Quote:
Originally Posted by babs
Let the fat cats of Portland fund the market instead and use our tax money to improve our little town.
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So you don't think that the JBPM would improve our town?
Go to Vimeo, type in "Portland," and filter under "latest." What you'll find are tons of videos made by younger tourists recapping their amazing vacations to Portland. They go to all of the regular places (Powell's, Salt & Straw, Voodoo, Blue Star, Pine State etc.), but they usually also make trips to Multnomah Falls or the coast.
These are all just from the past
week:
https://vimeo.com/164383576
https://vimeo.com/165251111
https://vimeo.com/165068068
https://vimeo.com/165088129
https://vimeo.com/164928933
https://vimeo.com/164755913
https://vimeo.com/164601220
These people are renting our cars, using our public transportation, buying our food and beer, staying in our hotels/airbnb, and buying our tax-free goods and clothing to boot.
My point is this: Portland has become a destination for people from all over the country (and world) for its food, beer, scenery, and laid-back culture. I think it's smart for the city to invest in a world-class market that will be designed by a world-class architecture firm (Snøhetta) to help grow the city's reputation as an innovator in food and leisure culture. The JBPM will be a draw that will boost the economy in ways that benefit us all -- all the way down the janitors who'll mop up once the lights shut off.
I get your point that the JBPM should be able to launch entirely through private investment, but I do believe that as a whole the JBPM will be more beneficial to the city of Portland at large than it potentially would be to any single "fat cat" investor. The JBPM helps lure people from all over. Once here, they empty their pockets all over town.
(Also, your argument that two police officers would make some sort of world-changing dent in our homeless problem is naive and, honestly, pretty weak. The homeless issue and its implications run far deeper than simply having enough police officers to spray them down with hoses.)