If you wonder what the U.S. would look like if Obama had his way, go to Portland Oregon. It’s a great place to live if you have a trust fund or a government job, but good luck if you’re unemployed and need a paycheck. In 2010 the state raised the income tax on “rich” people (you’re rich in in Oregon if you make $125K) to 9.5%, but Democrats want to raise it again to fill yet another budget gap. Downtown Portland is quiet and rather empty; many pedestrians are young and impecunious, working part-time at best—not a few in the city’s numerous strip clubs. There are not many tourists (or tourist attractions) and little new construction. You’ll find a few handsome office buildings, but many are owned by the government or by non-profits such as foundations. Downtown’s major growth business is food trucks serving the cuisine of seven continents. A large settlement of homeless people has taken up residence under a bridge. The manager of our hotel said the local economy is “Terrible; it needs an overhaul. We are hiring a lot of over-qualified college graduates.” The middle-aged gentleman who retrieved our car from valet parking at 4:00 AM seemed like he should be working in a bank.
In Portland it’s fashionable to ride a bicycle or walk around carrying a kayak paddle; the really cool people do both at the same time — usually en route to the Columbia River which, by western standards, is a big and impressive waterway despite eight unsightly bridges. Portland is a great city for gardens (but a little depressing for visitors who, like myself, try to garden on the East Coast). Stuff grows bigger in Portland. Much bigger. The Rhododendrons aren’t shrubs but small trees you can walk under, with blooms as big as basketballs. Hostas and other perennials grow into sizeable bushes. And the vegetative variety is extraordinary, ranging from giant conifers to small palm trees.
From Portland, drive 175 miles north on Interstate 5 to the more capitalistic climes of Seattle, which is in a state with no income tax and unemployment a full 100 bps lower than Oregon. (Washington dodged a billionaire’s bullet in 2010 when it rejected Bill Gates Sr.’s push for an income tax on the “rich.”) Seattle is prosperous and growing. Downtown is busy, with lots of new construction. The bar at the Four Season Hotel is packed at happy hour. New bars and clubs are opening up in the semi-hip neighborhood of Belltown. Big ferryboats are jammed with commuters coming in from Bainbridge Island, a tony suburb with multiple marinas and a surfeit of cooking, craft, and clothing stores. SAM (the Seattle Art Museum) had a good show of old masters, including a Rembrandt and some excellent Dutch still lifes, on loan from London’s Kenwood House which is undergoing restoration. On Pier 59 the aquarium offers a double feature of sea otters and river otters; the median age of the clientele is about five.
And Seattle has one of America’s most successful organically grown (in every sense of the term) civic attractions—Pike Place Market, a multi-level labyrinth of shops and stalls selling the abundant bounty of the Northwest: flowers, seafood, fruit, vegetables, fresh meat, cold cuts, pastries, pirogues, smoothies, candy, spices and (my favorite) newspapers. Halibut season had just started when we arrived. There are several good restaurants, including the original Starbucks. Like a well-fed amoeba, the Market is dividing and expanding, swallowing block after block. Comparing the two cities, inequality is greater in prosperous Seattle, but you don’t need a trust fund or a government job to avoid sleeping under a bridge.
Copyright Thomas Doerflinger 2013. All Rights Reserved.
