U.S. Chamber of Commerce The U.S. Chamber of Commerce announced its strong opposition to a Seattle ordinance that authorizes union organizing of for-hire drivers working as independent contractors, highlighting that the ordinance violates federal law in at least two ways and that the ordinance will burden innovation, increase prices, and […]

U.S. Senator Ron Wyden Press Release, Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., released the following statement on legislation filed by Sen. Dianne Feinstein, to require Internet companies that are aware of undefined “terrorist activity” to report it to law-enforcement. “Let’s make sure the record is clear: The Director of the FBI testified […]

University of Oregon Regional Economic Indexes By Tim Duy Oregon Economic Forum University of  Oregon The Oregon Measure of Economic Activity surged in November to 1.38, up from 0.75 the previous month. The three-month moving average, which smooths month-to-month volatility in the measure, rose to 0.62 (“zero” indicates average growth […]

By Josh Lehner Oregon Office of Economic Analysis Blog Home prices are rising quickly across the state and have surpassed their previous peak in many areas, although not all. Such prices — particularly in places like Bend and Portland — have many asking the question of whether or not we […]

By Oregon Brewers Guild A recently completed study estimates the economic impact of the 2015 Oregon Brewers Festival (OBF) at $30.2 Million. Jeff Dense, Professor of Political Science and Craft Beer Studies at Eastern Oregon University, and a team of students administered 751 on-site interviews July 22-25, 2015. The study […]

By Oregon NFIB, It’s no secret that regulations make it difficult for small businesses to stay afloat in Oregon. This year was far from an exception. More bad news than good seemed to flow out of Salem, from February’s extension of the clean-fuel standard to June’s approval of a mandatory […]

By Josh Lehner Oregon Office of Economic Analysis Blog Full employment is finally within sight. It is not here yet, and the current economic expansion is far from perfect, but a long stretch of modest gains in recent years have cumulatively delivered significant progress across the economic spectrum. The number […]

Associated Oregon Industries Oregon’s largest business advocate by Betsy Earls  The July adjournment of 2015 Session seems like a long time ago, but many of the laws the Legislature passed are just now taking effect. Unless an emergency clause caused a bill to go into effect immediately upon passage, all […]

By NFIB 1. The Obamacare penalty no one is talking about 2. What the Supreme Court headscarf ruling means for small biz 3. The Obamacare provision repeal that’s uniting both parties 4. What Ben Carson’s flat-rate tax plan would really look like 5. House votes to repeal estate tax: how […]

By Steve Buckstein, Cascade Policy Institute Union-backed and activist groups are trying to put measures on the November 2016 ballot to raise Oregon’s minimum wage from the current $9.25 to either $13.50 or $15, and to allow local governments such as the city of Portland to go above whatever the […]