Cascade CounterPoint

Joe Rogan, the outspoken commenter, comedian, and host, announced on a recent episode of his popular podcast, “The Joe Rogan Experience,” that he would be moving to Texas in search of less homelessness, less taxes, and a little bit more freedom. Rogan will be bringing his business that recently signed a 100-million-dollar deal with Spotify, too. The move to the Lone Star state will save Rogan and...

Once again, Oregon’s legislature has succumbed to shortsighted politics. Effective June 30, House Bill 4213 prohibits landlords from evicting tenants due to nonpayment until next April, regardless of their circumstances. Of course, there could be many reasons tenants might not pay their rent. One of the most pressing is Oregon’s lockdown policy, which effectively prohibited many businesses and ent...

Last week, the United States officially surpassed 4 million documented coronavirus cases. With only a few weeks before students return to school, parents in Oregon are scrambling to find—or create—a safe and effective learning environment for their children. Of the options available, some parents believe they have found the best solution for their family with micro-schools. Micro-schools are small...

TriMet’s weekly system boardings were down 68% in May compared to last year due to the Coronavirus, and ridership will likely stay down since the CDC is recommending that people avoid transit altogether. But it’s not just the pandemic; ridership has been dropping for years. TriMet’s revenues have increased by 171 percent since 2000, while the agency’s ridership (number of originating rides) has in...

Listen to Cascade's Policy Analyst, Vlad Yurlov, advise in a July 16th testimony against Metro's Get Moving 2020 measure, which will now be referred to the voters on the November ballot.  Learn more about this policy issue at cascadepolicy.org or by emailing info@cascadepolicy.org.

On March 16, Governor Kate Brown directed Oregon schools to stop in-person classes to slow the spread of COVID-19. Facing an uncertain future for “brick and mortar” schooling,  300  Oregon students completed the process to transfer to one of Oregon’s 14 online charter schools. Eleven days after the shutdown of in-person schools, the Oregon Department of Education (ODE) prevented addition...

Listen to Dr. Bill Conerly's May 14th Policy Picnic presentation,  "Oregon’s Policy Response to the COVID Pandemic (or What Would Friedrich Hayek Say about Kate Brown’s Shelter-in-Place Order?)" Dr. Bill Conerly is an Oregon economist with a global reputation. He is a Senior Contributor to Forbes with a Duke University Ph. D. As a consultant, he connects the dots between the economy and busin...

On June 25th, Metro approved $700,000 in taxpayer money for what is best entitled a nice sentiment: Metro’s Nature in Neighborhoods program. The program hopes to improve water quality and wildlife habitats through grants to local organizations that promote racial and cultural equality. But the program has a serious flaw: Success is not easily measured, despite the large amount of taxpayer dollars...

Listen to Rachel's June 30th presentation, "Grid Reliability and Resource Adequacy in the Northwest:" Multiple coal plants will be decommissioned over the next decade, with Oregon's only coal plant closing at the end of 2020 . This means that thousands of megawatts of reliable power will be taken off the grid and "brownouts" could occur as soon as this year. Instead of replacing the lost megawatts...

On July 1st, the Portland area’s minimum wage will increase from $12.50 per hour to $13.25. This wage increase is part of a multi-year phase-in of Oregon’s three-tiered minimum wage law , passed by the State Legislature in 2016. Andy Ricker, Michelin star chef and owner of Portland’s Pok Pok restaurant, foresaw the adverse effects of raising the minimum wage in 2016 when he told the Portland Busin...

By Kathryn Hickock The U.S. Supreme Court ruled June 30 in Espinoza v. Montana Department of Revenue that states’ school choice laws may not discriminate against religiously affiliated schools. Montana’s tax credit scholarship program, passed in 2015, enabled families to send their children to the private schools of their choice. The program was ruled unconstitutional by the Montana Supreme Court...

Alcohol-lovers may have a reason for a toast. Oregon’s Liquor Control Commission is taking steps to decrease regulations on sellers, thereby expanding economic opportunity in the food and beverage industry, which was hit particularly hard by the COVID-19 crisis. Alcohol sales are tightly controlled by the OLCC, which imposes stringent rules on individuals and businesses before, during, and after a...

George Floyd’s tragic death has led to growing calls for changes to antiquated policing systems. The recent protests asking for police reform over these past few weeks have caused many families to question the systemic discrimination that is hardwired into the assignment of students to public schools. Census data reports U.S. spending per student has nearly tripled since 1960—and that’s after acco...

School choice has been increasing in popularity with parents for years. Education policies that give parents more options for their kids have been trending positively across most demographics. Now, a late-April poll conducted by Heart + Mind Strategies reports that a majority of parents are considering changing their children’s future school enrollment. Parents were asked: “Has the impact of coron...

When it comes to commuting during COVID-19, private vehicles are coming out well ahead of mass transit. The Center for Disease Control has stated that cars are a better option than transit during the crisis and has even suggested that businesses offer their employees incentives to “use forms of transportation that minimize close contact with others,” such as driving alone or biking. TriMet is seei...