Cautionary tale from Portland

We are living at a time when divides in political ideologies are polarizing our civic dialogue. Regardless, local policies can be informed by cautionary tales from other cities.

Portland, Oregon offers an excellent case study in what can happen if city code veers away from law and order first, such as not enforcing time restrictions on RV parking.

Causes of homelessness are complicated and it is extremely important for us to not over generalize. Not all homeless are priced out. Not all homeless are unhinged drug addicts experiencing mental illness. It is essential that city code allows law enforcement officers to respond authentically, compassionately and situationally.

In a recent 180 degree turn, Portland’s District Attorney Nathan Vasquez, under Mayor Keith Wilson’s new camping ban, is having police officers as part of the solution in dealing with homelessness. People with warrants are being arrested. This is not something that an ambassador encouraging social services can do. DA Vasquez is calling this a “push pull” approach. With the presence of law enforcement and a city code that supports their efforts, police can collaborate with social workers “pushing” people in need towards resources. Without that “push” a move out of homelessness is more voluntary.

What happens when people refuse help being trapped in destructive cycles of addiction? Again, Portland offers a case study and a cautionary tale. In the last 2 years, under this ambassador approach, homelessness has ballooned 67%. Problems are getting worse, not better. And the price tag of solutions has gone up exponentially. The point of a more substantial city code is to offer law enforcement tools and to give people experiencing homelessness a push towards accepting services.

This is not criminalizing homelessness but it does provide accountability to those homeless who are actually criminals in the way of arrest on active warrants. If you take tools away from law enforcement you will increase lawlessness as well as the citizen’s tax burden.

Laura Mittelstadt

Colorado Springs

A troubling history

I recently read a Gazette article confirming that still about 60–70% of pregnancies with a Down Syndrome diagnosis in the United States end in abortion. I was aware of the statistic, but what struck me were the social media comments justifying it. Many argued that children with disabilities are a burden to families and society, and therefore it is better if they are never born.

That reasoning has a troubling history. When we decide that certain lives are less worthy because they require more care, we repeat arguments that once led to deeply vile and inhumane policies we’re still apologizing for. We don’t need to use the word eugenics to recognize the pattern.

My wife and I adopted our son knowing he has Down Syndrome. We didn’t do it to prove a point. We simply believed he deserved a family — just like any child. No parent of a child with a disability will tell you they were perfectly prepared, had excellent finances, or have plenty of extra energy and time. We learn as we go, because the alternative — discarding someone for needing a lot — is not morally acceptable to us.

Concerns about “quality of life” often reflect the perspective of adults, not the child. Our son is joyful, curious, and very happy to be alive. The challenges mostly fall on us, as they do for all parents.

There are real support needs. Medical, educational, and social and there’s plenty of room for improvement. Colorado has been a leader among other states in this. But reducing the number of people with disabilities does not make us more compassionate; it only removes the urgency to care for those who remain.

A humane society does not promise ease or convenience. But it does promise dignity and protection for those who cannot take care of themselves. That principle has roots in both classical liberalism and Judeo-Christian ethics.

We cannot claim to value the dignity of vulnerable groups while eliminating those who remind us that dignity is not earned.

James Lane

Colorado Springs

Running out of imagination

In Avengers: Infinity War, Thanos argued, “This universe is finite, its resources finite. If life is left unchecked, life will cease to exist.” His “solution” was mass extermination. Two centuries and 7 billion people ago, economist Thomas Malthus warned that population growth would outstrip resources, leading to starvation. Both were wrong—and their error reveals a common modern misconception.

Atoms alone are not resources. Matter is conserved; it cannot be created or destroyed — only rearranged. Knowledge is what transforms atoms into value. Phones, cars, and even water gain worth only through human ingenuity. Malthus failed to foresee that knowledge compounds: more people mean more brains applying ideas to atoms. Gale Pooley’s Superabundance shows every 1% population growth drives roughly 4% growth in resource abundance.

Consider Israel. Its population density is over 20 times Colorado’s, yet it thrives by innovating — desalinating water, irrigating deserts, and boosting agriculture. The Netherlands reclaimed 17% of its land from the sea. Both nations demonstrate that scarcity is often a problem of imagination, not of atoms.

Colorado faces similar debates over water and land. The Colorado River, Lake Powell, and Lake Mead are products of massive human ingenuity—engineering that required measuring rivers, moving millions of cubic yards of concrete, and coordinating seven states with far less knowledge than we have today. Just as Israel and the Netherlands turned limits into opportunities, Colorado can apply knowledge to create abundance.

It was knowledge applied by humans that has always made doomsayers fools of history, like Malthus. Scarcity is temporary when human creativity is unleashed. When people are free to innovate, resources expand, challenges become opportunities, and abundance follows. Colorado’s story—from high plains farms to Front Range technology—is a reminder: we are not running out of resources; we are running out of imagination.

Logan Taggart

La Veta