Josh Lehner Oregon office of Economic Analysis Like the nation overall, Oregon is transitioning down to more sustainable rates of growth. Job gains are roughly in-line with what underlying demographics suggest the state needs to hold the unemployment rate steady. Eventually the cyclical drivers of growth will slow further and […]

By Allen Alley Article from Oregon Transformation Newsletter It seems like every year Oregon Democrats have another new billion dollar tax. In 2019, we got the billion-dollar annual “Corporate Activity Tax” (aka Sales Tax). The year 2020 brings us a new “Cap and Trade” system (aka energy tax). Why on […]

Oregon Congressman Greg Walden, Representative Greg Walden (R-Hood River) spoke at a House Energy and Commerce subcommittee hearing entitled: “Autonomous Vehicles: Promises and Challenges of Evolving Automotive Technologies.” This hearing comes after Walden led the effort last Congress to pass landmark legislation to pave the way for self-driving cars. The […]

US Attorney, Oregon District Press Release, On January 22, 2020, Kristopher Ives, 33, of Portland, was sentenced to 12 months and one day in federal prison and three years’ supervised release for illegally accessing the computer network and data of his former employer, Gearbox Studios, after being terminated. According to […]

Oregon Attorney General, Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum released a “Do Not Click” campaign to educate Oregonians about staying safe online. She is hoping to alert people to the dangers of clicking on links that appear to be legitimate—but are not. Scammers may pretend to be an official organization, bank, […]

Josh Lehner Oregon office of Economic Analysis U.S. economic growth has settled in around its potential in recent quarters. The outlook is stable and the risk of recession is receding. The trade war deescalated with the signing of the Phase One trade deal between China and the U.S. and financial […]

By Taxpayer Association of Oregon Foundation, Voters in Madras will decide in May whether to approve a 5 percent sales tax on food and beverages purchased at restaurants, cafes, and coffee shops to pay for road repairs.   Bend City Council is also considering a meals tax.  Last year, voters rejected […]

Oregon Congressman Kurt Schrader, Rep. Kurt Schrader (D-OR) introduced a bipartisan resolution to urge Major League Baseball (MLB) to preserve the current minor league structure and abandon its plan to eliminate 42 minor league baseball clubs, including the Keizer Volcanoes. “Millions of fans attend Minor League Baseball games each year,” […]

By Eric Fruits, Ph.D. Cascade Policy Institute “It’s time to get this done!” Governor Kate Brown told the crowd at this year’s Oregon Leadership Summit, referring to a replacement for the Interstate 5 bridge over the Columbia River. The statement ended with an exclamation point, but it should have ended […]

US Chamber of Commerce, The U.S. House of Representatives passed the Protecting the Right to Organize Act of 2019 (PRO Act, H.R. 2474). The legislation, which claims to be pro-worker, would, in fact, force employees to pay union dues regardless of whether they support a union, lose the right to […]