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Portland and Oregon continue to struggle in 2024. While some of these numbers may be normal for bigger cities, all of these mark dramatically decreased quality of life for a city that used to have very few of these problems and only population of 600,000 people in the entire metro area.

1. Port of Portland’s attempt to restart container traffic failed and Portland, ironically, loses it’s port.
   • I’ve written about this before, but the illegal activates of the ILWU Teamsters Union (that resulted in a record setting fine and their bankruptcy) also destroyed shipping business to the Port of Portland. After attempting for several years to woo shippers back, the port admits the shippers will not come back and all remaining container traffic will end Oct 1, 2024. This affects many local businesses like Les Schwab, Jeld Wen, Bob’s Red Mill and Pacific Seafood.
2. Portland schools continue to be some of the worst in the nation (previously written about here)
   • Portland schools are ranked a ‘F’ for performance while having an ‘A’ in spending. Proving money isn’t the problem.
   • Oregon schools’ pandemic recovery lags behind much of the nation
   • PPS now has tripled the size of its rapid-response team when students have mental health issues that lead to physical violence in what some are calling ‘soft bigotry’ of simply calling violent students a ‘students in crisis’ and forcing them to stay in classrooms with students and teachers they have assaulted and threatened. It’s a problem that continues to grow worse – causing it to be a major problem in the teach union strike and every single PPS middle school principal writing a letter begging for help.
     • PPS paid $250,000 to a student seriously beaten after years of bullying and staff just stood by and watched.
     • Students are being forced to stay in classrooms with people that have physical assaulted and threatened their lives:
       
       A seventh grader at Beaumont Middle School in Northeast Portland described feeling terrified after a classmate held a boxcutter to her neck and threatened to slit her throat during school hours several weeks ago. Her classmate was suspended for a few weeks, but is now back at school without supervision, she told members of the Portland school board on Tuesday, adding that she’s experiencing regular panic attacks as a result. “My school is not safe, not safe while I know people in positions that can help are not helping me and probably not helping others,” she said.
       
   • Gresham High School’s 64 staff members publicly denounced the principle and district administration after 2 years of mismanagement that has created unsafe conditions for students and staff. The culprit is a principle that is largely absence and district administration that ignores documented issues. Staff said that principle “does not hold students accountable for negative behaviors, address safety concerns, maintain consistent school-wide expectations, provide clear consequences, or transparent communication” and has created an environment unsafe and detrimental to learning for students and staff.
3. Portland net population continues to decline – lead by middle and high earners fleeing the state
   • Burdened with the 2nd highest tax bracket in the country, middle to high income earners are fleeing Portland and Oregon for Clark County (Washington State) with over 14,000 residents moving in 2022 alone. The majority are middle-income households earning $50k-$150k a year.
   • “In sum, we have undeniable evidence that a mass movement of once-cosmopolitan renters have fled Portland’s urban core for suburbs. Some cite crime and anarchy.
4. Overdose deaths go down by 10% everywhere across the country – but not Oregon. Demonstrating that legalization and harm reduction has increased the problem, not made it better.
   • https://www.axios.com/local/portland/2024/09/30/overdose-deaths-increase-oregon?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=newsletter_axioslocal_portland&stream=top
   • CDC data: https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nvss/vsrr/drug-overdose-data.htm
5. Oregon Housing and Community Services (OHCS) continues its mismanagement
   • Despite handing out grants amounting up to $7000 per bed every month; shelters that have taken the money are now shuttering claiming they don’t have any money to pay staff. When asked if OHCS obtained any documents to evidence shelter’s claims of operational deficits before determining how much of the $24.1 million to award them, Yant said that is not something the agency had time to do.
6. Portland has some of the most cost-burdened renters in the country
   • 50-57.9% of renters in Portland are considered cost-burdened – needing more than 30% of their income for housing.
   • Cost-burdened residents are not just the poor – but across all middle-income households. The median income required to live in Portland is $86,000/year.
   • Portland, despite having no need for water treatment plants and ample hydro-electricity, has some of the highest utility rates in the country.
   • 40% of renters do not have enough money after housing to cover basic expenses.
7. Oregon ranks nearly last (47 out of 50 state) in mental health and care
   • Despite over 20 years of complete Democratic party control, Oregon Democratic legislators repeatedly fail to invest money into it’s mental health system – instead rely on a patchwork of inadequate services that has directly resulted in the failure to care for it’s citizens.
   • Funding misuse is rampant – despite pouring $400 million into a hospital renovation (only $35 million could be identified), there are now 5% fewer beds than 2005.
8. Half of public transit riders do not feel safe on public transit
   • Primary reason: 82% say it is other riders’ behavior. The behavior in question is pretty clear and Trimet has barely done anything. These are just the ones from 2024:
     • Man beaten unconscious with pipe in random attack
     • Commuter stabbed to death in random attack
     • Man gets punctured lung from attack with sling shot
     • No security called after rider attacked and spat on
     • Hollywood Transit center stop is a shrine to a man murdered by random attack
9. Portland restaurant closures continue to hit hard. Especially Oregon’s breweries
   • https://pdx.eater.com/22240842/portland-restaurant-bar-cafe-closings
   • https://pdx.eater.com/2024/6/20/24182552/portland-restaurant-closings-june-2024
   • https://pdx.eater.com/2024/7/11/24196590/portland-restaurant-closings-july-2024
   • https://pdx.eater.com/2024/8/15/24221178/portland-restaurant-closings-august-2024
10. Blame the victim
    • Instead of cracking down on rampant graffiti from lawlessness and destruction, the city has passed a law requiring property owners to clean graffiti on their buildings within 10 days or the city will hire contractors to do it and bill the owner for anything the contractor wishes to charge.
11. Nearly half of Portland residents have expired plates
    • Since it was made illegal to enforce traffic laws during BLM riots, it turns out that 460,000 vehicles, or nearly HALF of Portland drivers, have let their tags expire. This is cited as one of the reasons for a $32 million shortfall at the Portland Bureau of Transportation.
    • That’s if they have plates at all.
12. Misc
    • US Bank (founded in Oregon) is closing branches at an alarming rate. Closures impact small business owners, rural residents and low- to moderate-income communities the most.
    • Antifa inflicted $750,000 in damages during it’s recent destruction of a local community library. Ironically, much like real Nazi’s, they made access to books and the internet impossible for many low-income students and locals for the rest of the school year.