Bret Swanson National Chamber Foundation Our 13 year-old daughter just returned home from a two-week exchange program in France. She had the time of her life. But the surprising difficulty we had with money and banks got me thinking, once again, about the huge potential of crypto-currencies. Several months ago, […]

By Oregon Small Business Association Foundation Forbes says Portland is overpriced Portland placed #12 on Forbes’ list of America’s Most Overpriced Cities. Los Angeles was #1, followed by Chicago, Miami, and New York. To come up with the list, Forbes compared the housing prices, living expenses, unemployment rates, and average […]

By Oregon Economist Dr. Eric Fruits Econ-Minute Blog God made economists to make weather forecasters look good. Hear enough economic forecast speeches, and you’re bound to hear this old joke. And, yes, I’m guilty of using the joke more than once. Two recent articles put the joke in to perspective. First […]

Entrepreneurship in Oregon Plummets to Lowest Point in 40 years; Rate of Tech Startups Lags By Oregon Small Business Association Foundation Entrepreneurship in Oregon is currently at historic lows. According to a recent data from state economists, the number of new Oregon businesses entering the marketplace on an annual basis […]

By Josh Lehner Oregon Office of Economic Analysis Blog Unlike the nation, unfortunately, Oregon’s Great Recession does have a modern peer: the early 1980s. Our office has documented the similarities numerous times over the years, from the unemployment rate to total jobs and from housing starts to manufacturing jobs and […]

By Thomas Tullis Cascade Policy Institute When Oregon politicians pretend to be experts on venture capital investing, it ends up costing the state millions of dollars in education money. This is exactly what is going on with the Oregon Growth Board, a project of the Oregon Business Development Department. Tasked […]

By National Federation of Independent Business, NFIB urges quick repeal of schizophrenic IRS rule imposing fines on small businesses for helping defray the cost of their workers’ insurance or medical expenses Washington, DC (June 29, 2015) – An obscure IRS rule takes effect under which small businesses that get caught […]

By Technology Association of Oregon. I have been reflecting on my 20+ year career on the things that I wish I better understood when I was first starting out: 1. Don’t wait for permission to get the experience you want In today’s world, it’s easier than ever to proactively develop […]

U.S. Senator Ron Wyden Press Release, Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., has introduced legislation that would promote continued job creation in the growing craft beverage, cider, wine and distillery industries throughout Oregon and the country. The Craft Beverage Modernization and Tax Reform Act, S.1562, introduced Thursday would cut taxes and modernize […]

University of Oregon Regional Economic Indexes By Tim Duy Oregon Economic Forum University of  Oregon Softness in employment components dragged down the Oregon Measure of Economic Activity in May to a near-average level. Highlights of the report include: – The three-month moving average of the Oregon Measure of Economic Activity, […]