Cascade CounterPoint

Full-text: For decades, Portland Public Schools (PPS) has tried to close the “achievement gap” between white and non-white students. “Race,” they wrote in their 2013 Racial Education Equity Policy , “must cease to be a predictor of student achievement and success.” To do this, they began dedicating 8% of their yearly budget to General Fund Equity. This fund has taken various forms, first as “actio...

Full-text: Two years ago, the Oregon Legislature passed House Bill 2021, which requires Oregon’s investor-owned electric utilities to phase out fossil fuels by 2040, producing all electricity from renewables—mostly wind and solar. But renewables have a problem: Wind and solar are notoriously unreliable. They must always depend on on-demand “dispatchable” resources, which in Oregon means natural ga...

Full-text: Last week the elected Auditor for Metro published a report showing that the agency misled voters when it promised that funds raised from the $475 million bond measure approved in 2019 would be used to make Metro’s nature parks more accessible to the public. It’s nice to see this concern validated by the Auditor, but it’s been obvious for decades that Metro was more interested in acquiri...

Full-text: Two weeks ago, Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler  announced  plans to give a 2.6% tax break to businesses threatening to leave Portland. This is a win for businesses and could encourage some to stay. But it may be too little, too late. Even after the worst of the pandemic, hundreds of businesses moved their headquarters out of Portland. And it’s not just businesses; people are fleeing, too. In...

Full-text: Three states recently expanded education options for K-12 students through school choice laws. States that are empowering families to find the right fit for their children’s educational needs are opening doors of opportunity for generations of students. In May, Nebraska passed the Opportunity Scholarship Act . The tax credit-funded program provides opportunities for children to attend p...

Full-text: “3000 SE Powell Boulevard” is the name of Home Forward’s 6-year-old low-income housing development with a massive expenditure: $87 million, $75 million of which came from government tax credits and bond monies. Burdened by building height and design constraints, soil contamination worries, and delayed materials delivery, the expected opening date has been pushed back to next winter. But...

Full-text: Most Republican members of the Oregon Senate have refused to participate in floor sessions since May 3, in a show of opposition to Democratic leadership. As a result, hundreds of bills are waiting for floor votes, which may never be taken before the mandatory adjournment date of June 25. While this is frustrating for legislative insiders, the average Oregonian probably doesn’t care. Mos...

Full-text: “More money, same result” is what Oregon’s Senate voted for this March. Now, the bill enters a different chamber, but faces a similar fate. If passed, Senate Bill 442 allows government contractors to grant preferences to in-state bidders if the “goods or services cost not more than five percent more than [out of state] goods or services.”   Normally, when the government uses taxpayer do...

Full-text: The Oregon Senate has come to a standstill over the past several weeks. Most Republican Senators are boycotting floor sessions due to objections about both policy and process. Media accounts have portrayed the missing Senators in a negative light, but voters should ask why the majority party has driven Republicans to such extreme measures. Democrats hold all the power, so only they can...

Full-text: Over the next five weeks, the Oregon legislature will decide whether to make a down payment of $1 billion to replace the I-5 Interstate Bridge connecting Portland with Vancouver, WA. The total cost of the bridge is unknown, but is estimated to be at least $6 billion. The legislature should reject this request. There is no immediate need to replace the Interstate Bridge. It has decades o...

Full-text: Two more states recently expanded their school choice programs, bringing the total number of states with universal or near-universal student eligibility to seven. In March, Florida became the fourth state this year to enact a universal school choice program for K-12 students. All Florida children now have the option to choose an Education Savings Account (ESA) funded at about $7,500 per...

Full-text: If you’re a Multnomah County homeowner, business owner, or have a retirement account, watch out for the May election. There’s a measure on the ballot that’s coming after you. Measure 26-238 imposes a capital gains tax on Multnomah County residents. If you sell your home, you will pay the tax on the increased value since you bought it. If you sell your small business, you will pay on the...

Full Text: Earlier this month, Oregon  lifted  its mask mandate for hospitals and other health care facilities. For many, it’s one of the last steps indicating the COVID-19 pandemic is behind us. But, it’s also a reminder that one state policy caused so much damage during the pandemic. That policy is Oregon’s “Certificate of Need” laws. If a health care provider wants to open a new facility or sig...

Full-text: While Oregonians are filling out their tax returns, their elected legislators are lining up some blow-out spending.   Last month, the Democratic co-chairs of the Legislature’s Ways and Means Committee unveiled a budget “ framework ” that proposes more than $6 billion in new general fund spending—a 24% increase from the last budget. The biggest increases are in K-12 education and human s...

Full text: Oregon’s economic engine is losing steam. For the second year in a row, Multnomah County lost population. The U.S. Census Bureau reports the county now has 21,000 fewer people than in 2020. In contrast, Clark County, Washington added more than 11,000 in population. It’s not an accident and it’s not a mystery. Over that time, housing prices in the Portland region have increased by 30%. B...

Full-text: Last November, voters in Arkansas elected Republican Sarah Huckabee Sanders as their new Governor. Oregonians elected Democrat Tina Kotek. On March 9, Gov. Huckabee Sanders signed the Arkansas LEARNS Act, her top legislative priority. The new law creates Educational Freedom Accounts for all K-12 students, to be phased in by 2026. Individuals choosing a Freedom Account will get 90% of wh...

Full-text: Cascade Policy Institute’s bill to make it easier for Oregon high school students to graduate early by passing the GED is getting a hearing this week. We hope you will reach out to the committee to voice your support for the bill. This Wednesday, March 8, the Oregon House Committee on Education will hold a hearing on HB 3068 . Currently, it is almost impossible for an Oregon high school...

Full-text: Last week’s snowstorm was more than a snow-pocalypse, it was a dystopian scene of the decline of Portland civil society. The storm snuck up on all of us. Because it came so quickly and so hard, many drivers had to abandon their vehicles on the side of the road. In response, the City of Portland announced not only would it tow those cars, they’d also ticket the owners for abandoning them...

Full-text: This next week is going to be a big week for Oregon’s off-the-rails tolling projects. On Tuesday, the feds released their “ Environmental Assessment ” for the I-205 tolls. On Friday, a statewide toll advisory committee is meeting. Next Monday, a regional toll advisory committee is meeting. In the Environment Assessment, the Oregon Department of Transportation reveals some eye-popping nu...

Full-text: What do spy balloons, a state liquor scandal, and Oregon road tolling have in common? The short answer is “not much”…except they are all examples of our government hiding stuff from us. And, when the government doesn’t want you to know what’s going on, it’s easy to assume the worst. Those balloons are definitely not space aliens. We need to face the fact that we’ve been spied on for yea...

Full text: At the end of last year, the Oregon Environmental Quality Commission adopted rules banning the sale of internal combustion cars by the year 2035. It’s not a stretch to say these rules will affect every single Oregon household and Oregon business. Many Oregonians outraged by the ban have asked, “How can they do that?” How they imposed the ban is even more outrageous than the ban itself....

Full-text: Cascade Policy Institute has released a new report evaluating the effect of an Education Savings Account program on local public school district budgets. “ Education Savings Accounts Can Boost Per-Student Spending in Public Schools ” examines funding for every Oregon school district. The report finds that if 5% of public-school students used an ESA program to transfer to schools outside...

Full-text: This is National School Choice Week , an annual celebration of opportunity in K-12 education. Students and families need more education options now. School choice means giving parents access to the best options for their children. Critics of school choice programs like Education Savings Accounts claim such programs would harm district public schools by reducing their state funding. Howe...

Full-text: January 22-28 is National School Choice Week , a celebration of opportunity in K-12 education. Every January, thousands of independent events draw attention to the ways school choice brings quality education to millions of students. Families increasingly believe parents should be able to choose among the schools and resources that best meet their children’s academic and developmental ne...

Full-text:  My, how time flies. Just last month, I warned you that Multnomah County was coming for your gas stove. Now the Biden Administration is looking at a nationwide ban on gas stoves. They claim it’s a consumer safety measure because gas stoves cause indoor air pollution. This is even though the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood, a comprehensive global study, foun...