While attending a conference in Portland, I walked over a mile each way from my hotel to the convention center, passing the seemingly overwhelmed Portland Rescue Mission. I heard about Portland’s crisis of unhoused individuals, but witnessing it firsthand was a stark and sobering experience. It underscored a deeper national issue: our collective indifference to those most in need. We live in a country where economic policy often resembles socialism for the ultra-wealthy—through tax breaks and lax enforcement for evaders—while the rest of us are left to navigate a harsh version of free enterprise. That system rewards those with time, talent, and resources, yet for many, careers drain the very creativity and resilience needed to thrive. Portland, notably, has no sales tax on retail transactions. One wonders whether a modest, targeted tax could help address the emergency. The phrase “affordable housing” rings hollow when the median monthly rent for a two-bedroom, one-bathroom house is a...