The Great Homeless Wimp-Out

Tough love stops at the Portland border

It hardly goes without saying that, given a chance to take a stand and stick with it, Mayor Whatshisname* will, inevitably, wimp-out.

As we discussed last week, the mayor’s lackey, Sam Adams, wrote a long memo advocating the creation of big, “militarized” (as the Oregonian characterized it**) outdoor place for the homeless to lodge themselves at public expense.

This would enable the city to offer the homeless a binary choice:

• ”Go into shelter to get the insane ruling of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals that it is ‘cruel and unusual punishment’ to kick people off the streets off our backs,” or…

• You can do your thing, just not in Portland. Period. (We understand Lake Oswego might be a place to start.)

Which is the only way to “solve” the problem of the feral.

This, by coincidence is the way that highly-liberal Austin, Texas, addressed its own homeless problem. By a 57% vote of the people who:

1. Pay property taxes for their own housing, which the city would happily confiscate—the “see you on the courthouse steps” option—if your taxes are not paid, no matter how much your property’s value is discounted because there’s a favela next door, and who…

2. …really weren’t happy with Austin becoming an outdoor insane asylum and chop-shop.

The Adams Memo created the usual freshet of shrieks of protest from the self-selected “advocates” and non-taxpaying “homeless service industry” types, who desperately need a supply of the feral to stay in business. Hopefully, forever.

It took the mayor a few days to respond, although he had had the memo for at least a month.

And—is this any real surprise?—he ducked and weaved and issued tough talk with a tip ‘o’ the hat to compassion…and let Mr. Adams know, yet again, that he’s working for a political nitwit.

Short version: at some time in the hazy future, the mayor will Trudeau the crisis by issuing an “emergency order,***” and offer the homeless some vast, indoor space. Sort of Commission Dan “Ten Feet” Ryan’s sleepy-bye villages on steroids.

As usual, the mayor has no idea where this massive conglomeration of tweekers, petty criminals, psychotics, bad-luck folks, “freedom’s just another word for nothing left to lose” wanderers, car-strippers, porch pirates and other assorted people will be gathered in one huge blob.

Some suggestions:

• The dumpy Veteran’s Memorial Coliseum (bad optics: looks like a place where dissidents are put up against the wall after a coup d’etat);

• the cratered Lloyd Center mall, where the city could prevent the new owner’s financial embarrassment trying to revive the relic of the go-go ‘50s;

• Revolution Hall (launching pad for innumerable summer BLM protests), which is loaded with offices for various woke mini-businesses and non-profits. The homeless could be trained to service musical events.

Eminent domaine, anyone?

The best part: no one will be compelled to make a choice. Take the shelter option or hit the road, Jack? Nope; this city needs the homeless. The city of Portland has hundreds of pages of ordinances, code, and directives that rest on the idea that your government has the muscle and you, dear citizens, have one choice: obey.Or mommy will spank.

Except for the homeless.

Our advice: Join the rush to Lake Oswego. Or, better yet, Austin.

---

* Commish Jo Ann Hardesty’s classic diss of the mayor

** Odd how a newspaper that’s all in for war in Ukraine gets cold feet at home

*** The enduring legacy of Covid