Health Care Reform: The Eight Steps for Employers Now By Barran Liebman With all of the press, articles, and presentations covering Health Care Reform and the enormity of the topic, we have prepared a simple guide to what employers must do today or within the next few months to comply […]

Agency Aggressively Joins in Challenges to Status of Independent Contractors; Announces “ESD is on your tail! By Nigel P. Avilez and Michael J. Killeen Davis, Wright and Tremaine LLP In 2009, Washington state’s Employment Security Department (ESD) paid out nearly $4 billion in unemployment benefits, setting a state record for […]

DISCLOSE Act Is Partisan Effort to Silence Critics and Gain Political Advantage By U.S. Chamber of Commerce, WASHINGTON, D.C.—U.S. Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Thomas J. Donohue issued the following statement today in response to the House Administration Committee’s markup of the so-called “DISCLOSE Act:” “The DISCLOSE Act is […]

Two videos to watch 1. CNN Money asks questions about Google TV launch 2. Google TV promo video See other video below:

Governor Ted Kulongoski Press Release and Summary Reset Cabinet issues an analysis of state services and fiscal future to educate the public and decision makers in advance of final recommendations next month Salem – Governor Ted Kulongoski today received an update from the Reset Cabinet he created in September 2009 […]

By Bill Conerly, Conerly Consulting, Businomics, In the latest issue of the Businomics(r) Newsletter, I displayed this chart, which shows that consumer spending has fully regained the pre-recession peak:

By Patrick Emerson Oregon Economics Blog As the OPB latest fund-drive comes to a tortured end – ‘just a little more time because we need just a little more money!’ – it seems like a good moment to learn about what economists have learned about charitable giving…You can travel the […]

PNW Auto ordered to pay the maximum fine under Oregon’s Unlawful Trade Practices Act By Oregon Attorney General, Attorney General John Kroger today announced that a judge has ordered a Tigard auto dealership to pay $650,000 in fines for deceiving consumers about the damage history of vehicles for sale.  “This […]

Oregon Bankers Association Offers Tips for Consumers on New Overdraft Rules New Bank Regulation Requiring Opt]in to Overdraft Protection Goes into Effect Oregon Bankers Association, Oregonians and Oregon merchants need to be aware of a new federal rule that could lead to a significant increase in debit card transactions being […]

It’s the longest recession in the modern era for both the U.S. and Oregon. After a major decline in 2008 and 2009, Gross Domestic Product (GDP) resumed growth in the last two quarters of 2009. GDP is the measure of the value of all goods and services produced in the […]