The progressive Seattle Times has warned city residents by reaching out to neighboring Portland, Oregon, calling the city a “landfill.”
Columnist Jon Talton wrote the article “A Tale of Two Cities: Portland Provides a Worrying Example for Seattle,” writing that citizens should be concerned.
In the article, Talton shared that a person he spoke to said Portland “looks like the road to the landfill and in some areas, the landfill itself.”
The person who spoke to the author blamed the city’s own “preoccupation with big abstractions like ‘social justice,’ liberal politics, and high tax rates.”
Seattle has long been compared to Portland for its Pacific Northwest location, climate, Democratic leadership, and more recently its drug and homelessness problems.
The progressive Seattle Times has issued a warning to city residents, reaching out to neighbor Portland, Oregon (pictured) and calling the city “a landfill.”
Seattle (pictured) has long been compared to Portland for its Pacific Northwest location, climate, Democratic leadership and, more recently, its drug and homelessness problems
Columnist Jon Talton wrote the article “A Tale of Two Cities: Portland Provides a Worrying Example for Seattle,” writing that citizens should be concerned
In the article, Talton described Portland before the sinking as a “quirky, loveable city” known for its pedestrian-friendly neighborhoods and young, vibrant neighborhoods.
“This was a city that had been taking care of itself for decades,” the author wrote.
That quickly changed, however, when city politics focused on crime, drugs, and homelessness shifted, turning the city into a hellscape for many residents.
One of the biggest problems that Portland residents face is how to solve their problems.
“The divide is between compassion and open arms and the citizens affected by crime, garbage and overcrowded sidewalk and neighborhood camps.”
“Meanwhile, the decriminalization of drugs for ‘personal use’ – including fentanyl and methamphetamine – has further divided Portland. Does that sound familiar?” Talton wrote.
The city used to draw thousands and even millions from across the country, but today it is despised by locals.
“Ten years ago, Portland was an urban success story that was virtually unprecedented in America,” said the Portland resident who spoke with Talton.
“We did this out of equal parts denial and sentimentality,” he said.
Columnist Jon Talton (pictured) wrote the article for the Seattle Times
A homeless man wanders the streets of Seattle, Washington
A boat filled with trash in front of a large homeless camp in an affluent area of Seattle
The author further compared the two cities and found that while Portland continues to experience an overall decline in quality of life and new residents, Seattle’s business boom continues.
Still, he notes that 7.2 percent of Seattle adults felt pressure to move from their own neighborhoods because of crime.
More than 1.6 percent higher than the second-highest area where residents felt compelled to move due to insecurity, Riverside-San Bernardino, California.
Portland sometimes didn’t make the top 15 on the list, unlike Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco, New York, Boston, and Houston.
Talton ended his “cautionary article” with hope that Seattle can still “evade Portland’s fate” by using the city as a guide to what not to do.
However, Seattle already seems to be on the same path as Portland.
In August, reported that Seattle residents were angry at the city’s ongoing homelessness and drug crisis.
Hundreds of tiny houses designed to house the homeless are encamped locked up as more and more homeless camps spring up.
Komo News revealed that there are at least 204 unused houses that are locked and guarded by a fence, forcing people to sleep on the streets.
Fentanyl users at a bus stop in downtown Seattle, Washington
People parked in front of an RV in Portland, Oregon on June 21, 2023
Meanwhile, earlier this month, members of an affluent Seattle neighborhood were furious after homeless people built a swimming pool at their camp.
The camp’s expansion sparked outrage from homeowners, who found it frustrating that officials hadn’t removed it.
In early July, reported that a July 4th parade had to be rerouted to avoid a fentanyl-infested homeless camp “for everyone’s safety”.
According to local media, the parade in Burien, south of Seattle, was modified to avoid a homeless camp with up to 20 tents.
The problems are just as bad, if not worse, in Portland, where residents are so sick of their noses they’ve blasted city leaders and called homelessness “a runaway disaster.”
A recent poll commissioned by People for Portland found that more than two-thirds of voters wanted to clear the streets by forcing drug addicts into rehab.
Respondents overwhelmingly supported Mayor Ted Wheeler’s plan to ban homeless people from day camping and pitching tents near schools and daycares.