Cascade Policy Institute

Oregon drivers are getting hammered at the pump—and Salem still wants more.

After 83% of voters rejected higher transportation taxes, proposals remain that could automatically raise the gas tax with inflation.

Oregon doesn’t need higher taxes. It needs accountability for the money it already collects.

https://bit.ly/4Ary8tX

TriMet isn’t “reimagining transit.” It’s cutting 34 lines because the system is collapsing under its own costs and shrinking ridership. A $158 million budget hole forced one of the biggest service reductions in agency history.

When you build policy around restricting driving instead of improving mobility, you get exactly this — less service, more congestion, and a transit system that can’t sustain itself.

https://bit.ly/4gOhopf

Travel And Tour World

Portland’s TriMet Cuts Signal Wider US Transit Challenge as Philadelphia, Chicago and More Cities Redesign Networks Portland’s TriMet cuts reveal a wider US transit challenge as Philadelphia, Chicago and cities across America redesign networks amid budget pressures.

Oregonians rejected Governor Kotek’s gas tax by 83%. Now lawmakers are considering 36 new taxes and fees to raise the money another way.

From DMV fee hikes and tolling to congestion pricing and delivery fees, Salem seems determined to work around voters’ answer.

Oregon doesn’t need more taxes. It needs accountability, better priorities, and leaders who respect voters.

https://bit.ly/4cz4M2M

Oregon Catalyst

Gas Tax backfill plan: Tax on tires, Uber, cars, tolls, more … | Oregon Catalyst By Taxpayers Association of Oregon, OregonWatchdog.com A draft report from the Legislatures showcases 36 ideas on how to get more tax money to make up for the funds they did not get from Kotek's gas tax increase which was defeated by voters by 83%. That gas tax was defeated thanks to a historic gas....

MAX just turned 40. That’s four decades of light-rail expansion—and Portland still hasn’t regained the transit commute share it had before MAX construction began. That’s a result worth examining, not celebrating.

Eastern Oregon is showing how rural communities can build the housing they need — if Salem loosens its grip. Stanfield’s Bumble B Estates is thriving, demand is high, and the only thing stopping more projects like it are Oregon’s restrictive land‑use laws that box small towns inside outdated boundaries.

Let rural leaders make local decisions, open up fallow land for housing, and stop forcing Portland’s land‑use model onto communities that are ready to grow.

https://bit.ly/3SSdQcl

Source: OPB

Lawmakers look for Eastern Oregon housing solutions in some of its smallest communities State Sen. Todd Nash takes legislators to Stanfield after Senate Bill 1578, which would have tweaked Oregon’s land use laws to allow for more housing to be built on the outskirts of rural communities, failed to advance.

“Picking up steam” is what Oregon state economists think is happening with our economy, but the fundamentals still lag. Unemployment is well above the national rate, manufacturing is shrinking, and high costs — fuel, inflation, regulation — continue to drag down families and businesses. Yes, tax revenue is up, but mostly because a small group of high earners are paying more, not because the broader economy is strong.

Oregon won’t fix its economic slump until lawmakers confront the policies holding the state back — heavy regulation, high taxes, and a business climate that drives jobs elsewhere.

https://bit.ly/4xlXCX7

Source: OPB

Oregon’s economy shows signs of improvement, new forecast says Economists also say the state may be in for more revenue as lawmakers craft a budget next year.

According to USAFacts, 11.7% of all public school funding last year came from Washington — just one dollar out of nine. It’s a surprisingly small slice for a system this massive, and it raises an uncomfortable question: why is the nation’s most universal public service balanced on such a thin federal thread?

📊 See the data and explore how funding varies across the country

What percentage of public school funding in the US comes from the federal government? | USAFacts About 11.7% or one in nine dollars of public school funding came from the federal government during the 2023–24 school year. Local and state governments typically provide most school district funding, with the federal government providing the rest. Federal sources provide as little as 0% and as mu...

Portland spent billions on rail, but transit trips per resident fell 16% since 1982. In 2024, only 3.8% of Portland-area workers commuted by transit. Spending isn’t the same as serving riders.

Before MAX, transit carried 9.6% of Portland‑area workers in 1980. By 2024, that share had fallen to just 3.8% — a 60% decline after four decades of light‑rail expansion.

Taxpayers spent billions building and subsidizing rail, yet the system never regained the reach transit once had. Portland paid more and got less.

New article: Randal O’Toole examines what TriMet’s MAX anniversary claims leave out—including falling transit commute share and a record share of Portlanders driving alone to work.