This, in other words, is the face of a decaying city. “If you go downtown, it’s a ghost town, except for zombies that are walking around pushing carts because they have nowhere else to go,” Rogers said. “There’s no signs of life, except for these junkies — they’re the only people that occupy it. There’s no real business being done in downtown anymore.”
The most tragic thing about Portland’s sorry fate is just how avoidable it was. The city’s decline is a policy decision — or more specifically, a series of policy decisions, leveled on the working and middle classes by powerful activist groups and feckless politicians insulated from the real-world consequences of their acquiescence.
Portland in Decline: Political Failure, Social Breakdown | National Review
Do read the whole thing. What impressed me the most was not the well written article, but my absolute lack of empathy for the inhabitants of the city. They should have recalled the whole Portland governance, but they just waited there expecting them to do what they could not do initially for political reasons and after because they simply did not have the balls to admit their screw ups and ask for help.
At least all the empty buildings downtown will probably become a nice refuge for the homeless and the druggies during this winter. And I would not be surprised if the local government confiscates the edifications just for that. Appeasement is easier than correcting.
I arrived in Portland on 19 December 2015. Since I had traveled here by train, I arrived at Union Station right in the middle of the Downtown/Old Town/Chinatown neighborhoods that have long been the “rough part” of the city.
There were homeless people milling around on the corners, tents and sleeping bags under overpasses, and the like. But far less than I was used to seeing in my former hometown of Detroit. It was, of course, late December and the city’s homeless population always peaks in summer and ebbs in winter.
In the past two years, between the “summer of love” riots and the SARS-COVID-2 outbreak of 2019 lockdowns, things have gotten exponentially worse.
The well-heeled, rich enclaves in the city now look like the rough parts of town did six years ago: junkies on every corner, sleeping bags in every doorway, tents in every open field… and the bad parts of town look like a Brazilian favela.
Should have walled the city up since now those same educated voters will bring their mindset elsewhere. Also regarding Wheeler….most think he didn’t govern far enough to the left.
Absolutely zero F given to that city.
Sadly, our choices in the last mayoral election were Wheeler, a Marxist, and a Maoist. I voted for Wheeler as an act of self-defense,
So no sane people running? You should have conducted a write-in campaign.
This is why the rural parts of Oregon want to join Idaho or form Jefferson, although I ‘m willing to make the West side of Bend an enclave
Chicken soup for my New England soul.
So, it’s pretty much rock bottom? Well, right about now, RE investors are licking their chops, ready to buy up distressed properties that the current landlords are ready to sell at fire sale prices. Blackrock? Soros? Anyone else? It’s an old scam. Drive down the property values via vandalism and crime, then, when the current owners are ready to burn it down for insurance, buy it at 10 cents on the dollar, push a tough on crime mayor and/or DA and/or Chief of Police into office and start cracking down on the lawless savages so the city can undergo a “revitalization.” As with most other current events, follow the money.
I believe Snuffy is on to something. I work in the PDX metro area and the article is spot on. Something the article doesn’t dive into is there are still properties being bought/sold. Big money. I’d wait until things crash but the money isn’t waiting. Most developers have a game plan on how to make their investment pay. Another thing the article doesn’t talk about is the homeless shelters being bought by the City to house the homeless. I believe they have a plan in place to get the homeless out of the city and sprinkle them around the suburbs and bus them to other cities. The city leaders are not smart people. They are ideological and resonating with their tribe is more important than saving lives. It’s all about their “policies” and they will never give in. They will double down and move the problem for other people to take care of.
We shall see…