Civic Dysfunction is Now Left-Coded

Oregon Live is out with an unintentionally revealing article, "Residents Struggle with Rising City Taxes and Fees". To her credit the author does a good job laying out the increasing burden of taxes & fees on Portland residents, and (anecdotally) ties it to Portland's population loss to surrounding areas. However, the most interesting quote is treated as a throwaway. According to one family the author interviewed who were determined to stay, "Vancouver, Milwaukie or any number of communities that surround Portland either felt too Republican or too spread out, they said."

I think the fact that civic dysfunction (vagrant drug addicts on the streets, high tax burdens that never seem produce any sort of outcome, and so on) are now left-coded, and functioning locales seem "too Republican" to many voters on the west coast explains a lot of our problems. For too many, voting is an expression of lifestyle choice rather than policy preference.

The most interesting part of this #OregonLive article on #Portland's tax burden, and how it's pushing people out of the city, warrants more attention. "Vancouver, Milwaukie or any number of communities that surround Portland either felt too Republican or too spread out [said one family]." The fact that civic dysfunction is now left-coded explains a lot of our problems on the west coast.

The most interesting part of this #OregonLive article on #Portland's tax burden, and how it's pushing people out of the city, warrants more attention. "Vancouver, Milwaukie or any number of communities that surround Portland either felt too Republican or too spread out [said one family]." The fact that civic dysfunction is now left-coded explains a lot of our problems on the west coast.