New York Governor Kathy Hochul announced her intent this month to opt into the new Federal Scholarship Tax Credit—also known as the Education Freedom Tax Credit. That makes her the 30th governor to signal support, and the second Democrat to do so, after Jared Polis of Colorado.

Congress created this tax credit last year as the first federal program designed to expand K–12 educational choice nationwide. Beginning in 2027 all taxpayers can take up to $1,700 in federal tax credits for donations to qualified scholarship granting organizations.

The U.S. Treasury and Department of Education estimate the program could generate $24 billion in new education funding every year. That’s enough to fund private school tuition for tens of thousands of students—or tutoring for hundreds of thousands more.

But here’s the catch: children only benefit if their governor opts in. And Oregon’s Governor Kotek, has declined. Last summer she said that she did not intend to participate. More recently, saying that she’s waiting for final federal regulations.

Whether Oregon opts in or not, Oregonians can still take the tax credit by donating to scholarship nonprofits in other states. If Oregon stays out, however, those dollars will support students elsewhere, not here at home.

Opting in won’t cost Oregon’s budget a dime and it doesn’t impact public school funding. It simply allows Oregonians to direct private charitable dollars towards scholarships for Oregon’s kids.

Thirty states have already said yes. Oregon should, too.

For Cascade Policy Institute, I’m Naomi Inman.

Learn more at www.cascadepolicy.org

It’s election time! And the Oregonian editorial board sent a bouquet of sorts to our friends at “No Tax Oregon” when they recommended a “no” vote on Measure 120—Oregon’s $4 billion transportation tax.

“The O” urged voters to “drive a stake through the heart of this cursed transportation package.” Which was music to the ears of a quarter-million volunteers who signed the “No Gas Tax” petition in a historic 38 days.

The real story here is that Oregon voters get to vote at all on the tax hike—thanks to a pioneering form of democracy dubbed the “Oregon System”—giving voters the right to challenge Salem’s laws and put them on a statewide ballot.

In the recent short session, however, lawmakers didn’t exactly celebrate that tradition. Instead, the Governor and union-backed legislators showed their disdain for these volunteers by moving the vote to May and suppressing their voice in the voters’ pamphlet. Those tactics only energized voters, raised the measure’s profile, and ensured its defeat.

Lawmakers also managed to spark a new petition drive by passing a claw back of over $300 million in federal tax cuts for small business owners. That bill triggered the reflexive muscle of the same Oregon voters, who must again collect 100,000 signatures by June first.

Defeating Measure 120 isn’t just a policy victory. It’s a win for the Oregon System.

Read more at www.cascadepolicy.org

Metro is rolling out new strategies and transit plans in what looks more and more like a war on cars — and Cascade is calling out the baseless evidence they’ve leaned on for thirty five years. At an April council meeting, Cascade President John Charles delivered pointed testimony against two major actions designed to prioritize transit while punishing people who rely on their cars.

At that meeting, Metro approved its Transportation Demand Management Strategy and pushed forward the gridlocking 82nd Avenue Transit Project — a plan that would dedicate miles of existing car lanes to buses only.

Charles reminded councilors that Metro has been trying to engineer travel behavior since the early nineties, yet reductions in vehicle miles traveled have never materialized. Metro’s own performance measures show the 30 year goals weren’t met, so instead of rethinking the strategy, they stretched the timeline to 45 years and kept building plans on the same fantasy metrics.

As Charles emphasized, driving isn’t a luxury — it’s a necessity. It’s central to employment, wage growth, childcare, and basic mobility. Yet Metro keeps doubling down on failed strategies that make driving harder and daily life more expensive.

After decades of missed targets, the region deserves transportation investments grounded in reality, not wishful thinking — investments that actually improve mobility and economic opportunity for real people.

For Cascade Policy Institute, I’m Naomi Inman.

Read the full story at Cascade Questions Evidence Behind Metro’s War on Cars - Cascade Policy Institute