My name is John Charles, president and CEO of Cascade Policy Institute. Cascade is a nonpartisan policy research center working to promote economic opportunity in Oregon. I have been involved professionally with environmental policy for the past 30 years and am familiar with the politics of climate change. In recent months I have focused a fair amount of time examining claims made about carbon offset projects in the Pacific Northwest. My comments today reflect that work.
I have been asked to speak about two conceptual approaches to global warming legislation: a carbon tax, and a regulatory limit on greenhouse gases (GHGs). Before I begin, however, I would like to place this issue in the context of the GHG reduction goals embodied in HB 3543. . . . Read more!
In three weeks Portland State University will proudly host the annual “Towards Carfree Cities” conference. This is certainly appropriate, given that Portland plans to build a new bridge over the Willamette River for light rail, the streetcar, cyclists, pedestrians and skateboarders – but not motorists.
However, as seductive as pedestrian malls are in the abstract, they don’t work in the United States. For instance, in 1971 . . . Read more!
Summary
Sustainability advocates believe that a free-market economy is “unsustainable,” but free societies have the “intangible capital” needed to create more wealth with less pollution and less consumption of natural resources. . . . Read more!
Last week Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue signed legislation enacting a new school choice program for Georgia children. The new law provides for education tax credits on both personal and corporate income taxes for donations made to privately run non-profit Student Scholarship Organizations.
Unlike some other school choice programs nationwide, Georgia’s new law has . . . Read more!
Summary
Portland’s population is expanding, but our highway and bridge network is crumbling. Market-based road pricing and de-regulated transit are the only sustainable solution, financially and environmentally, to Portland’s transportation crisis. . . . Read more!
The Friedman Foundation for Educational Choice recently released a poll of 1,000 likely voters in Idaho. If they “could select any type of school,” a whopping 12% would choose a “regular public school,” little more than half the number who would choose homeschooling (21%). Private schools were most popular, at 39%, followed by charter schools (25%).
According to the Friedman Foundation, only 4% of . . . Read more!
Summary
A federal review found Oregon’s Child Welfare program to be in “substantial conformity” with NONE of the national standards for seven client outcome measures. The most important mission of DHS is protecting children from harm. Government transparency requires that DHS meet the benchmarks demanded by Governor Kulongoski and release relevant proof to the public. . . . Read more!
Does planning have to work to be successful?
We Oregonians believe many myths about ourselves that just don’t happen to be true. As a visioning group created by the Governor put it not too long ago: We Love Dreamers!
For instance, presidential candidate Hillary Clinton recently came to town and congratulated Portland on reducing its carbon emissions to 1990 levels. Portland has asked for and received world-wide recognition for . . . Read more!
