Nolte: Democrat-Run Portland’s Wealthiest Taxpayers Are Fleeing

Multnomah County, Oregon, lost 14,257 taxpayers, which resulted in a $1 billion loss in tax revenue, according to local media.

The Democrat-run city of Portland is in Multnomah County, and that’s where most of these losses came from.

That 14,257 number is not the city’s net population loss. That is merely the number of tax filers who fled. You can bet their families went with them.

What is especially interesting about this news is who is leaving: “The average income of Multnomah County residents who moved away in 2020, the most recent figure available, was 14% higher than of those who moved the year prior[.]”

That’s the news that should worry Democrat city officials most. Normally, it’s the other way around.

You see, in the past, the people who moved out of Portland and Multnomah County were young people looking to start a new life or those who had found work elsewhere. So, historically, the people who left Portland were not high-income earners. No, historically, those who remained were the wealthiest. It makes sense, right? The wealthiest have settled into their lives. They own a home and enjoy a career. They have roots. Well, now those are the people taking off.

These numbers are from 2020 and 2021, and this local media report blames the population loss of all these wealthy taxpayers primarily on the anti-science lockdowns Portland’s Democrats inflicted on their citizens. Naturally, this local media report fails to mention the weeks and weeks of Black Lives Matter and Antifa rioting that was allowed to go on. Also not mentioned are Portland’s exploding crime, homeless, and addiction problems.

FLASHBACK: “I Hope Someone Kills Your Whole F*cking Family” — McEnany Shows Video of Threats, Violence Against Portland Officers

Between July 2021 and July 2022 alone, the city lost 8,308 people.

To put this in context, for 15 years in a row, right up to 2020, Portland enjoyed population growth.

According to local station KPTV, Portland is “one of the fastest-shrinking U.S. cities.”

So how big of a loss is $1 billion in tax revenue? Well, the city’s entire budget for next year is $7.1 billion. So, that $1 billion will be felt.

The question now is, what will the city do about it?

The only way to attract residents, especially wealthy residents, is to create a safe and clean city with good schools, low taxes, affordable housing, and a healthy business climate. Well, as we all know, everything on that list directly contradicts what today’s Democrat party stands for. Urban Democrats invite crime and criminals by defanging local police. Drug addicts are allowed to sleep and poop on the streets. Taxes are always going up. Housing never goes up. Instead of quality of life issues, Democrats focus on “equity,” which means high crime, and the environment, which means no new housing.

But it’s not even what Portland’s Democrat leaders will do about it. The question is, what will Portland’s residents do about it? They are allowed to choose their own government and continue to vote for Democrats who make no secret of their pro-crime and anti-growth policies.

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Let’s just hope the idiots who moved away realize their voting habits turned Portland into a hellscape. Sadly, I doubt it. These leftists are like locusts. They destroy, move on, destroy some more, and move on again…

Follow John Nolte on Twitter @NolteNC. Follow his Facebook Page here.