from the newsletter. In fact, a better title for the newsletter coul...

Learn more at cascadepolicy.org or by emailing info@cascadepolicy.org. Be sure to leave us a review on iTunes! Would you like to have a nice picnic near a garbage dump? How about a meeting? If Metro has its way, these are just some of the frills that will come attached to its newest waste facility. A new transfer station is being planned in Cornelius to expand waste management services to the west...

Learn more at cascadepolicy.org. Be sure to leave a review on iTunes! Oregon couldn’t let a new year commence without the rollout of a new tax increase. Voters passed Measure 108 last year which increases cigarette and cigar taxes and establishes a new tax on vaping products beginning January 1, 2021. The measure was approved by 65% of voters, likely because it was painted as an effort to reduce s...

Be sure to leave us a review on iTunes and share with friends! Learn more at cascadepolicy.org or by emailing info@cascadepolicy.org. When businesses fail, they shut down. But when the government shuts down businesses, it simply increases taxes. More than 85% of Oregon businesses will pay higher unemployment insurance rates in 2021. This is after lockdowns and restrictions forced their workers to...

If a homeless person asks you to find them shelter space, could you do it? It’s harder than you think. That’s because Portland lacks a key piece of a shelter system. No one knows which shelters have space or how much space is available. The first step in sheltering people is knowing where space exists. Without a tracking system, campsites spiral out of control, while their residents suffer. People...

As government-imposed shutdowns continue, more Oregonians are struggling to pay their electricity bills. Portland General Electric reported in June that arrears (when payment is 31 days past due or more) were up 41% compared to the same time last year. Economic hardship likely will persist for many people long after the COVID-19 vaccine is distributed. It’s clear that Oregon ratepayers need relief...