A deep recession?

You mean, like bigger than the mild recession that we narrowly escaped by having anemic growth last quarter?

Tax profs are not economists (not that there's anything wrong with economists or tax profs!)

Look at the bright side. If air travel becomes too expensive, then airports can go back to being overpriced malls, the way they were in the Seventies. Lots of shiny crap in a facility 30 miles away from anything: all you need are a few zombies, and it's perfect.

Best of all, I see plenty of opportunities for synergy. For instance, the Airport Mall could do its best to work with Lloyd Center to move business over there...oh, dear.

"Help us get the word out about this important, exciting project!"
Translation: we are going to make a killing on this project and and those in charge, in its' zeal for bigger and better, are so DUM we don't need to bribe anyone of them.

The Port-O-Port has an engineering and design staff that nears ODOT in finding themselves with nothing to do . . . but dream.

Where ODOT plans, designs, plans, redesigns and plans again, the Port-O-Port actually goes ahead with a project now and then.

Besides, an airport under construction gives an illusion that a burgeoning economy is near and demanding the growth.

This a value not lost on family and friends visiting from NYC.

Tax profs are not economists

Anyone other than a pitiful Bush partisan can see that we are heading into a deep recession.

Yeah, and here's hoping everyone except Bushchumps, makes provisions and takes steps to get through it.

---
Hey Jack, ya' wanna bet, that if the House, (tonight after midnight?), votes Kucinich's IMPEACH impetus off the Floor into supposed limbo in Committee-land, that Blumenaeur is among the chickensh!t ignoble dishonorable ones shovelling furious to bury it? Comedy mayhem and hijinks ensues when nothing can stop the IMPEACHMENT Proclamation of the People. Full Text of Articles of Impeachment, by David Swanson, June 10, 2008. The key part I like is that while the IMPEACH process is underway, Chimp is prohibited from signing any pardons ... for his chumps.

Nice post: "Who Killed the gas car?" I'm looking forward to more bikes and less air pollution. Every day in Portland I see old cars polluting up a storm.

Severe stagflation is more likely with extensive detriments to many sub economies across the country.

High oil prices adversely effect countless products, industries, businesses and jobs.

The credit and housing bust are stifling consumption which further weakens our economy.

And congress is making a bad situation worse.

This is not a good alignment.

Of course Oregon will be having a rougher time finding relief as the latest
"sustainability" euphoria remains just that. All feeling, no biz, no jobs, and no growth.

And Sam Adams will soon be Mayor of Portland.

Can we drink a beer everytime someone says "sustainability"?

So Jack, what do you think the Port should be investing its revenue in? If you don't like the plan, what's the alternative?

I always like how someone asks that question -- "all right, you don't like the plan, what's you're idea?" As if you had to have an alternative to having an unnecessary and expensive bit of surgery for a disease you don't have.

How about "Wait and don't do anything stupid" as an alternative?

Air traffic congestion is going to sort itself out very nicely here real shortly. Smaller airports are going to lose scheduled air service entirely, and the big ones like PDX will be barely using their existing capacity.

Toyota just announced plug-in electric vehicles for 2010 arrival. Thanks to high gasoline prices sharply more fuel efficient vehicles are becoming a glimmer of hope.

I've heard the stimulus checks will amount to about $150 billion in total new money whereas gasoline use is about 12 billion gallons per month, U.S wide. Gasoline is about a $1 per gallon higher currently versus last year at this time. So, over the summer if things hold you give back about $36 billion of the stimulus. Secondary affects (higher shipment costs for other products and the economic multiplier for the stimulus checks) maybe cancel each other. Even so, at least for now only a fraction of the stimulus actually goes back to OPEC. And even some of this OPEC money comes back to bail out some of the bad banking boys and girls.

Cheer up! Must be all the Global Cooling come-n down making us all into mushrooms or something bleak.

Money not spent on airport expansion could possibly go for upgrading our passenger rail system between here and Seattle, at the least. Of course, this would take money away from the Port and put it into some other pocket--though I bet the same kind of airport expansion schemes are happening in Seattle. Maybe if the two cities and/or agencies got together, we could get to Seattle quickly without hopping on Horizon.

Some of the money the Port gets to play with is probably dedicated to airport maintenance. But that's maintenance, not wasteful and needless expansion.

The first thing that needs to happen is for the overpaid and too-numerous Port executives to take a hit for sustainability and commit to making PDX work for Portland at its current size and footprint. Zero growth at the airport!

But as I say, greed will overcome any such notion.

Steve, feel free to chug a beer every time someone says "sustainability". After the first week, you'll be as big as a house, your liver will look as if the Hell's Angels had their national convention and golf tournament on top, and your bladder will be as stretched and tattered as a used bookstore's business plan, but you'll have taken a bullet for the rest of us.

Peak Oil? Still buying into that nonsense? If you were invested in the energy markets you would already know that much of the EASY TO FIND/EASY TO EXTRACT OIL has already been discovered. Yet, there is lots more available in locations that the current prices make feasible for drilling and extraction. Maybe just as important, those nations with large oil reserves are already making a killing financially; and have little motivation to increase production.

Yeah, well, the price of gas is $4 and it ain't ever coming down. The economy is going to take a major body-slam as a result. You can call it Peak Oil or Swiss cheese, but air travel is toast.

My first question is where will the new runway(s) route the increased air traffic. Why do I sense that "over NE Portland" is the lurking answer?

How about "Wait and don't do anything stupid" as an alternative?

thank you, George.

"Blumenaeur is among the chickensh!t ignoble dishonorable ones shovelling furious to bury [Articles of Impeachment for Chimp high crimes and treason ]," and cover up Blumenaeur's tracks of grease drops from 'bacon brought home' to the District for Hoffman, Bechtel, et al., airport make-work jobs ... buying votes.

I told you so betrayer Blumenauer is a co-traitor: FINAL VOTE RESULTS FOR ROLL CALL 401, H RES 1258 - RECORDED VOTE - 11-Jun-2008 3:08 PM