It must look like a triumph only to those who don't live here. The hundreds of millions spent on transit have not led to any increase in the percentage of people who commute by mass transit. During this period of triumphant green policy, Downtown employment has dropped 5 percent from 87,000 workers to about 82,500. Portland has a 6.4% unemployment rate, higher than the state average and 20% higher than the national average. And while our fearless leaders are driving around in their Priuses, crime is on the rise.
A business association survey found that a significantly lower percentage of business owners and managers think of downtown Portland as “safe” or “very safe.” And they increasingly think that what the survey called “public inebriates, transients and vagrants” are having an impact on downtown business. The most telling statistic would be to survey how many Portland businesses are planning to move out of the area in the near future.

But the environmentally innovative grass roof on the local government building sure is neat.

Of course, I'm sure that economic data is just as reliable as the data provided by the ChiComs, or that New Zealand "benefits of Kyoto" study.

If it's really that beneficial, then there's no need of a treaty.

AOG:

Exactly. We should just impose emmissions limits unilaterally.

Brian has it approximately right. Weather patterns did their part, too. (Winter emissions ended in the Columbia Gorge.) The story is PR bulls_ _ t, pure and simple.

Portland's winter emissions ended UP in the Columbia Gorge. Sorry.

The creation of the 21st century technology and the economic developments that are associated with it, have centered in two major West Coast Urban Areas -- Seattle and the San Francisco bay area. This dynamic has skipped Portland OR. I guess they are not doing everything right.

Takes some real brass ones to post this three down from the headline "I Just know Marxism Will Work This Time", doesn't it? Of course that's never been one of your shortcomings.

joe:

Of course, there's no difference from folks who think "Capitalism will work this time..." No ism works.

what does work then ?

It's not apparent that anything "works." If you were choosing a system though you'd most likely go with that of the United States, circa 1980-2005. Rather regulated, well taxed, globally competitive, uncommanded, with a central bank whose sole purpose is fighting inflation and a populace heavily invested in securities.

What he's trying to figure out is that what works is adaptability. In other words, capitalism works. Bear in mind that it wasn't even an "ism", just the way the world works, until Marx decided he needed a banner to rally against. And what the bleep is that about the central bank? I thought you thought Greenspan was senile.

Capitalism works where?

Here.

Your basement?

Don't have one.

No, we don't.

Yours is between your ears, of course.

My Capitalism?

The real question is, while OJ doesn't have a basement, does he have a bunker?

Your ism.

Sandy:

My folk do the bombing.

Joe: Why fight it? OJ is a lefty and believes whatever lefties believe. Environmentalism is good. Capitalism is bad. The third way is the future.

Oh, I'm not fighting, I've just got a good buzz on. Happy Independence Day.

I wouldn't have thought you guys would call an economy this thoroughly regulated Capitalism, but if you're okay with it a few more emissions standards can hardly break the camel's back.

First, as Joe said, capitalism doesn't really exist. Second, regulation, to the extent it has any effect at all, is a cost of doing business. It makes less difference than you lefties believe because there is always a response and the response ameliorates the cost. It does seem that, to a surprising extent, what really matters is the rule of law: that it be relatively impartial, relatively predictable and relatively clean. Given the state of the rest of the world, we do relatively well.

As for the environment, just make it illegal to drive a car more than ten years old. Hey, presto, we've solved that problem.

By "works" I mean a camel that can carry ten times her design limit worth of straws before she quits. So of course capitalism works. Good night.

David:

Actually joe said not only that capitalism works but that it works in America.

The rest of what you say is the point.

unbridled capitalism is quite predatory and inevitably collapses under the weight of its injustices. i agree that the rule of law is a pre-requisite for a healthy society and economy. like so many other areas of life, a hybrid system that harnesses the productive to the good, is the best system.