The Portland Tribune reports that the number of police officers in Portland has declined by 9 percent since 2001, even as the city’s population grew by 13 percent, resulting in a 20 percent decline in officers per capita. This decline is typical for a city that is neglecting its streets, its schools, and other essential services all so that it can fund streetcars and transit-oriented developments.
The Portland Development Commission (the city’s urban-renewal agency) is using tax-increment financing (which is a polite term for stealing) to gobble up as much tax revenue as it can. According to the State Department of Revenue, that’s nearly $100 million per year (see page 45). Since nearly all of that development would have taken place without the subsidies (though perhaps not as dense as planners would like), that’s $100 million that’s not available for police, streets, schools, and other services that depend on property taxes.
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All of that urban renewal isn’t doing much to create jobs. Oregon was just ranked the second-worst state to make a living in due to its high cost of living (meaning housing costs), low average incomes, and the highest income taxes in the country.
It’s mind boggling that someone who claims to be a libertarian is lamenting fewer coerced dollars going to the gestapo and government indoctrination centers.
Last time my car was broke into, I was told Portland only had a couple detectives to tell me my items were at a pawn shop, a couple days later and they had no budget to help me other than to let me know.
They knew who had pawed the items and most likely, they do this all the time.
Frank,
You need to learn the difference between libertarian and anarchist.
Thanks for the reply.
I’ve been studying libertarianism extensively for eight years and have learned that all anarcho-capitalists are libertarians but not all libertarians are anarcho-capitalists.
Not sure how people get stuck at minarchism as history shows government cannot be limited. The same waste, fraud, and abuse noted in transit is also present in government schools. And given the news lately, it should be apparent it’s also present in government policing.
Why is transit a candidate for privatization but not education or law enforcement?
Gestapo, KGB, Stasi were instruments of evil governments. As is the KGB successor agency, the FSB.
But most police in the U.S. make some effort to do the job in an ethical and constitutional way, and when that does not happen, it is frequently spotlighted and highlighted by the news media (as it should be). Tom Jefferson’s comments about newspapers are IMO very relevant here:
The basis of our governments being the opinion of the people, the very first object should be to keep that right; and were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter. But I should mean that every man should receive those papers and be capable of reading them. — Thomas Jefferson
Craig wrote:
Last time my car was broke into, I was told Portland only had a couple detectives to tell me my items were at a pawn shop, a couple days later and they had no budget to help me other than to let me know.
They knew who had pawed the items and most likely, they do this all the time.
We had a break in at the office some years ago (in Washington, D.C.) during one of the terms of the Bad Old Days of the late former Mayor-for-Life Marion Shepilov Barry, Jr., and when the municipal police were called, we were told that we had to make an appointment to make a crime report.
Good point about the press CP. Keep in mind that freedom of the press in the United States has recently plummeted to 49 out of 180 countries. This has been blamed in part on government police arresting journalists.
Speaking of being capable of reading newspapers, according to a Live Science article, about 1 in 7 can’t read [that article]. They’re illiterate. Statistics released by the U.S. Education Department this week show that some 32 million U.S. adults lack basic prose literacy skill. That means they can’t read a newspaper or the instruction on a bottle of pills.” The literacy rate is lower today with government schools than it was during the colonial period with private education.
Frank wrote, “Why is transit a candidate for privatization but not education or law enforcement?” Education is a candidate for privatization; I’m sure you’ve heard of vouchers.
David Friedman argues for privatization of law enforcement. I don’t buy it, but I’ve never claimed to be a pure libertarian much less an anarchist.
“I’ve never claimed to be a pure libertarian much less an anarchist.”
Point taken.
“Education is a candidate for privatization; I’m sure you’ve heard of vouchers.”
Yes I have heard of them and an opposed to them. It takes a socialized sector and corporatizes it by supporting private companies with tax money .It creates the illusion of competition while keeping the state in charge of a large economic sector.
Aren’t the police still griping over pension changes? How seriously should this be taken? Crime’s lower than it was in 2001.
@AP
I’m curious, do you have any information on the effective property tax rates paid by Portland households by neighborhood (and ideally by home value) to the general fund? And how much gets paid to PDC or whoever pays off urban renewal bonds. The rate relative to market value, not the goofy assessed value that keeps old houses in inner neighborhoods paying a heavily discounted rate.
Why is transit a candidate for privatization but not education or law enforcement?
Law enforcement involves a monopoly on the use of force, so it can’t really be solved by privatization. Education and transit, on the other hand, could both benefit from a large dose of competition.
“Law enforcement involves a monopoly on the use of force, so it can’t really be solved by privatization.”
Change the premise and get a different conclusion.
Public (as opposed to private) policing didn’t become widespread until the mid-1800s. Private police exist and can be a viable alternative to a government monopoly on the use of force.
Those who criticize such a system as imperfect need first address the massive problems with public policing before resorting to the nirvana fallacy.