Suction applied

When you drive around Portland, and you see the ever-present garbage, the hideous graffiti, and all the street addicts, you think, "Gosh, this city must be broke." But nothing could be further from the truth.

At City Hall, they've revealed what they've known for a while, that they're awash with cash from the awful "clean energy" tax, which is basically an indirect retail sales tax when you shop at a big retailer in town. This thing is generating hundreds of millions of dollars beyond what was forecast, and the fools running the city have no idea what to do with it, other than hand it out to their friends, particularly those in the nonprofit industrial complex.

God forbid they should use the tax revenue to heal what truly ails the city. Or call the tax off for a year or two so that the beleaguered consumers catch a break.

Now that Jo Ann With the Bullhorn has been shown the door, the genius of Chainsaw Carmen Rubio is on full display running this slush fund. And she's got great news: They're going to replace the streetcar fleet! Just what everybody needs and wants.

That's just one example. Every pet project at City Hall is suddenly being designated as "climate-oriented," and so that don't kid yourself, the "clean energy" tax is basically just more general fund tax money to be burned. OPB's got the lowdown:

The funds would be divided into two sets of allocations.

The first set, roughly $282 million, will go toward one-time investments and annual funding over the next five years to the city’s:

Bureau of Transportation — $112 million toward projects focused on walking and biking networks, LED street lighting and the Portland Streetcar fleet replacement.

Housing Bureau — $40 million toward energy efficiency upgrades and helping low-income residents with utility bills.

Office Management of Finance — $26 million toward electric vehicle charging infrastructure for a city EV fleet and improvements to Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall.

Parks & Recreation — $8.9 million toward replacing gas-powered leaf blowers in use by the city, as well as energy efficient upgrades to Mt. Scott Community Center.

Water Bureau — $17.8 million toward energy efficient upgrades to facilities, and expanding the home water leak repair program for low-income residents.

Bureau of Environmental Services — $77.5 million toward tree planting, natural areas restoration, watersheds and stormwater management.

The second set of allocations, another $258 million, would make investments in five projects: affordable housing, tree maintenance, climate upgrades at Keller Auditorium, Fire Bureau infrastructure and the Clean Industry Initiative.

Dear Lord.

Meanwhile, they'll soon be going back to the sheep, duping them into renewing the dopey city gas tax. Ten cents a gallon. Mingus A. Um, the mayor wannabe, is in charge of this one. The tax is supposed to make life better for the motorists who pay it, but let's face it, the transportation bureaucrats are dedicated to making those very people's lives miserable.

The gas tax is expected to generate $17.6 million per year, or about $70.5 million over the next four years. The funding would go toward road maintenance and repairs, such as paving streets, filling potholes, and to building safety improvements on busy streets, including on routes where children walk or bike to school.

The level of dishonesty there is positively nauseating. Hey, that money will be used to close off more streets to cars, and expand the maze of bike toys. It's amazing that they're still fooling people with their spiel. Don't pee on my shoes and tell me it's raining, Mingus.

Oh, and those schoolchildren! The human shields for graft. 

Anyway, assume the position, regular people with lives. These people will never stop nicking you.