Is Portland (OR) dying?

Gofirstclass said:
This trip showed a whole new picture of Portland. Homeless camps (or as the libs refer to them: Unhoused persons neighborhoods!), grafitti everywhere, trash is everywhere, not just around the homeless camps, tents on the sidewalks, cars with 4 flat tires that people are living in, stores boarded up where the windows have been smashed out, etc. We went to a restaurant with one of the sets of friends for breakfast and had a tweaker out on the sidewalk in front of our table. Our friends just kept saying "Don't look at her or she'll come in and ask what we were looking at".

A lot of that is from the riots. They still happen just not on the public media like they were. And they are coordinated and happen every so often.

You get the picture and it ain't a pretty one. The cops come in and clean out a homeless camp but those people only move to another location. It's kinda like straightening the deck chairs on the Titanic as it was sinking.

The cops really don't do too much. But the city has a division that will move them out. Once gone, they come back and do a clean up of the camp. Then when the camp is moved again, they move back to where they were. There is streets where the camps are told to move to and they trash up the area. Move onto peoples property and try to force the home owners out of their own homes. Law enforcement does nothing. And when the camp is moved again, they leave trash on private property. The city then cites the home owners for the trash and vehicles left. And the city is the ones telling them to move there.

Oregon is full of crooked laws and people on every level. City, county and state levels there is so much corruption and crookedness going on. Being a "sanctuary" city was the first step.

What a total shit show Portland is. Nobody is picking up garbage and litter from the streets and camps. It just keeps accumulating and I couldn't help but think what this city is going to look like in 5 years with 5 years more garbage on the streets.

It will all get cleaned up. Camp to camp and block to block. But at the tax payers expense. There is so many law suits going on right now, it's crazy.

Is Portland dying?

I say no, it's not. It can't die when the city is paying the campers to live there. Giving them the now legal drugs. Hell, why pay for your herrion, when the city will give it to you for free. And it's not just portland. We see it all the way out here. Had one come and knock on dads door the other day wanting to strip the metal off his buildings. He was told to leave the property and he came to our house next door to dad and wanted the bags of cans on our back deck. He had to be scoping out the property to see them. The deck faces a 60 acre Christmas tree farm.

What say you?
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Now you see why I won't leave my pick up and trailer at the, now, unmanned sheriffs marine patrol.

There is more inline above
 
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Golfman25 said:
Finding employees for manufacturing positions is all but impossible. No young kid wants to be an apprentice these days.
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Same with construction. My buddy is always hiring and there’s a YUGE shortage of labor in my market.
 
Good luck finding a bulldozer operator anywhere. Friend of mine is high up at caterpillar, says contractors can't find them anywhere. And the darn dozers pretty much run themselves now compared to 20-30 years ago.

I used to visit a homeless wheelchair bound couple many many years ago. I initially felt sorry for them for having to beg on the street. Once they told me how much they made an average day begging, plus all the disability benefits they were receiving, I no longer felt sorry for them, at the time they made more money than I did.
 
Oldest step-son is a detective for about a 40 officer dept. He had to go back on patrol cause they don't have enough officers. He typically worked 8-4 M-F and was on call 1 week each month. So now investigations will be hindered since all detectives are now patrolling
 
The thing is you have to want it!!!

My son "23" flew from SLC to Portland Maine.He had one day on the ground and then back to SLC. He googled every law firm in Portland for their address. Put his suit on in the Airport bathroom took UBERS or walked from law firm to law firm. He meet with ten law firms that day and they all gave him an interview and by the time he landed back in SLC he had two job offers. This was Old school cold calling. This was all in the snow storm they had two months back and once he told the receptionist his story of flying there each of them made sure he had a face to face meeting with either HR or someone high up. His goal is to work for a firm and become a paralegal then Lawyer and just this weeked he now has his sites to run for congress in 12 to 15 years.
He will be taking one of the offers this summer.

My step son " 21" gets up every Monday morning at 4am to drive 300 miles to be on the job site at 8am and then stays the week in a hotel and works 14 hour days apprenticing for a stone stonemason and learning skid steers and mini X on a big hotel job. He is getting paid $40 a hour and gets a per diem per day. He has been doing this for six months and has two months to go. He got this job with zero experience.

Now I know not everyone are like these two however .... YOU HAVE TO WANT IT!
We are very proud of both of them and it shows that this twenty something generation have opportunities if THEY WANT IT.

Now the sad part would be one of them could easily get messed up on drugs and it would be a whole turn of events for them. I don't think that will happen but that is what happened to a good majority of the homeless out there.

Opiates, Meth, Heroin rule in the homeless community and it keeps them down... these people live $20 to $40 day to day just to get there fix and after that they worry about food then shelter. Only the ones that WANT IT pull themselves out of it and as someone else said there is a big % that want to stay homeless there is also a good % that aren't addicted to drugs and just need a break to get back to living under a roof.

Pot is here to stay and that is a gray line on if a employer can overlook that without putting a huge liability for his employees and company. Meth is also widely used in the construction unskilled labor side and I am sure we would be shocked at how many good employes at good companies and good paying jobs us it.

For most of the age group on here is was pot, alcohol,and coke . Alcohol used at least three times a week and Pot and coke being used recreationally couple times a year. ( i'm not saying any of you did that)

It didn't become our lives and we didnt let it rule us and we wanted more to our lives. Also at the time when we were all coming up we where paid a fair wage, had fare priced housing, worked and got paid for overtime, fuel and food was affordable, you could repair your car cheaply and we lived the American dream. WE WANTED IT!

Somewhere along the line the American dream and family unity was lost with the people we see on the streets.

My brother lived on the street for five years and was a addicted to drugs and alcohol for 20. He got a break when he was 30. Started his own company at 38 sold it at 56 and retired wealthy. HE WANTED IT!

In my line of work Wal Mart changed a lot of the economics of what we do and what we earn in profit and believe or not they changed how the American worker was paid and this became a matrix for big companies. ( i'm not blaming Wal Mart for the world problems)

I really hope for all the youth with all that is going on in the world today it is just a big reset for them and they can enjoy the lives we have all lived with good futures ahead.
 
It's all gone to shit. Being in the cannabis industry puts me in alot of the liberal states. Seattle and Portland were two destinations last year. Son amd I did a few "turn amd burn" biz trips last year out there. The coastal road north of Portland was the worst. Defunct campers, cars, tents, wood shacks, trash everywhere on what would normally be a beautiful coast. I couldn't live that way. WTF!!!
 
mrsrobinson said:
Good luck finding a bulldozer operator anywhere. Friend of mine is high up at caterpillar, says contractors can't find them anywhere. And the darn dozers pretty much run themselves now compared to 20-30 years ago.

I used to visit a homeless wheelchair bound couple many many years ago. I initially felt sorry for them for having to beg on the street. Once they told me how much they made an average day begging, plus all the disability benefits they were receiving, I no longer felt sorry for them, at the time they made more money than I did.
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In Indy the news did a story on the homeless standing at stoplights on the cement median. They filmed them walking away at the end of the day to their new cars and followed them home to their houses. I don’t remember the amount they figured out they made a year…. But it was substantial
 
My nephew stayed in Portland for 8 weeks last summer while his girlfriend had a traveling nurse gig there. (He can work 100% remote). He loved it there. Said it was very nice. Saw some drug issues, but not to the degree mentioned in this thread. Having lived in the North East his entire life, he very much liked the far more relaxed atmosphere of Portland.
 
Joint Custody said:
I would agree on all three cities and add So cal into the mix. I travel for work to all three and over the last eight years it is astonishing how the camps keep growing... along with our homeless camps here in Utah.

I feel bad for those that just have fallen on hard times and just can't find their way back into affordable housing. A 2 bedroom apartment in SLC is going for around 1,500 to 2,000 per month now with gas and food prices at a high. The ones that want to be back in the system and good citizens have it real hard. I know a hand full of people in SLC that live in there car and have good jobs but can't afford housing.

Now for all the ones that just want to live off the system and can't find there way off the needle or pipe I really have no empathy.

It is sad that they all have families that they could go to but most likely burned every bridge they have and really have no hope.
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You know - many of these cities have limited the authority of the building owners; some cannot even evict deadbeats and are stuck carrying them indefinitely. Consequently, in the more "progressive" cities the building owners are not renting unless they qualify with an excellent credit report and up to 6 month of deposit. The simple fact is the local governments have doomed those responsible lower income renters.
 
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The homeless problem in Charlotte has gotten worse in the past two years with Covid and other issues. The police allow them to live on the bus benches so actual riders have to stand in the rain. We have a minority controlled government that refuses to allow enforcement of loitering laws. Despite all of that we are doing much better than the older, larger Dem cities. Charlotte is all about growth and there is opportunity here for anyone willing to work. There was one huge homeless camp that was cleaned out last year due to vermin infestation. I guess the vermin moved with the homeless to the smaller camps.
 
A few weeks ago I saw on the news that a landlord in Baltimore had to file bankruptcy because his tenants had not been paying rent and he couldn't evict then due to Bidens policies
 
mrsrobinson said:
Good luck finding a bulldozer operator anywhere. Friend of mine is high up at caterpillar, says contractors can't find them anywhere. And the darn dozers pretty much run themselves now compared to 20-30 years ago.

I used to visit a homeless wheelchair bound couple many many years ago. I initially felt sorry for them for having to beg on the street. Once they told me how much they made an average day begging, plus all the disability benefits they were receiving, I no longer felt sorry for them, at the time they made more money than I did.
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As a certified heavy equipment operator with a journeyman in just about everything with CDLA and heavy haul experience, nobody will hire me. I have found that most want some 20 year old with no experience.

A gravel truck driver gets $12 an hour. Now minimum wage in the metro areas being $15 an hour, guys are going broke.

I have struggled with heavy civil construction in Oregon. Folks are hiring. But not with real work experience.

Maybe, as soon as I can out of this state again, I'll be able to get back into it. Currently working a beyond full time job caring for my father. An 83 year old, Vietnam veteran who is suffering severe effects from agent orange exposure. Have another trip to down town PDX, tomorrow to discuss end of life planning. I would rather be back working 19 hours a day in oil field services.
 
John, bless you and April for caring for your dad. We're doing the same thing with my MIL who is 106 and in a long term care facility. I would NEVER want to live that long after seeing here in the condition she's in.

Just take me out back and shoot my dumb ass. But not yet!
 
Gofirstclass said:
John, bless you and April for caring for your dad. We're doing the same thing with my MIL who is 106 and in a long term care facility. I would NEVER want to live that long after seeing here in the condition she's in.

Just take me out back and shoot my dumb ass. But not yet!
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I've told my wife and kids, should something happen I don't want to be a veggie or spend my life slumped in a wheelchair drooling on myself. If the situation allows them the choice I want them to let me go....but I also said 'don't jump the gun':eek::D

It's a tough spot to put them in, sometimes I wonder if it's fair to do so. It's what I had to do with my Mother, it was rough but I did what I was asked to do. I'm glad I didn't have to do what my Father wanted though, he always said 'just hit me in the head with a ball-peen hammer'.:rolleyes:
 
Golfman25 said:
Finding employees for manufacturing positions is all but impossible. No young kid wants to be an apprentice these days.
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I've had a new upgrade for my boat on order since January of 2021. Yes, that's a full 15 months. I spoke to the manufacturer on Friday about the status and was told a major problem for them is lack of manpower in manufacturing. This is for both their operations as well as subs that provide their parts and services. They are based in Florida.

I've had to be REALLY patient because the product is unique. As it is they said a major component can't be supplied to them unit June, but they secured one for my project.
 
Next door neighbor has a Cadillac and he said the differential went out. Dealer told him a 4 month wait on parts so he has a loaner
 
Gofirstclass said:
John, bless you and April for caring for your dad. We're doing the same thing with my MIL who is 106 and in a long term care facility. I would NEVER want to live that long after seeing here in the condition she's in.

Just take me out back and shoot my dumb ass. But not yet!
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I told the wife to just kick my dead ass out the back of the pick up and into the borrow pit. Splash a little whiskey over me and drink the rest of the bottle with one of those powdered sugar doughnuts with the raspberry in it and let me be.

I was looking forward to getting Alzheimer's and leaving this world like I came in. Buck ass'd naked with someone else wiping my ass. But nooooo, someone had to come up with meds to slow it up a lot. Ruin my retirement.

Seen grandpa go through the care home crap. I refuse to do that to dad. Told him today, he is stuck with me. Then he looked at his heart doctor and said he was depressed. Thanks dad!
 
One of my golf buddies runs the training for a local trade union.
He gives us all a pretty good laugh with some of the stories about applicants and apprentices but my favorite was a guy who had just given a urine sample...

The applicant, 5 minutes after the sample was turned in, finds himself in my buddies office

"The ambulance is on its way.."
"What!? Why? What for? I'm fine!?"
"Well, your urine came out of you at 117 degrees so were pretty sure you are going to die and soon"

When he first told me this, I had no idea what the joke was but apparently if you can smuggle someone else's piss in you can add some chemical to it to heat it up to body temperature to fake that phase of sample validation out.
I guess this Mensa put in about 3 times too much.
 
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