"Everyone knows that if you rent you’re stupid, and lazy."

No, but certainly anybody with half a brain would have realized a long time ago that 1) Portland was both desirable and severely under-priced relative to other major west coast cities (not to mention the rest of the country), 2)  that Oregon state law prohibits rent control, and 3) that the combination of these two things meant that if you chose to rent in perpetuity instead of working to obtain your own property while prices were still low, you were rolling the dice and the odds weren't good that you would be able to rent cheaply for the rest of your life.

You're welcome to complain all you want, but it's not going to change anything and takes energy away from something more positive and productive you could be doing.