Eric Fruits

This raises an interesting question under Portland's new charter: Does City Council have to approve this settlement? Does it have the authority?

No one pays any attention to Fruits ... he's a libertarian nut-job.

Shot. Chaser.

ECONorthwest in December: Here's a guidebook to raising taxes.

ECONorthwest in February: Taxes are putting Portland in a "Doom Loop."

The Only Thing Worse Than Tariffs Is Non-Tariffs Well, you’ve gotta hand it to President Donald Trump. Trade policy is the topic du jour, with tariffs and tariff threats grabbing most of the headlines. When Trump announced 25% tariffs on steel and a...

Tariffs seem to be getting all the attention these days, but non-tariff barriers are probably a much bigger drain on economic activity.
truthonthemarket.com/2025/02/21/t...

Economics is so cool. The stuff you learn in the first few chapters of an intro textbook just jumps out into the real world.

Read the whole thing over at Truth on the Market: "Law & Order: Affordable Broadband Edition."

truthonthemarket.com/2025/01/23/l...

Oregon Republicans giving off some really strong super minority vibes here.

I hope Council remembers that Portland is obligated to spend at least $3 million to clear camps and debris from city sidewalks to comply with the ADA.

The Corvallis charter is so specific. I'd love to know what happened in Corvallis leading to those provisions in the charter. I bet it was a doozy.

That's why Cincinnatians call their town "Cincy."

This is a banger of an opinion. I wonder how many city/county charters have such time bombs ticking inside them.

One minor suggestion ... the city should post all the newsletters online.

"Increased personnel costs" is another way of say "getting slammed by PERS."

My crazy idea is that council members should be allocated an office budget that can be used to staff their offices however they see fit. My preference would be for a bunch of near-entry-level staffers who would dig into all the policy issues and oversight.

My father-in-law is an FTC lawyer. He is insanely gifted. We were in a liquor store together years ago and I asked him what it would take to win a Robinson-Patman case today. I will never forget his answer…

“We can’t, we don’t know how to do it.”

Every nonprofit I've been involved with got exactly 0% from government contracts and grants.

Every two years, the Oregon governor issues a proposed budget and every two years I update this chart.

Happy Thanksgiving!

My proudest achievement ... creating the Playmobil Wikipedia entry.

Say "potato price aggregators" 10 times fast.

What Project 2025 Can Tell Us About Brendan Carr’s FCC Priorities My high-school-aged son came home from school the day after Election Day in distress. His history teacher spent the entire class listing the Parade of Horribles in Project 2025 and its dire consequenc...

I read Project 2025, so you don't have to. (Well, I read the one chapter authored by Brendan Carr regarding the FCC). truthonthemarket.com/2024/11/21/w...

Keep a close eye on the middle schooler for a sudden change in behavior (e.g., paranoia, OCD). Walking pneumonia triggered PANS in my middle schooler last year.

"the arguably unconstitutional Louisiana Purchase."