Lest you forget
One thing you can't overlook is what a tax trap Portland, Oregon is. The local politicians and bureaucrats, who dream up one insane new tax after another, are constantly sending out notices rubbing it in. Here's the latest helpful reminder dropped in our mailbox by our friendly mail carrier.
This one goes in the bin with the even worse one that came from Chevy Vega and the county a while back.
I see that the guy who turned the city revenue office into its current version of a vicious persecution center has been promoted to acting chief money man. Boy, that job seems to turn over a fair amount down there. Anyway, this lovely mailing reminds me of two important facts:
1. You must not vote for Creepy Sam Adams, who invented the infernal arts tax, for anything, ever again.
2. The suburbs of Clark County, Washington have some noteworthy advantages.
I concur with your first fact, and note that I still do not believe that the Oregon Supreme Court contenances a clearly unconstitutional head tax like this 'Arts Tax'. However, I disagree with the intimation of your second fact.....Yes, there are noteworthy advantages, but there are huge countervailing disadvantages which more than outweigh the 'noteworthy advantages', like one of the most brutally regressive tax loads south of the Canadian border and likely festering communities of MAGAts and other meth users.
ReplyDeleteYou’re joking, right?
DeleteYou would think that property taxes should cover this, but then again I am sure the $ is being siphoned off by some connected, touchy-feely nonprofit. Pretty soon the town will be deserted. Save for the bureaucrats, the non-productive types, and the obedient few who lack the nerve to speak up.
ReplyDeleteA happy moment since our move to WA county was when I realized we didn't have to pay the Sam Adams "hey arts people save my job" tax.
ReplyDeleteAnyone with any sense should buy a PO Box or refuse to give the clowns at Portland a social security #.
ReplyDeleteGive them a money order with the amount for the given address for the Portland head-tax Gestapo sans names or numbers, save the stub for when they try to harass you again saying you didn’t pay and leave it at that?
That said, just file all the taxes to a WA county address and tell them to get fucked?
Clark/WA has more authoritarian & dickish culture what with all the military money they rely on.
They haven’t had the property tax revolt yet, don’t have building permit exemptions for ‘like replacement’ or minor construction, which can make that a huge pain in the ass.
Crime is pretty bad up there. ‘Most everyone has either been to jail or a cop, or both (mentally, even if not experientially?)’
No vaguely good urban planning at all up there.
As far as the line items or govt tho?
-The PUD electricity that’s now ~1/2 the price of ours (tho that’s true of Columbia County PUD and much of oregon that isn’t in the death grip or PGE or pacific power + Energy Trust) & has local natural gas generation for peak times (not ideal, but rather it be local(ish) with minimal transmission loss sans private corporate board?).
-painless vehicle registration or licensing process/no DEQ.
-sales tax, but food is exempted (I don’t buy much new stuff?), so idk that that’s super regressive, inherently?
(They have gross receipts tax, but no paperwork/flat rate onerous income tax doesn’t sound like the *worst* thing?…I’m kind of ok with luxury goods taxes & some sales tax with the most regressive elements exempted?…easy to collect, no social security #s floating around/getting shared around all the state offices, fewer useless bureaucrats & annoying paperwork?)
If you're a property owner in Multnomah Co. they have you buy the balls.
DeletePlease, please continue to berate us redneck unwashed heathens who fled the paradise of Multnomah County and Portland to claim our homesteads in the hinterland of Clark County Washington. We really don't want or need a horde of Portlandians discovering this place. You refer to it as Vantucky, we know it is Vangroovy. My wife and I, both natives of Portland Fled the state seven years ago and never looked back.
ReplyDeleteI did time in “The Couve” back during the dot.com and telecom boom. An interesting place (and not in a flattering way), but yes there are certain tax advantages. If you the have the money to live by the river or in a nice area around Fishers Landing, I am sure that living there would be somewhat pleasant.
DeleteBut still you can’t escape the fact that you are living in Vancouver. I haven’t been through Battle Ground recently, but you could probably find something nice that is away from the older section of town. It was growing a lot when I went through there last.
Many areas of Portland have taken on the atmosphere “Portlandia”. It appears that some people prefer that way of living. Don’t count me among them.
DeleteOur neighborhood and surrounding neighborhoods here in Clark County are more diverse than our old neighborhood in NE Portland plus the schools are so much better than anything in POS. Clark County is also why Perez won her Congressional seat, so statements about MAGA and authoritarian being strong here are overblown. Definitely have some but it’s a lot more moderate than anything in Portland.
ReplyDeleteYeah I found just the opposite there. When I was living there some 20-years ago or so (as I previously related) the people there seemed to have a strong independent streak, and just wanted to be left alone. One of the few things that I liked about it.
DeletePortland has gotten so impersonal and most neighbors ignore you, but not in a good way. A sharp contrast to their “In Our House” virtuous lawn signs.