By Josh Lehner Oregon Office of Economic Analysis Blog The housing recovery has clearly stalled out in the past 6 months or so. Permits, starts and sales have all leveled off– or worse. The most likely culprits are the continued strong home price appreciation coupled with the run-up in mortgage […]

Associated Oregon Industries Oregon’s largest business advocate Employment law issues were most certainly not in the spotlight in February. At the outset, AOI was poised to take on the issue of a mandated paid sick leave proposal, but a bill was never introduced. AOI’s employment law agenda was modest. First, […]

By Steve Buckstein Cascade Policy Institute When Phil and Penny Knight announced last September* that they would offer $500 million to OHSU for cancer research if the public matched their gift, it understandably led to an outpouring of positive comments and support. But then, OHSU wanted state taxpayers to come […]

Patrick Emerson PhD , OSU Economist Oregon Economics Blog It is slow but it is steady – Oregon’s climb out of the deep pit that was the Great Recession continues albeit at a snail’s pace.  While job growth was only 1,000 in the black (on a seasonally adjusted basis), the […]

Bret Swanson Foundation Scholar President, Entropy Economics LLC Today’s iPhones have the same capabilities (and more!)  than 13 distinct electronics gadgets, worth more than $3,000, found in a 1991 Radio Shack ad. Buffalo writer Steve Cichon was the first to dig up the old ad and make the point about the seemingly […]

Associated Oregon Industries Oregon’s largest business advocate The saga of the I-5 Bridge took another twist. It was one of many. In 2013 the Oregon Legislature passed a bill authorizing funding for the span provided that (amongst other things) the State of Washington commit to its share of funding by […]

Amendments to SB 1534-B may increase taxes on Oregon businesses.  Business owners alarmed. By Oregon Small Business Association, There are concerns that technical language in SB 1534-B may have the effect of re-raising rates on out-of-state income earned by small businesses. Republican lawmakers have been the first to voice their […]

By Bullard Law, Portland law firm EEOC SETTLES FIRST SYSTEMIC DISCRIMINATION CASE FILED UNDER THE GENETIC INFORMATION ACT Last week the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) announced a settlement and consent decree in the first lawsuit filed by the agency alleging systemic discrimination in violation of Title II of the […]

By Oregon Small Business Association This weekend Health Republic Insurance put out a giant near-half page ad in The Oregonian stating that “You’ll never see our name on an arena.  But we’re fine with that.”   The hint is likely towards the recent renaming of the Timber’s Soccer field as Providence […]

Associated Oregon Industries Oregon’s largest business advocateFebruary 25 was the last major deadline of the 2014 Legislative Session before the Constitutionally-mandated adjournment date of March 9. Bills must now be voted out of their final committee, or else they are considered dead. Tuesday’s deadline weeded out a new round of […]