by Zachary Faria
Just how much decay has Portland brought on itself over the past four years? At least $1 billion worth.
Multnomah County, Oregon, which is home to Portland, lost $1 billion in income between 2020 and 2021 according to a recent analysis. This can be chalked up to a combination of remote work during pandemic restrictions allowing people not to have to live in an expensive city as well as Portland’s radical embrace of regular riots throughout 2020.
Democrats running the city and state even shrugged off rioters assaulting law enforcement officers who were trying to protect a federal courthouse and other federal buildings. The damages from riots that targeted federal buildings totaled roughly $2.3 million, another large chunk of losses that can be added to the $1 billion that fled from the city.
The analysis only covers the losses between 2020 and 2021, which have almost certainly risen since then as Portland has fallen further into decay. Drug overdose deaths have become more prevalent, with a 210% increase in fentanyl-related deaths since 2020. The city saw a 50% increase in homelessness from 2019 to 2022, and the city’s population has decreased each of the last three years after growing for 30 years straight.
Oh no! Portland’s “progressive identity” is being challenged by reality! pic.twitter.com/EjpR86bGGO
— Conn Carroll (@conncarroll) July 29, 2023
As other Democrat-run cities have over the past few years, Portland decided to ignore so-called “quality of life” crimes and abandoned quality of life in the process. Portland’s nature areas are being contaminated by homeless encampments and the garbage and feces that come with them, quickly erasing the progress of millions of dollars of investment in those areas. Violence has taken root in the tent city encampments that litter Portland, driven by fentanyl and hard drugs that the city voted to legalize in 2020.
Has Portland learned anything over these four years of misery and over $1 billion in losses? Of course not.
This is EXACTLY what Democrats want for the entire nation. Higher taxes but no government services like law enforcement and security. Stricter gun control laws would render everyone defenseless. Where would those wanting a better life move then?
Looking at the photo arrays of Portland, as in British press, it appears Portland is beyond repair.
I don’t know what they’re going to do to even try to rehab that city.
Question: how does a “15 minute city,” deal with its antisocial element?