(RepublicanNews.org) – Since the “summer of George Floyd” where riots broke out in cities across the country, heavily blue areas are losing residents tired of crime and city leadership that doesn’t seem to care.
Portland, Oregon, has had three years of population decline as the West Coast city has begun to look like other leftist metropolises, with homeless encampments on sidewalks, open-air drug use, and crime that goes unpunished.
Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Seattle have all lost residents in the same period. California recently saw a decline in population for the first time in decades. So many people left the Golden State that rental truck company U-Haul said that a single state alone was responsible for the company’s massive shortage of one-way trucks for rent.
Portland’s census shows the city has lost a portion of its residents recently after 30 years of population growth. While the percentage is small, .04%, the reversal is notable. Multnomah County, in which Portland is located, has also lost population.
Data from the city’s own mayor, liberal Ted Wheeler, shows a 50% increase in the homeless population from 2019 to 2022. The same reports show homeless encampments now number 700.
Wheeler’s proposed solution to get homeless “campers” off city sidewalks is to have the city build temporary housing with tax dollars. The camp is expected to have space for 150 people. However, this will not be nearly enough housing, as there are approximately 3,000 homeless people in Portland.
Resident Cobalt Kaiser said walking around the city means encountering “used needles, nudity, human feces, and the stench of urine.”
It’s not just individuals and private households who are picking up stakes and leaving. Portland fixture REI, one of the largest and most famous outdoor/hiking equipment companies, is leaving the city. The company’s flagship store in Portland has operated for 20 years. REI says it cannot absorb the number of thefts and break-ins any longer.
Property crime is up 11.1% year over year, and the Portland Police Bureau reports that there was a 17% rise in burglaries in 2022.
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