U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden  called on the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to classify text messaging as a telecommunications service. During its open meeting on Dec. 12, the FCC will vote on a proposed declaratory ruling classifying text messaging as an information service, which would permit telephone […]

By Josh Lehner Oregon Office of Economic Analysis The strong economy is reaching all corners with employment rates and household incomes rising. One result is households are feeling pretty good right now. Balance sheets have been repaired. Debt, while rising, is in line with income gains, meaning there is no […]

by Timothy D. Carkin Senior Vice President Ferguson Wellman Oregon based Capitol Management Firm With a week subdued by a day of mourning, traders hoped market volatility would follow suit: it did not. In less than three trading sessions the S&P 500 traded down five percent, the Dow Jones Industrial […]

By NFIB, Small business job creation inched up in November, rising to a net addition of 0.19 workers per firm, according to NFIB’s monthly jobs report, released today. Sixteen percent of owners reported increasing employment an average of 2.9 workers per firm, unchanged from October, and 11 percent reported reducing […]

By John A. Charles, Jr. Cascade Policy Institute, Governor Kate Brown’s top health care administrator is requesting that the legislature increase taxes on beer, wine, cider, cigarettes, cigars, and vaping pens. If approved, the taxes would result in $784 million in new revenue for the state over the next two […]

By Oregon Small Business Association, 2018 is the year of change for many companies.  This year, Spotify was rebuked for sending their top employees to strip clubs.  NIKE removed six executives for sexual harassment which included unwanted advances and trips to strip clubs.   Google employees walked out across the world […]

By US Attorney, Oregon District Curran Millican Manzer, 37, of Springfield, Oregon, pleaded guilty to a single count of possession with intent to the distribute marijuana after repeatedly shipping marijuana out of state. “Illegal export continues to plague Oregon’s under regulated and insufficiently enforced state laws governing state-licensed marijuana. The […]

Oregon Congressman Peter DeFazio, Although the president has repeatedly and emphatically stated that he would get rid of the disastrous trade policies of the last twenty-five years, this agreement promotes many of the same damaging provisions as its predecessor. As currently written, this agreement does not truly protect American jobs, […]

By National Retail Federation Organized retail crime is continuing to grow, with nearly three-quarters of retailers surveyed reporting an increase in the past year, according to the 14th annual ORC study released today by the National Retail Federation. “These criminals find new ways to expand their networks and manipulate the […]

By Oregon Employment Department, How long do workers stay in a given job? Nationally, the average employee tenure in January 2018 was 4.2 years. Data to address this question isn’t available for Oregon, but every two years the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes this information for the nation, which […]