June 1, 2009 - The Unemployment Rate and State and Local Economic Policy
By Bill Conerly, Businomics, Conerly Consulting, My friends are telling me I’m an idiot. I was quoted in the local newspaper last week saying that our high unemployment rate was a bit of a mystery. Both friends and strangers have told me that it’s simple: our state has high unemployment […]
May 31, 2009 - Update: Safe Harbor 401k, Union Pensions, Obama Health Care
Barran Liebman LLP Electronic Alert 1. IRS Relaxes Safe Harbor 401(k) Plan Restrictions 2. Union Pension Plans May Require Increased Employer Contributions 3. New Details on Obama’s Healthcare Proposal Three important developments require attention by employers sponsoring retirement and health plans for their employees.
May 30, 2009 - PMAR: 8,000 Reasons to Purchase Your First Home
Kathy Querin, PMAR Chief Executive Officer: Portland, Ore. — If you’re thinking about purchasing your first home, have good credit, and can afford a mortgage payment, but have been sitting on the fence, wondering when to make your move, there are 8,000 reasons that may push you right off to […]
May 29, 2009 - Providence tops digital records. Praise and caution.
Oregon Small Business Association, The push for digital medical records, fueled by $19 billion from the federal stimulus package, would completely change the way doctors prescribe and practice medicine—by digitizing the entire medical record-keeping process. Backers say such technology will cut costs and save lives. But a growing body of […]
May 29, 2009 - Consumer Confidence: A Very Positive Economic Sign
By Bill Conerly, Businomics, Conerly Consulting LLC, Today’s report on consumer confidence lends credence to economic forecasts that call for a recovery soon.
May 28, 2009 - A second look at new credit card laws
Credit Cards, Asymmetric Information and the Role of Government in Preventing Bad Choices By Patrick Emerson Oregon Economics Blog The new credit card (and guns) bill is about to be signed into law and it begs the question: what is the market failure that this government intervention is suppose to […]
May 27, 2009 - Obama oversea tax plan would hit Intel, Nike.
Taxation Update: In an effort to pay for its increased spending the Obama Administration is going after corporate overseas earnings. This could mean diminished competitiveness for U.S. companies operating overseas. Companies like Intel and Nike would suffer under new rules proposed by the Administration. “The bottom line is they have […]
May 27, 2009 - Income tax revenue to IRS drops 44%
May 26, 2009 - Economic optimism…in the long term
By Bill Conerly, Businomics, Conerly Consulting LLC, Take 20 minutes and watch this wonderful Ted Talk by Alex Tabarrok of George Mason University. He’s a professor but he speaks English. Much of what he says will be familiar to those of you who have heard my presentation, Freedom and Prosperity: […]