Cascade CounterPoint

Full Text: The quintessential American holiday, Thanksgiving evolved from the Pilgrims’ celebrations to thank God for the harvests that saved Plymouth Colony. What most people didn’t learn in school is that nearly half the Mayflower Pilgrims died of starvation because many refused to work in the fields.

Plymouth Colony originally had a socialist economy. Land and crops were held in common. In the words of Governor William Bradford, “the young men who were most able objected to being forced to spend their time and strength working for other men’s wives and children without any recompense.” Collectivism incentivized colonists needlessly to rely on the efforts of others. Realizing this, Governor Bradford assigned each household its own plot of land. Families could keep what they produced or trade for things they needed. The result was a bountiful harvest in 1623.

Instituting private property and respecting the autonomy of the family unit caused Plymouth to survive. Collectivism and central planning produce scarcity. Private property, free markets, and personal responsibility lead to prosperity and plenty. A healthy economy, with strong and independent families, enables a community to help those who genuinely need assistance. All are important lessons for America today from William Bradford’s first Thanksgiving.

Full Text: Economist Milton Friedman passed away 15 years ago this week. In celebration of his life, I’d like to recount part of his interview with ultra-liberal talk show host Phil Donahue.

Donahue asked, “When you see the greed and the concentration of power, did you ever have a moment of doubt about capitalism and whether greed’s a good idea to run on?”

Quick as a wink, Friedman responded, “Is there some society you know that doesn’t run on greed? … What is greed? Of course none of us are greedy. It’s only the other fellow who’s greedy. The world runs on individuals pursuing their separate interests.”

The real zinger came later, when Friedman asked, “Is it really nobler to pursue political self-interest than economic self-interest? … Where in the world are we going to find these angels who are going to organize society for us?”

We seem to have forgotten Friedman’s lesson. The politicians and bureaucrats who want to organize our lives are not angels. Instead they are just like us—greedily looking out for their own self-interest. Remember that next time they tell you that they are looking out for your best interests.

Full Text: In a recent November special election, Lincoln County approved a ballot measure that imposes restrictions and bans on short-term rental housing, such as vacation rentals and Airbnbs.

In some areas of unincorporated Lincoln County, existing short-term rentals will be phased out over the next five years, and permits for new rentals will no longer be issued. The measure also reduces the occupancy limits of short-term rentals countywide, among other restrictions.

Fundamentally, the measure represents an infringement on the property rights of landowners in the county, who can no longer provide a valuable service for visitors to the community. With fewer rentals available, fewer tourists will be able to visit the county and spend money at local businesses. This will undoubtedly harm the county’s economy.

Proponents of the measure say short term rentals have caused the county’s increasingly expensive housing costs, but this blame is misplaced. The county’s own land use restrictions have prohibited residential construction in huge portions of the county. In zones where housing can be constructed, multifamily residences are often not allowed.

Rather than turning on property owners, Lincoln County should open up more land for high-density residential construction. In the meantime, the county’s commissioners should immediately repeal the new measure’s restrictions before they do permanent harm to property owners and the local economy.

Over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, parents have been constantly frustrated by school closures, quarantines, and the quality of their child's remote education. Many have also learned that different education settings may better meet the needs of their child than their assigned public school. In response, support for school choice has surged in Oregon.

Listen to Micah Perry discuss new education trends, the emergence of innovative learning environments, and policy proposals that can meet the growing demand for school choice throughout the state. 

Full Text: Governor Kate Brown has joined other state and national representatives at the COP26 climate conference in Glasgow, despite Oregon producing less than 1% of the nation’s greenhouse gas emissions. While the conference has been filled with doom, Oregonians have a reason to look at the glass half full. 

Oregon emissions per capita have fallen by 22% between 1990 and 2016, and emissions per unit of GDP (or economic output) have fallen by over 50% during the same time period. Further, energy use per capita in 2016 was at its lowest since 1960.

No doubt, politicians at this conference will focus their discussions on increased taxes and regulations. However, a recent Reason Foundation study found that top-down approaches to controlling GHG emissions “may not be as effective as bottom-up approaches that harness the natural tendency of entrepreneurs and innovators to identify more efficient and cost-effective ways to produce goods and services.”

Oregon should veer away from regulations and carbon taxes, and instead adopt some of Reason’s bottom-up recommendations such as de-monopolizing energy markets, reducing energy subsidies and tax expenditures, streamlining permitting, and eliminating arbitrary, energy-specific mandates.

Since emissions per capita and unit of GDP have been declining for over 20 years, it’s clear Oregon has done its part. Governor Brown should come home and rescind her emissions-related Executive Order immediately.

Full Text: Next week, the Washington County Commission is expected to vote to ban the sale of all flavored tobacco and vaping products.

Because only one in seven Oregonians use tobacco, some may cheer this decision. Others may not care at all because it won’t affect them.

But it will affect the community. Without the sale of flavored nicotine products, most Washington County vape shops will shut down. Their employees will be out of work, and their storefronts will sit empty.

Then there are local convenience stores. Many cannot stay in business if they can’t sell nicotine products. Not only will their employees be out of work and their stores sit empty, but your quick stop to pick up milk on the way home will turn into a lengthy detour to the closest grocery superstore.

At a public hearing about the proposed ban, I listened to the testimony from the convenience store owners. Many were Korean, Afghan, Pakistani. They came to America to make their lives better for them and their families.

But Washington County doesn’t care about small businesses. As far as the commissioners are concerned, they can leave and make a living somewhere else. That’s the message the county is sending to struggling business owners and their employees. Maybe you don’t care. But where will you be when Washington County decides your job or business is next?

Full Text: Tired of wearing a mask? You’re not alone. In August, Governor Brown reinstated mask mandates in an effort to prevent Oregon’s hospitals from running out of beds. While the Delta variant is an easy scapegoat for this near catastrophe, the state’s outdated certificate-of-need laws have prevented healthcare providers from expanding capacity for decades.

When a healthcare provider in Oregon wants to build a new hospital or expand certain services, the provider must undergo a lengthy review process to prove that there is a “need” for the new facility. During the review, competing hospitals can step in and claim the facility is not needed in a community. In essence, existing providers can have veto power over a new entrant. Predictably, they often do this to protect themselves from competition.

The state asserts that certificate-of-need programs prevent “unnecessary investment in unneeded facilities and services.” In reality, the law has given us a shortage of much-needed hospital beds and mental health services. Because of these laws, it’s no accident that Oregon has the lowest number of hospital beds per capita in the nation.

Throughout the pandemic, many of the state’s heavy-handed mandates have been in response to concerns over the state’s low hospital capacity, but this is a self-inflicted wound. The government and competing providers are the wrong people to ask whether we need more healthcare facilities. It’s time to pull the plug on Oregon’s certificate of need law.

Full Text: Just over a year ago the Portland City Council cut millions from the police bureau, eliminating 84 positions. Prior to April 2021, 115 police officers left the bureau to either retire early or work in a different city, leaving 129 vacancies. Those absences are being felt across the Metro area.

Portland police responded to 14 shootings over the weekend with one fatality, increasing the number of homicides this year to 69. This is just one less than the number of homicides in 1987, Portland’s most violent year on record.

One of these calls was held up for more than 20 minutes due to a lack of available officers. A single lieutenant eventually responded to the scene, but required help from nearby community members to begin the investigation.

According to Patrol Sergeant Julian Carroll this was done out of “sheer desperation” and “one citizen stopped traffic for the lieutenant and another citizen actually assisted in dropping placards on the brass casings while the sergeant took measurements.” Not only do we need additional officers to fill vacancies, but Portland needs to stop current officers from leaving. Common reasons cited in exit interviews are morale issues and the lack of support from City Hall. It’s clear we have an attitude problem that starts with Mayor Wheeler and the rest of the City Commissioners. They need to set the tone that protecting lives and property rights is important to our city.

Full Text: Oregon elected officials and appointed staff love to claim they base their decisions on the best and most accurate data available.

A recent Oregon Department of Transportation study demonstrates that this often isn’t the case. In fact, staff are knowingly using inaccurate data to reach seemingly favorable conclusions.

ODOT’s Climate Office Program Manager admitted in an August meeting that her office is falling short on its vision for emissions reductions. Oregon missed its 2020 goal of 50,000 registered electric vehicles and is projected to also fall short of its 2025 and 2030 goals.

As of last month, there are fewer than 36,000 registered EVs in the state. Of those, about 12,000 are plug-in hybrid vehicles, which still have combustion engines and use traditional gasoline for longer trips.

As part of ODOT’s efforts, staff conducted a study to identify gaps in the EV charging infrastructure and propose solutions to accelerate EV adoption.

However, the study is based on the false assumption that we already met our state EV goal. The report claims that there is an “extraordinary need” for more than 70,000 public charging ports and 770,000 home chargers by 2030. Many of these chargers would be paid for by utility ratepayers and taxpayers, most of whom won’t use them.

ODOT should reverse course immediately and use the true number of EVs on the road, not the number it wished we had.

In Oregon, when the actual tax revenue for a biennium exceeds the forecasted revenue by 2% or more, taxpayers get a rebate, which Oregonians call a “Kicker.” Debate about the Kicker has grown in recent years–with advocates on both sides of the issues taking out markedly different positions. 

In this forum hosted by the City Club of Eugene, Dr. Eric Fruits of Cascade Policy Institute and Daniel Hauser of the Oregon Center for Public Policy debate the merits and effectiveness of the Kicker. 

Cascade Policy Institute would like to thank the City Club of Eugene for allowing it to republish this recording. More information about the City Club of Eugene can be found at https://cityclubofeugene.org/.