By Steve Buckstein, Cascade Policy Institute Call it the smartphone/mobile app economy. Call it the Free World of Ridesharing. Call it the future. Whatever you call it, Uber, Lyft, and a host of smaller innovative companies are quickly transforming the century-long, highly government-regulated transportation market in Portland and around the […]

U.S. Chamber of Commerce U.S. Chamber of Commerce Center for Capital Markets Competitiveness President and CEO David Hirschmann today issued the following statement regarding the Supreme Court ruling in favor of the Inclusive Communities Project, Inc. in the case Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs v. The Inclusive Communities […]

Ater Wynne LLP NW Law firm Given the awkward questions, gossip, and perhaps outright discrimination that may occur when an individual comes out as transgender on the job, it would be understandable if an individual decided to resign rather than continue working through the transition. With Caitlyn Jenner’s public announcement […]

Congressman Kurt Schrader Congressman Kurt Schrader (OR-05) voted for H.R. 644, the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act, more commonly known as Trade Promotion Authority (TPA). The bill passed the House by a vote of 219-211. “95 percent of the world’s consumers live outside the United States. The state of […]

By Jan Meekcoms Oregon NFIB Taxpayers could receive almost $473 million in rebates. Oregon’s kicker rebate system, which is expected to return nearly $473 million to state taxpayers next year, is threatened by new proposals in the legislature. Under the unique kicker provision in the state’s constitution, Oregon must return […]

By Josh Lehner Oregon Office of Economic Analysis Blog Just a quick update on new construction and housing activity. While one hears and reads much about the current, so-called construction boom, it can be helpful to place the recent numbers in perspective. Within the Portland MSA, only one county – […]

Ater Wynne LLP NW Law frim Central Oregon’s residential property values rose faster in the mid-2000s’ housing bubble and fell harder in the 2008 crash than those in other Oregon areas. Bend, especially, has been a boom-and-bust kind of town since at least the late 1970s. The bust cycle has […]

By Jan Meekcoms Oregon NFIB According to the chief economist for America’s most important group of employers – small-business owners – a normal level of economic activity may finally be here, but the Oregon state director for the same association said today it isn’t due to anything happening in Oregon. […]

By Taxpayer Association of Oregon Foundation A study on the revenue potential of recreational marijuana that was promoted during Oregon’s legalization ballot push last fall is $60 million less than the state’s most recent budget projection. That figure gap is even bigger if one accounts for the costs associated with […]

Associated Oregon Industries Oregon’s largest business advocate The issue of corporate tax disclosure – embodied in HB 2077 – continues to rear its ugly head as the bill gets continually scheduled for committee work in the waning weeks of session. The amendments being considered for HB 2077 require the public […]