No lie

Remember Governor Kohoutek's famous "task farce force" that was going to solve Portland's problems? Well, it appears they're still on the scene, and they just recently got around to taking a look at the ungodly tax burden that Portland puts on its middle-class and high-income populations. As paraphrased by the Weed:

High taxes are hurting job growth in Portland and chasing wealthy people out of town. Despite those aggressive levies, many government services are poor, in part because $1.26 billion in specialized taxes aimed at girding for climate change, getting kids into preschool, and helping the homeless have gone unspent....

Specific items the study unearthed: Lawmakers and voters have enacted at least 20 major taxes on Portlanders since 2009. Local taxes on city businesses rose 82% from 2019 to 2023. People leaving Portland have higher incomes than new arrivals. About 40% of the transportation assets in Portland, such as roads, are in bad shape.

The Weed shows its biases there. It's not just "wealthy people" who are getting hammered. Here's what the report shows about middle-class families, too:

I'm surprised the report, which you can find in full here, was allowed to see the light of day. It challenges the playbook for every politician in Multnomah County, which is as follows:

1.  Gouge anyone with a real job and a real life. 

2.  Hand out money to unionized government employees, nonprofit grifters, and favored developer weasels.

3.  Gain votes from countless bleating sheep by doing 1 and 2 above.

Given that it doesn't tell the governor what she wants to hear – She Herself is the epitome of a Multnomah County politician – this report is sure to be round-filed as quickly and as quietly as possible. But for a moment there, somebody said something.