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 […]

By Oregon Employment Department, Oregon’s workforce is aging. The number of Oregon jobs held by workers age 55 and over more than tripled from 1992 to 2018, while the total number of jobs grew by just over 50 percent. Workers 55 years and over held just 10 percent of the […]

By Rachel Dawson Cascade Policy Institute Oregon state officials recently celebrated helping the state reach 25,000 registered electric vehicles (EVs) through local incentives and the Clean Vehicle Rebate Program. This celebration, however, is a punch in the gut to the state’s low-income and rural residents whose taxes fund the rebates […]

Oregon Attorney General, Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum joined a group of 21 Attorneys General in a lawsuit filed challenging the Trump administration’s latest rule allowing 3D-printed gun files to be released on the internet. The rule would effectively enable anyone to access 3D-print files online and make unregistered, untraceable firearms. […]

By Oregon Small Business Association With the legalization of recreational marijuana five years ago, Oregon has seen medical dispensaries of the drug dwindle to only three. According to the Portland Business Journal, the state was once home to 425 licensed medical dispensaries. Most switched to selling recreational marijuana by the […]

By NFIB, Small businesses started 2020 on a strong note, adding an average employment change per firm of 0.49 workers, the highest level since March 2019, according to NFIB’s monthly jobs report. The small business labor market overall is starting on a good note, with strong hiring and higher employee […]