Tax and Budget
The $60 Million Question: Where Did the CBSE Go?
A vanished project, a new name, and $60 million in limbo raise serious questions for the BAC. Cascade Policy Institute President John A. Charles, Jr., submitted Testimony this week urging Portland Public School’s Bond…
A closer look at the universal childcare suit brought by Governor candidate Duke Rodriguez
Republican gubernatorial candidate Duke Rodriguez has (so far) successfully challenged the creation by Gov. MLG of her “free” childcare program. You can read various perspectives on the case here. Here’s our take: Clearly,…
Oregon Should Opt In to Federal Scholarship Tax Credit So Private Giving Stays with Oregon Kids
By Kathryn Hickok Last summer, Congress passed the first federal-level legislation promoting educational choice nationwide. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act includes a new federal tax credit of up to $1,700 for individual…
TriMet’s $320M Painful Plan to Gridlock 82nd Avenue
by Randal O’Toole Bus rapid transit was originally supposed to provide light-rail-like services for a lot less money than the cost of building a new rail line. Yet TriMet has figured out a way to make bus rapid transit both…
Passenger Rail Wrong Fit for Portland, Metro Study Shows
By Naomi Inman Letter by John A. Charles, Jr. This week, Cascade Policy Institute president John Charles sent a letter to the members of Oregon’s House and Senate about Metro’s Regional Rail Futures Study, prepared in…
RGF weighs in against proposed Albuquerque gross receipts tax hike in KOAT 7 story
RGF has been very active in opposing the plan to enact a massive gross receipts tax hike at Albuquerque City Council. You can find out more about the plan here and even use the links in the post to reach out to your council…
QuickPoint! Cascade’s Testimony on Metro Spending $50M, 40 Years, Turning Superfund Site to a Park
By Naomi Inman with Testimony by John A. Charles, Jr. This March, the Metro Council approved the Willamette Cove nature park master plan. On March 12, John Charles testified before the Metro Council meeting on Resolution…
Report: “A Review of Metro’s Regional Passenger Rail Futures Study”
By Randal O’Toole March 2026 Executive Summary In 2024, the Oregon legislature Senate Bill 4701 (Section 503) directed Metro to study the Portland area’s 200 miles of freight rail corridors as potential regional passenger or…
Senate Bill 1511 on 20 Percent Death Tax Loses, Barely
By John A. Charles, Jr. When Governor Kotek announced her “Prosperity Roadmap” in December, she quickly appointed former Republican Senator Tim Knopp as her Chief Prosperity Officer. Given such aspirations, one might…
Will PPS Refuse to Comply with Federal Civil Rights Law?
By John A. Charles, Jr. The United States Department of Education announced on February 17 that it was opening an investigation into Portland Public Schools (PPS) over a complaint that the district’s Center for Black Student…
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