The Oregon Biz Report - Business News from Oregon

Video: 2011 Tech Disasters

In 2011, the corporate world saw some of the biggest and best tech companies make giant mistakes. CNN helps review which mistakes were made and how they handled it.

CLU Center for Economic Research & Forecasting
Oregon Economics

California has now had three consecutive months of job gains, and the State’s unemployment rate has been declining, albeit slowly. That’s an improvement, but it’s not time to break out the bubbly.

For one thing, those job gains have been pretty darn small, and they haven’t been enough to drive down the unemployment rate. Outmigration and a shrinking labor force are the reasons that California’s unemployment rate is declining.

What if you gave away health care and no one showed up?
by Eric Fruits

EconInternationalOregon’s governor has a plan to “transform” the delivery of health care in the state. At first blush, it seems that the state will jettison its experiment with the Oregon Health Plan that made headlines two decades ago with its rationing of services.

It looks more and more likely, however, that the new plan will look much like the old plan, only without the explicit rationing of service. Even so, the state has big hopes of saving hundreds of millions of dollars. Toward that end, the governor’s office has been pointing to a new study prepared for the state that says efficiencies associated with a transformation of the Oregon Health Plan could save the state approximately $130 million a year.

2011 has been the year of Bill Gates bashing
– To his credit, Bill has handled it all in stride
By Oregon Small Business Association

From government criticisms to former co-workers, 2011 was a year full of unusually sharp and personal criticism of Bill Gates.

First of all, Governing Magazine ran a front page cover story about billionaires meddling in the classroom with the photo of a sneaky Bill Gates peering from the corner. The article represented a teacher backlash to Gates’ $400 million annually worth of education initiatives . In fact, the Gates Foundation devotes $75 million to policy-related advocacy, a significant figure for a “philanthropic” organization and one that enables Gates to wield influence in nearly every major area of education policy. One critic said that top officials in the U.S Department of Education have become so influenced by Gates that “it’s not too great a stretch to say that the Gates Foundation is, in effect, running the Department of Education.”

Requiring a High School Diploma May Violate the ADA
Barran Liebman
Oregon Law Firm

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) posted an informal discussion letter to its Web site addressing employment qualification standards, including high school diplomas, and concerns they may raise under the ADA. As the EEOC explained, qualification standards like the requirement that an applicant have a high school diploma screen out those with disabilities who are unable to attain the particular qualification because of a learning disability. Such standards are only permissible if they are job related and consistent with business necessity.

Front page of CNN Business section.

By Kathryn Hickock
Cascade Policy Institute

Struggling parents with children’s clothing and toys on layaway are finding that anonymous strangers have paid their balances down to a penny at Kmart and other stores across the country. Retailers have known “Secret Santas” for years, but this Christmas season appears to be different.

According to the Frederick News Post in Maryland, a local manager said, “I’ve been in management here nine years, and we had one or two each year. This year we had 16 or 17 in just the past few days. The need is really there and people are helping out.”

Business Video Pick of the Week: CNBC business video interview gives gold a positive forecast but with big caution.

Portland’s Economic Health- By the Numbers
Portland area employment and income still lagging
BY Oregon Prosperity Project

A group of Oregon’s leading business associations released a report this week detailing how the Portland Metropolitan economy ranks with other metropolitan economies throughout the US.

Some interesting findings:
• Portland-metro’s employment per capita remained 6 percent below pre-recession levels by the close of 2010, compared to a 5 percent gap among all U.S. metros.
• Portland-metro’s employment drop was also worse, dropping 8 percent (or by 81,200 fewer people employed), which was two percentage points lower than the average for U.S. metro areas. Only 17,900 new employees have been added back.

By Bill Conerly, Businomics, Conerly Consulting

Real estate markets are unbalanced in most parts of the country: vacancy is too high, but construction is too low. That sounds contradictory, because construction should be low when vacancy is high. Looking forward, however, we’ll find insufficient supply when the economy improves.

Underlying this view of real estate is an economic outlook (more details in my Economic Forecast 2012-2013) for moderate growth in the coming two years. We won’t have enough growth to get us back to feeling good again. The unemployment rate will remain above normal, but declining to about 7.5 percent. Moderate economic growth will increase demand for all kinds of real estate, both residential and non-residential.

Oregon’s 20 worst charities list
By Oregon Attorney General
Press Release

Oregon donors should avoid giving to charities that spend most of their funding on telemarketing and administration

Attorney General John Kroger today issued the annual list of Oregon’s 20 Worst Charities.

“Most charities in Oregon do important work, helping the needy and supporting worthy causes,” said Attorney General Kroger. “But generous Oregon donors should be aware that some non-profits are little more than scams that provide little if any help to the causes they claim to support.”

In order to avoid being duped by unscrupulous non-profits, donors should review the Department of Justice Tips for Charitable Giving.

Paul Allen’s Ambitious Plan to Revolutionize Space Flight
– Video press conference below
By Oregon Small Business Association

Billionaire and Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen has turned his attention and money to an endeavor that has eluded corporate and government rocket scientists for decades: launching satellites into space from and ascending aircraft. Allen plans to inject $200 million of his own money for the project, which he hopes will usher in “the dawn of radical change in the space launch industry.” as stated to BusinessWeek.

Currently, satellites are hurled into space through conventional rockets that launch from a ground pad. Instead of ground launches, Allen envisions satellites and eventually human space vehicles launched from an airborne “mother ship” created from older Boeing technology and the latest cutting edge booster designs. The aircraft would be comprised of twin fuselages and feature six Boeing 747 engines. A rocket would rest underneath between the fuselages, launching after a sharp climb that would commence once 30,000 feet had been reached.

By RON WYDEN AND PAUL RYAN

Few issues draw more heated partisan rhetoric than the future of Medicare. Seniors are a reliable and powerful voting bloc, and both Republicans and Democrats are guilty of exploiting Medicare to frighten and entice voters. But turning discussions of Medicare’s future into the third rail of American politics does nothing to guarantee that Medicare will continue to be a lifeline for America’s seniors.

So, before the partisan attacks begin to escalate and the 2012 election ads start to air, we are outlining a plan for how Democrats and Republicans can work together to ensure that American retirees—now and forever—have quality, affordable health insurance.

Our plan would strengthen traditional Medicare by permanently maintaining it as a guaranteed and viable option for all of our nation’s retirees. At the same time, our plan would expand choice for seniors by allowing the private sector to compete with Medicare in an effort to offer seniors better-quality and more affordable health-care choices.

Under our plan, Americans currently over the age of 55 would see no changes to the Medicare system. For future retirees, starting in 2022, our plan would introduce a “premium support” system that would empower Medicare beneficiaries to choose either a traditional Medicare plan or a Medicare-approved private plan. Unlike Medicare Advantage, these private plans would compete head-to-head with traditional, fee-for-service Medicare on a federally regulated Medicare exchange.

Enlarge Image
wyden
wyden
Getty Images

This reformed Medicare program would include the toughest consumer protections in American government.

Low-income seniors who qualify for both Medicare and Medicaid would continue to have Medicaid pay for their out-of-pocket expenses. Other lower-income seniors would receive fully funded savings accounts to help offset any increased out-of-pocket costs, while wealthier seniors would receive less help.

All health plans that participate in the Medicare exchange would be required to offer benefits that are at least as comprehensive as those covered by traditional Medicare, and participating plans would be forbidden to charge discriminatory premiums and would be required to cover everyone regardless of age, gender or health status.

The direct federal contribution to health plans that cover the sickest seniors would be higher than it would be for plans that cover healthier seniors, thus ensuring that more help goes to seniors with greater health-care needs.

Our plan wouldn’t merely ensure that American retirees have more health-care options than they have today. By allowing private plans to compete directly with traditional Medicare, our plan would also spur a wave of innovation to lower health-care costs and provide higher-quality health care.

The reason is simple: In order to offer better benefits and lower costs than traditional Medicare, private plans will have to develop better delivery models and design better ways to care for patients with chronic illnesses. Imagine health plans tailored to help patients manage diabetes, prevent heart disease, or combat high blood pressure.

In the event that these efforts did not stem the rising tide of Medicare spending, there would be a cap on the program’s rate of growth. But unlike other proposals, spending that exceeds the cap would neither be addressed through bureaucratic cuts nor passed on to seniors by default as higher premiums.

Instead, Congress would be required to do its job: Determine why the costs exceeded the cap and—when the evidence merits—reduce payments to providers, drug companies, or others who may be responsible for escalating costs.

By giving seniors the power to choose among competing plans, our plan would add a level of cost control, customization and quality to the health security of older Americans that today’s Medicare is not in a position to achieve.

Our plan would also expand health-care options for working Americans by giving smaller businesses the opportunity to empower their employees to make their own health-care choices. Under this “free choice option,” employees take the amount that their employer was contributing toward their employer-provided health coverage and use it to purchase their own health insurance instead. The cost to the employer—and the tax-free benefit to the worker—would remain the same.

Combined with expanded choices for Medicare beneficiaries, this would also make it possible for more and more Americans to transfer into Medicare without having to change doctors and insurance.

Taken together, these reforms would ensure that Medicare remains the guaranteed, affordable lifeline that its creators envisioned, both for older Americans and for young families paying into the system.

Yes, these are ambitious reforms, and while we are hopeful for the future, we are under no illusions that they will pass tomorrow. Nevertheless, we offer this plan as proof that Democrats and Republicans don’t have to spend next year making Medicare reform more difficult. Instead, our parties can work together on bipartisan reforms to save and strengthen Medicare.

Mr. Wyden, a Democrat, is a U.S. senator from Oregon. Mr. Ryan, a Republican, is a U.S. representative from Wisconsin.

By U.S. Chamber of Commerce

All Clark Griswold wanted was to add some Christmas cheer to his home. He spent days stringing thousands of lights up and down his house and jury-rigging extension cords into outlets just to brighten up the holiday. Sure, his family didn’t appreciate it, but he tried.

Rolling blackouts because of Utility MACT, A.K.A. the Blackout Rule, threaten the power grid which threaten to kill more jobs and awesome light displays.

Retail in Reverse with surge in Black Friday gift returns

The video below talks about one terrible trend this holiday shopping season about the surprising rise in returned goods weeks before Christmas. They call it buyers remorse and retailers will call it a vile omen. Please watch below:

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

State Tax Revenues on the Rise
By Patrick Emerson
Oregon Economics Blog
Or so says the Rockefeller Institute who tracks state tax revenue from 48 states:

“Preliminary tax collection data for the July-September quarter of 2011 show growth in overall state tax collections, as well as for personal income tax and sales tax revenue, for the seventh consecutive quarter. While still strong, revenue growth was more moderate than in the previous three quarters. We will provide a full report on the July-September period after Census Bureau data for the quarter are available.”

Alliance board of directors endorses Eileen Brady for Mayor of Portland
Portland Business Alliance

The Portland Business Alliance board of directors today announced its endorsement of Eileen Brady for Mayor of Portland. “Eileen Brady will bring a fresh perspective as well as a business perspective to City Hall,” said J. Isaac, chair of the Alliance’s board of directors. “Throughout this process, we asked candidates about their views on private-sector job retention and creation, and Eileen has demonstrated to us that she supports our jobs agenda and is committed to improving our economy.”

Tim Duy
Oregon Economic Forum
University of Oregon

The Oregon economy firmed somewhat in October. While the Oregon Measure of Economic Activity fell to -0.95 from a revised –0.65 in October, the less-volatile three month moving average improved to -0.90 from -0.98 in October. The University of Oregon Index of Economic Indicators™ rose 0.3 percent to 89.3 (1997=100) in October, a second consecutive monthly increase.

Further comments:

• While the Oregon Measure of Economic Activity showed improvement, it continues to indicate Oregon is growing well below the trend of growth established over the 1990-2011 period. The manufacturing, construction, and household sectors pulled growth below its long-term trend, while the service sector made a positive contribution.

Quick facts on the protest:
– About 100 Occupy protesters demonstrated
– Over 300 longshoremen & 200 truckers were impacted
– 5,000 companies are connected to shipments from the port

Below it shows KATU-2 Reporter asking protesters about the impact of port workers losing their pay over the protesters.

Oregon OSHA Proposes Changes to Penalty Structure
By J.L. Wilson
Associated Oregon Industries
Oregon’s largests business advocate

Oregon OSHA is currently discussing several proposed changes in its penalty structure. The agency intends to adopt several changes by the end of 2011 and have them take effect early in 2012, pending comments from employers and the public. Some of the proposed changes would have the effect of raising the penalties assessed against employers for violations.Comments from the public will be taken until close of business on December 14, 2011.

Among the changes that OSHA intends to implement includes: