DeFazio Introduces Transaction Tax By Oregon Small Business Association, Oregon Representative Peter DeFazio and others in Congress are pushing a new concept that would fund spending programs by taxing securities and derivative transactions.  Supporters argue that H.R. 4191, Let Wall Street Pay for the Restoration of Main Street Act of […]

By Louis A. Ferreira Stoel Rives LLP, Attorneys at Law Congress has proposed legislation that would amend the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 to increase both civil and criminal penalties, expand coverage, and create new obligations for employers. Congress has not acted recently on the bill, named the […]

Do temporary cuts in public education spending affect outcomes? By Dr. Eric Fuits, EconInternational As Oregonians mull their ballots for Measures 66 and 67, proponents remind them of the Doonesbury year.  The year was 2003 and Oregonians overwhelmingly rejected an increase in income taxes to fund what legislators call “vital […]

By Oregon Tax News, New regulations, taxes, and fees and even some interesting new tax credits may be in store for this year.  Federal agencies and Congress will consider numerous policy proposals that will increase regulatory action, increase taxation, and even provide a tax breaks.  Currently, dogs, cats, and other […]

By Bill Conerly, Conerly Consulting, Businomics, I always loved listening to Johnny Paycheck sing Take This Job and Shove It.  Now some workers are actually saying that.  Here’s the number of quits in the entire economy: Quits are still well down from the boom days, but the latest news suggests […]

By Jane Dickson, Regional general manager for managed partners in Microsoft’s Small and Mid-market Solutions and Partners (SMS&P) group Most of us are conditioned to perform certain safety routines whenever we leave our homes and our automobiles. We lock the doors and windows and make sure valuables aren’t sitting out, […]

By Tom Quaadman US Chamber of Commerce Join US Chamber Following his State of American Business address, Tom Donohue mentioned at a press conference that protectionist policies and tax increases transformed a severe recession into the Great Depression. Is history repeating itself? Well, we have a severe recession. The failure […]

By Tim Duy, Oregon Economic Forum University of Oregon Index of Economic Indicators. sponsor, KeyBank. The University of Oregon Index of Economic Indicators™ rose 1.0 percent in November to 85.8 (1997=100) from an October figure of 85.0.  The UO Index has risen for four consecutive months and, compared to six […]

Accidental Entrepreneurs: While Business Licenses Increase, State Decreases Portland’s Entrepreneurship Training By Martin Medeiros, Partner, Swider Medeiros Haver LLP In addition to increased middle market merger and acquisition activity, caused most likely by value or strategic acquisitions, business entity formations are up.  This shallow increase in transaction and formation volume […]

By Bill Conerly, Conerly Consulting, Businomics, An interested reader asks, “One question I would like to ask is whether you see the US ever fully recovering from this recession?” Good question.  In the common sense of the term, yes we’ll fully recover.  The level of economic activity will fully recover […]