In contrast, Portland, OR is run like a methadone clinic where the doctors, Oregon Congressmen and Senators, are passing out methadone (federal funds for light rail and pet projects) for drug riddled patients that happen to include the City Council and the Mayor.

Throw in a few wealthy enablers (Paulson family included) along with a street source for the habit (TIF and URDs), what remains is a city addicted so long as it can make the minimum payments.

Here is to hoping that Portland, OR never hits bottom. If so, then the lethal combination of high taxes, a voting public that is in many respects hateful towards any private sector entity that is not a non-profit, and user fees business will really sober Portland up. If not, then Portland, OR can continue with this utopian vision where pet projects are funded off the backs of those in East Multnomah County via TIF, URDs, and whatever matching funds our congressional delegation sends our way.

Then again, Portland, OR hitting rock bottom that would be for the better.

and here's a statistic you won't often hear repeated by a Portland City Council member or the state Governor:

Oregon has the third-highest unemployment rate in the nation: 10.8%. Only South Carolina and Michigan are higher.

and lest readers think that Multnomah County, mythical bastion of the Creative Class, is safe from such gloom, the county's unemployment rate is about 10.2%--one of the worst in the nation.

and Portland/Multnomah's rate is *rising*.

and, for those unfamiliar with conventional wisdom about unemployment rates, this means that the actual number of people without a job is maybe as much as twice the official figure.

A real mayor that believes that they should have started sooner with public transportation projects, I note (5:08 into the video).

I think you're missing the point, John.

hazel would only pay for those public transportation projects with cash from the public treasury, not debt.

When you are paying cash, you don't get to have the shiny toys until you can pay for them.

ecohuman is right on the money. People are no longer counted when they fall off the radar . . . no longer qualify for unemployment, have given up looking for work because they can't find anything, or become completely homeless. There are few more unemployed than the city and State are documenting and they consistently underreport the actual number of citizens on the street.

The number is actually less alarming than the composition of the unemployed and the presence of more angry and mentally unstable street people.

Oops, I meant to say, "there are far more unemployed than the city and State are documenting . . .

But is she openly gay?

This video should be required viewing for all politicians - but be sure to include the illuminating comments from John and Mister Tee above - you don't want someone like mayor creepy to get the wrong idea.

At her age, I think the euphemism is "never played mixed doubles"...

Looks like our own Jackson County is getting it right.

HT to Steve Duin

http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/steve_duin/index.ssf?/base/news/1238808326132600.xml&coll=7

I think you're missing the point, John.

She said that they should have started sooner with public transportation. And now that they are apparently going ahead with it anyway, how much more expensive will it be?

I'm all for fiscal restraint, but employing a knee-jerk "cash only-no debt" response to each and every proposed expenditure may not always be the best course of action.

But in the case of Sam Adams, I would agree that it probably would be.

Well, actually, Mayor Hazel may have missed the point. Here we are in the year 2009 and she is finally coming around to thinking that maybe she was a little late in starting on public transportation. Maybe she should look at all the cities in the USA that have been pouring money into public transportation for over a century. Universally, they all say they should have put more into it because their problems seem insoluble. Would more $ really have made anything better?

Maybe the wiser thing all along was not to have put anything into it. She, who has not put money into public transportation, is just now discovering a problem. Those who have always put money into it have always had problems. There may be a lesson in there that even she hasn't learned yet.

She, who has not put money into public transportation, is just now discovering a problem. Those who have always put money into it have always had problems. There may be a lesson in there that even she hasn't learned yet.

Exactly. Any community effort to address community issues is inevitably just going to lead to community problems. Leave the issues alone, and individual residents get to cope with the problems on their own, as best they can. The same principle can be applied with similar results to police and fire departments, health care, education, zoning, building codes, etc.

This from Wiki:
"McCallion has been easily elected for the last twenty years, with no serious challengers coming close to unseating her as mayor of the city. Due to her popularity, she does not campaign during elections and refuses to accept political donations, instead asking her supporters to donate the money to charity. She is currently beginning her eleventh consecutive term as mayor."

No public or private interest election money. Everything paid in full and a $700 Million reserve. She'd never make it here.

I'm all for fiscal restraint, but employing a knee-jerk "cash only-no debt" response to each and every proposed expenditure may not always be the best course of action.

I'm not sure why "cash only" is a bad idea when it comes to government land development. the only possible reason it can be called "bad" is this: it would mean several a much, much slower pace, and perhaps many projects would never get done.

and imagine the impact on growth and environmental destruction that might have.

Note how helpful it is for local governments not to have crippling health care costs, thanks to truly universal health care financing. Low overhead, better health, no uninsured, and more competitive companies and better local government budgets.

Hazel! She's as awesome as she appears. I grew up in a town just west of Mississauga and she's quite the legend. Don't worry everyone, they actually have public transit there, just not the extent that Toronto does with the TTC.