FeedsErik Sten & East Portland- WWeek's Robin Hood Tale
In this week's Willamette Week, Erik Sten and his efforts to use Pearl District property tax money to build a school in the David Douglas district receive heavy coverage. The plan would float $20 to $30 million from the Pearl into David Douglas for an elementary school. For your information, the Pearl is one of the city's wealthiest areas, while David Douglas is its most poor.
The WWeek has called this story a "Robin Hood" tale, with Sten playing the title role in "robbing" the rich to give to the poor. Who is his opponent in such an effort? The WWeek points to the Portland Business Alliance, which argues that the Pearl's "urban renewal dollars" must be applied to the Pearl. Namely, the taxes generated by one district should stay in and be used to invigorate that district.
This is where the situation gets sticky for me. Sure, the WWeek points out that the rest of the city foots the cost for basic items used in the Pearl, such as police and fire services. Furthermore, David Douglas residents recently voted down a ballot measure to fund new schools through a $45 million bond (55% to 45%). So, what does that leave us with?
Currently, Downtown Portland and many areas in the west are looking nice and doing well for themselves. They thrive, and the city reaps the benefit from tourism and taxes. But I want to take pause and look at what one commenter to the WWeek article calls the "stepchild" of the city: East Portland. Sure, it's not in complete shambles, but with unpaved roads and a dearth of schools, it could use some help. If the residents deny a bond measure that's one thing, but if there are "Portland school kids with nowhere to sit," as Erik Sten is quoted as saying in the WWeek, then we need to do something. Education--especially public education--is a right that we have decided to give every child born into this Country (and many who are currently living here). It is our duty to ensure that these children receive the best possible education they can. If there is terrible overcrowding in schools and if these schools do not have room for the demand, then we need to fix that problem. Now.
But is "stealing" from the Pearl the best answer. If it means destroying the Pearl, then perhaps not. But that would never happen. All Sten is asking is to take a portion of the funds to build a new school in Portland's poorest sector. But wouldn't that open a can of worms, creating a perpetual drain from the wealthiest sectors into the poorest?
Well, maybe. And that might not be a bad thing at all. Again, we're not talking about everything, just a portion of tax income, $20 to $30 million into a specific project. And it would result in schools and the opportunity that comes with them. It would infuse Portland's poorest area, and give it a bit more luster. As Mayor Potter has said, children are one of our most important resources.
So, here's the moral of my story. I support Erik Sten's efforts because the beneficiary in the end would be these kids and their up-and-coming education. Also, I inherently like the idea of putting money into our poorest area to build it up, even at the "expense" of the Pearl. In the end, I think they can afford it. Sure, there are always devils in the details, but I don't like boiling things down too much when education and where needy kids are concerned.
Here's a link to the article, for your reference: WWeek piece on Sten and Robin Hood.
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Comments from site editors have a darker background than comments from everybody else.In other words, stealing is only wrong if you're stealing from the poor?
Are you listening to yourself?
Stealing is stealing, plain and simple. Stealing from the "rich" to give to the "poor" is not noble. It doesn't take a noble man or government to take something from people who have earned it, simply to give it to others who they see fit. It isn't their money they are giving away, it's someone elses. How is that noble?
And explain to me how this "Robin Hood" approach is not anything short of enslavement? The wealthy work so that the government can redistribute their hard-earned wealth. Is that not slavery? It certainly isn't working for yourself.
You support this heist because YOU believe that it is in the "childrens" best interest. Who are you to decide how someone else's money would best be spent? How would you like it if I walked up to you and demanded $200, so that I could give it to my favorite charity? My guess is that you wouldn't like it at all, because my favorite charity would not agree with your political leanings and/or beliefs. But I wouldn't want to take your money. I believe that you and you alone know how best your money can be spent. I would expect the same respect from you, our government and our elected officials.
Whether or not the people can "afford" to be robbed is not the question. The question is whether or not you believe stealing and slavery to be right or wrong.
I wish we could erase the story of Robin Hood from memory. It's the most evil, deceitful story in history, simply because it makes a hero from a thief, and when people use it in such endearing terms, it only compounds the deceit.
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Are you by any chance a Ron Paul supporter?
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What you and every other Ayn Rand follower don't realize is that rich people do not often willingly give their money to lower class people, and especially do not willingly give their money to the government to provide services to the poor, but the continuance of their wealth is dependent upon the poor being able to spend money at the various businesses that make them money. The Pearl would not exist if it were not for the shoppers in SE who have given money to businesses there and to businesses which later invest that money in the Pearl. The key to continued success there is educated people with middle class jobs, which can be helped along by building this school. But, despite that being in the Pearl's best interest, no one there would willingly fund it and the government must correct the market failure. You call it stealing, I call it a correction to the efficient output of schools.
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How about this, the River District Plan as laid out by the City, which is the plan for how the Pearl and Old Town URD is developed, includes a school and community center. Neither of these have been built.
Sten is doing what politicians do, changing the plans before the project is done so that the project will never be completed. I'm not saying other areas don't need attention but one of the biggest criticisms about the Pearl is that it isn't "family friendly". The planned community center and school would go a long way to address that.
There are other ways to get money to the east side. One is to let the other 2 urban renewal districts downtown expire. The city can then create other URD's which can support the eastside needs.
But the way URD works, the dollars from property taxes are used to build public works projects IN THE DISTRICT. Once the URD expires and the bonds are paid off, the property taces go to the general fund.
Stens proposal goes against the intent of the plan, and it does open a huge can of worms where money will be borrowed from projects in your neighborhood leaving your neighborhood incomplete. Think about it, if this goes through the city will be robbing from projects in your neighborhood next.
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