Tax and Budget
TriMet Retreat Should Focus on Crisis, Not Expansion
By John A. Charles, Jr. On November 12, the TriMet Board will hold their Board Retreat at Gresham City Hall. In reviewing their agenda, the first thing you’d notice is what’s missing: the lack of urgency in addressing the…
$2 Trillion and No One Aboard
By Randal O’Toole Since 1965, when Congress began subsidizing urban transit, taxpayers have spent well over $1.4 trillion on transit. When adjusted for inflation to today’s dollars, that’s more than $2.1 trillion: that’s…
RGF in National Review: New Mexico’s ‘Free’ Child Care an Attempt to Cover for Past Failures
Recently, New Mexico’s Democratic Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham announced a new plan for taxpayers to fund “free” child care for all New Mexicans, regardless of their income levels. The announcement generated favorable news…
Testimony Before the PPS Bond Accountability Committee
John A. Charles, Jr.President, Cascade Policy InstituteOctober 29, 2025 Members of the Committee, my name is John Charles, representing Cascade Policy Institute. Cascade is a non-profit policy research organization,…
RGF opinion piece: Voters should be skeptical of $350 million bond for APS
The following appeared in the Albuquerque Journal on Sunday October 12, 2025. On this fall’s ballots in addition to votes for mayor, city council and school board, local voters will be asked to decide on a $350 million bond…
Over-Sized, Over-Priced Schools Accelerate PPS’ Fiscal Crisis
By Naomi Inman Cascade’s President and CEO, John Charles, emailed a Memo Monday to the Portland Public School (PPS) Board members in anticipation of the October 14 meeting to approve final designs for Jefferson, Cleveland and…
Over-Sized, Over-Priced Schools Accelerate PPS’ Fiscal Crisis
By Naomi Inman Cascade’s President and CEO, John Charles, emailed a Memo Monday to the Portland Public School (PPS) Board members in anticipation of the October 14 meeting to approve final designs for Jefferson, Cleveland and…
RGF discusses opposition to Albuquerque Public Schools’ $350 million bond with KOAT 7
As noted in a recent post on Errors of Enchantment.com Albuquerque Public Schools is looking for a $350 million bond on this fall’s ballot. While RGF doesn’t necessarily oppose the uses of the bond we have looked closely at…
The Center for Black Student Excellence Should Be a Private Venture
By John A. Charles, Jr. In September, the Portland Public Schools Board voted unanimously to approve the purchase and sale agreement (PSA) for an 80,000 square foot building, which would serve as the home of the “Center for…
How did your legislators vote during New Mexico’s recent special session?
It’s not “normal.” In fact, this was an “extra special” session of New Mexico’s Legislature. The Governor called it because she wanted to keep subsidies flowing to core political constituencies and keep New Mexicans dependent…
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