"...tens of thousands of jobs the project will create"... What a load of B/S.
What good are the jobs if the paychecks are no good, or mortgaged to the hilt with the Chinese?
Same...Same. The same people get rich while the rest of us struggle to get by at best! I am old, but not quite old enough for social security, which is not secure anymore because the Congress of Baboons in Washinton DC have been stealing from the American people for 35+ years. I do not expect to get one dime. I just hope my savings and investments will get me by to my end on this earth. I am fortunate and Inhave worked hard to have that option.

I've sometimes wondered if spendthrift "progressives" aren't deliberately aiding and abetting economic collapse in the absurd hope of being able to build their vision of The New Society out of the wreckage.

But that would be just plain crazy, wouldn't it?

Mr. Grumpy, you can say the exact same thing about spendthrift "conservatives", too. Just look at our current mess in Texas. On both sides, I like to bring up Riddell's Law: "Any sufficiently developed incompetence is indistinguishable from conspiracy."

God, you have to wonder where the pain point is for these chumps. We sacrifice everything for TriMet (like schools, bridges, any repairs outisde of downtown) and they still are going full-speed ahead.

I kind of wonder if they see the hand-writing and think if they can get it 1/2-done, someone will pony up the balance regardless.

Steve, you've got it in one. This is what keeps a lot of construction fiascos going: the job is half done after blowing twice the time and the money budgeted, and everyone cries "But we can't leave it half-finished!" Naturally, the people responsible for it not being finished are long-gone, but their successors are usually the ones with the tin can out, begging for sympathy and the remaining balance.

It's no wonder that civilizations quickly collapse and return to the jungle.

Imagine those of us with our feelers a little sharper than the rest, going before the masters of the tribe and offering our concerns.

"We cannot continue to give so much of our village's assets to please the Gods, we are starting to run out"

The tribal masters give us a shrug and order their minions to flog us while doubling our tithes.

Not too much later a prolonged series of bad weather and poor growing seasons seriously weakens the village because they had no reserves from which to survive.

The tribal masters take what is left and head for sunnier climes. The villagers are left to starve and fight amongst themselves in a final death cycle.

The Gods move on, looking for other suckers

I love the synchronization between Portland and our southern idols:

"This is needed because of the 'million new residents' coming to the region." Heard that from SamAdumbs.

"This will generate thousands of new jobs." Heard that from SamAdumbs.

"If we don't build it and absorb the cost overruns and overpay for mandatory art installations in the name of livability and culture, we will lose out on a billion dollar hand-out from the government that would otherwise go to a legitimate and necessary transit program in another state. Why should Missouri or Michigan or Georgia get money that we can spend on an unnecessary make-work project?!" Okay, I embellished that a bit, but SamAdumbs and his developer buddies have voiced this "civic concern" for years. Who better to get fat off the federal dole than us locals, right?

I used to say "San Francisco North" but I heard it better, so "Bienvenido a San Francisco al norte!"

..."This is needed because of the 'million new residents' coming to the region." Heard that from SamAdumbs...

Isn't this mantra the way they got the community to buy into the UGB, density and other plans? We were threatened that if we didn't go along, heavens forbid we would have sprawl.

The irony is that the mantra benefited a few royally, and is what got us into trouble, in my opinion that agenda pushed and pushed could make the house of cards fall down so that no way will anyone want to come into this mess.

Imagine there are a few who came and will stay as long as a few perks are there for them, but if the well runs dry, will they leave for another spot?

Thanks to the elected officials who were either too ignorant or did know but didn't care as long as they kept their positions!

I've sometimes wondered if spendthrift "progressives" aren't deliberately aiding and abetting economic collapse in the absurd hope of being able to build their vision of The New Society out of the wreckage.

But that would be just plain crazy, wouldn't it?

No.

I hear that the entire housing problem is not over.

Not only would we not have a million new ones come in, but we may have an exodus out of pdx.

People will not be able to afford to stay.
That then benefits others to buy the investment of the people's home and their community on the cheap...so crazy it isn't.

Another scenario is to get those older single family homes razed if determined that the land is more valuable...herd those folks into subsidized units...
not a pretty picture, but it has not been a pretty scene here for those who are watchdogs, hope to wrong on all of this, but what are we to think and what are we in for?

What we're in for is a diaspora of Portlanders and Oregonians.

"You never want a serious crisis to go to waste. What I mean by that is it's an opportunity to do things that you think you could not do before." -- Rahm Emanuel

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_mzcbXi1Tkk&feature=related

Serious crisis = Opportunities to do the unthinkable
Pillage and plunder?