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Cascade Policy Institute
Cascade Policy Institute is a non-profit and non-partisan American libertarian think tank based in Oregon that focuses on state and local issues. Founded in 1991, the institute advocates limited government in cost and size, and promotes privatization and other free market alternatives to government services. Cascade is a member of the State Policy Network, a network of conservative and libertarian think tanks in the United States and Canada. Background The institute was incorporated in January 1991, with the mission of "promoting public policies fostering individual liberty, personal responsibility, and economic opportunity." Steve Buckstein, a former investment broker influenced by the libertarian ideas of Milton Friedman, founded Cascade Policy Institute after leading a 1989 ballot initiative to introduce school choice to Oregon, which failed. Co-founders of the institute included David Gore and Bill Udy, who served as the organization's first board members, along with Buckstei ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fiscal Year
A fiscal year (also known as a financial year, or sometimes budget year) is used in government accounting, which varies between countries, and for budget purposes. It is also used for financial reporting by businesses and other organizations. Laws in many jurisdictions require company financial reports to be prepared and published on an annual basis but generally with the reporting period not aligning with the calendar year (1 January to 31 December). Taxation laws generally require accounting records to be maintained and taxes calculated on an annual basis, which usually corresponds to the fiscal year used for government purposes. The calculation of tax on an annual basis is especially relevant for direct taxes, such as income tax. Many annual government fees—such as council tax and license fees are also levied on a fiscal year basis, but others are charged on an anniversary basis. Some companies, such as Cisco Systems, end their fiscal year on the same day of the week each ye ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lobbying
Lobbying is a form of advocacy, which lawfully attempts to directly influence legislators or government officials, such as regulatory agency, regulatory agencies or judiciary. Lobbying involves direct, face-to-face contact and is carried out by various entities, including individuals acting as Voting, voters, constituents, or private citizens, corporations pursuing their business interests, nonprofits and Non-governmental organization, NGOs through advocacy groups to achieve their missions, and legislators or government officials influencing each other in legislative affairs. Lobbying or certain practices that share commonalities with lobbying are sometimes referred to as government relations, or government affairs and sometimes legislative relations, or legislative affairs. It is also an Industry (economics), industry known by many of the aforementioned names, and has a near-complete overlap with the public affairs industry. Lobbyists may fall into different categories: amateur lo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
MAX Light Rail
The Metropolitan Area Express (MAX) is a light rail system serving the Portland metropolitan area in the U.S. state of Oregon. Owned and operated by TriMet, it consists of five lines connecting the Neighborhoods of Portland, Oregon, six sections of Portland; the communities of Beaverton, Oregon, Beaverton, Clackamas, Oregon, Clackamas, Gresham, Oregon, Gresham, Hillsboro, Oregon, Hillsboro, Milwaukie, Oregon, Milwaukie, and Oak Grove, Oregon, Oak Grove; and Portland International Airport to Downtown Portland, Oregon, Portland City Center. Trains run seven days a week with headways between 30 minutes off-peak and three minutes during rush hours. In 2023, MAX recorded an annual ridership of . MAX was among the first Light rail in the United States#"Second-generation" modern systems, second-generation American light rail systems to be built, conceived from Highway revolts in the United States, freeway revolts that took place in the 1970s. Planning for the network's inaugural easts ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
TriMet
The Tri-County Metropolitan Transportation District of Oregon (TriMet) is a Transit district, transit agency that serves most of the Oregon part of the Portland metropolitan area. Created in 1969 by the Oregon Legislative Assembly, Oregon legislature, the district replaced five private bus companies that operated in the three counties: Multnomah County, Oregon, Multnomah, Washington County, Oregon, Washington, and Clackamas County, Oregon, Clackamas. TriMet began operating a light rail system, MAX Light Rail, MAX, in 1986, which has since been expanded to five lines that now cover . It also operates the WES Commuter Rail line since 2009. It also provides the operators and maintenance personnel for the Portland, Oregon, city of Portland-owned Portland Streetcar system. In , the system had a ridership of , or about per weekday as of . In addition to rail lines, TriMet provides the region's bus system, as well as LIFT paratransit service. There are 688 buses in TriMet's fleet tha ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Transit-oriented Development
In urban planning, transit-oriented development (TOD) is a type of Real estate development, urban development that maximizes the amount of Residential area, residential, business and leisure space within Pedestrian, walking distance of public transport. It promotes a symbiotic relationship between dense, compact urban form and public transport use. In doing so, TOD aims to increase public transport ridership by reducing the use of private cars and by promoting sustainable urban growth. TOD typically includes a central transit stop (such as a train station, or light rail or bus stop) surrounded by a Urban density, high-density Mixed-use development, mixed-use area, with lower-density areas spreading out from this center, serving as part of an integrated transport network. TOD is also typically designed to be more Walkability, walkable than other built-up areas, by using smaller City block, block sizes and reducing the land area dedicated to Car, automobiles. In some areas, it may ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Metro (Oregon Regional Government)
Metro is the regional government for the Oregon portion of the Portland metropolitan area, covering portions of Clackamas, Multnomah, and Washington Counties. It is the only directly elected regional government and metropolitan planning organization in the United States. Metro is responsible for overseeing the Portland region's solid waste system, general planning of land use and transportation, maintaining certain regional parks and natural areas, and operating the Oregon Zoo, Oregon Convention Center, Portland's Centers for the Arts, and the Portland Expo Center. It also distributes money from two voter-approved tax measures: one for homeless services and one for affordable housing. History and evolution Metro in its current form evolved from Columbia Region Association of Governments (CRAG) (1966–1978) and a predecessor Metropolitan Service District (MSD) (1957–1966). Measure 6, a 1978 statewide ballot measure established Metro, effective January 1, 1979. In 199 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Neoliberalism
Neoliberalism is a political and economic ideology that advocates for free-market capitalism, which became dominant in policy-making from the late 20th century onward. The term has multiple, competing definitions, and is most often used pejoratively. In scholarly use, the term is often left undefined or used to describe a multitude of phenomena. However, it is primarily employed to delineate the societal transformation resulting from market-based reforms. Neoliberalism originated among European liberal scholars during the 1930s. It emerged as a response to the perceived decline in popularity of classical liberalism, which was seen as giving way to a social liberal desire to control markets. This shift in thinking was shaped by the Great Depression and manifested in policies designed to counter the volatility of free markets. One motivation for the development of policies designed to mitigate the volatility of capitalist free markets was a desire to avoid repeating the eco ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Health Maintenance Organization
In the United States, a health maintenance organization (HMO) is a medical insurance group that provides health services for a fixed annual fee. It is an organization that provides or arranges managed care for health insurance, self-funded health care benefit plans, individuals, and other entities, acting as a liaison with health care providers (hospitals, doctors, etc.) on a prepaid basis. The US Health Maintenance Organization Act of 1973 required employers with 25 or more employees to offer federally certified HMO options if the employer offers traditional healthcare options. Unlike traditional indemnity insurance, an HMO covers care rendered by those doctors and other professionals who have agreed by contract to treat patients in accordance with the HMO's guidelines and restrictions in exchange for a steady stream of customers. HMOs cover emergency care regardless of the health care provider's contracted status. Operation HMOs often require members to select a primary car ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Weekly Standard
''The Weekly Standard'' was an American neoconservative political magazine of news, analysis, and commentary that was published 48 times per year. Originally edited by founders Bill Kristol and Fred Barnes, the ''Standard'' was described as a "redoubt of neoconservatism" and as "the neocon bible." Its founding publisher, News Corporation, debuted the title on September 18, 1995. In 2009, News Corporation sold the magazine to a subsidiary of the Anschutz Corporation. On December 14, 2018, its owners announced that the magazine would cease publication, with the last issue to be published on December 17. Sources have attributed its demise to an increasing divergence between Kristol and other editors' shift towards anti-Trump positions on the one hand, and the magazine's audience's shift towards Trumpism on the other. Many of the magazine's articles were written by members of conservative think tanks located in Washington, including the American Enterprise Institute, the Ethics ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Medical Savings Account (United States)
In the United States, a medical savings account (MSA) refers to a medical savings account program, generally associated with self-employed individuals, in which tax-deferred deposits can be made for medical expenses. Withdrawals from the MSA are tax-free if used to pay for qualified medical expenses. The MSA must be coupled with a high-deductible health plan (HDHP). Withdrawals from MSA go toward paying the deductible expenses in a given year. MSA account funds can cover expenses related to most forms of health care, disability, dental care, vision care, and long-term care, whether the expenses were billed through the qualifying insurance or otherwise. Once the plan deductible is met in a given year, the HDHP will pay any remaining covered medical expenses in that year. If there are funds remaining in the MSA at the end of the year, the funds can either roll over for the following year or can be withdrawn as taxable income. MSAs are similar to health savings accounts (HSAs), whi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Charter Schools In The United States
Charter schools in the United States are primary or secondary education institutions which receive government funding but operate with a degree of autonomy or independence from local public school districts. Charter schools have a contract with local public school districts or other governmental authorizing bodies that allow them to operate. These contracts, or charters, are how charter schools bear their name. Charter schools are open to all students, depending on capacity, and do not charge tuition. 7.4 percent of all public school students attended a charter school in the 2021–2022 school year. The rules governing charter schools, and how they are authorized, differ in each of the states that allow them. Charter schools may also fundraise independently, in addition to the funding they receive from the government. Charters can be run as either non-profit or for-profit institutions. However, there are some for-profit management organizations that hold charters, though these ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Charter School
A charter school is a school that receives government funding but operates independently of the established state school system in which it is located. It is independent in the sense that it operates according to the basic principle of autonomy for accountability, that it is freed from the rules but accountable for results. Public vs. private school Charter schools are publicly funded schools that operate independently from their local district. Charter schools are often operated and maintained by a charter management organization (CMO). CMOs are typically non-profit organizations and provide centralized services for a group of charter schools. There are some for-profit education management organizations. Charter schools are held accountable by their authorizer. There is debate on whether charter schools should be described as private schools or state schools. Advocates of the charter model state that they are public schools because they are open to all students and do no ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
