What kind of abysmal social and economic conditions would make at least five separate counties of US voters want to flee a state to join the borders of another state? Well, all it takes is a cult of insane Marxists running the entire state into the ground from the safety of their metropolitan communes while demanding that people submit their undying fealty to the draconian medical mandates of an elitist minority. Yeah, things have to get pretty bad to inspire so many people into leaving and taking half the state with them.
Welcome to Oregon…
I used to live right across the state border from Portland, Oregon through the 1990s, and while the place was always considered a bit of a haven for washout hippies, reject grunge bands and limp-wristed wine sipping progressives, there wasn’t enough of them to take the place over completely and the city was still relatively clean and well kept and peaceful. You rarely heard of crime, poverty or unrest; those were problems reserved for places like California.
I can’t recall any moment during that time when people said they felt “unsafe” in Portland, or when they were desperate to leave Oregon for greener pastures. It used to be a decent place to build a life. A lot has changed since then.
As the political left and the Democratic Party has become increasingly militant in its regressive ideology and collectivist underpinnings the states these people control have become increasingly dismal financial and constitutional failures. Perhaps it was always there under the skin, but in the past few years the cancer has grown terminal. I really have no interest in ever going back to Oregon and no one I know has any interest in visiting the place either. When I research the local news, this is what consistently pops up:
Portland is now a homeless tent city with walls of garbage in the streets and riots on a regular basis. The city has reported a 2000% rise in homicides, specifically after taking measures to defund local police precincts. Oregon also has a total debt of around $43 billion, which is dramatically higher than red state neighbors like Idaho and Montana. Data for 2020 to 2021 poverty and homeless rates have not been released yet, partially because cities like Portland sought to stall the federally mandated count back in January. I would not be surprised if the numbers have had an epic spike in the past year; the only question will be, is it because of covid, or is it just because of the bumbling of the lefties? – READ MORE
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