Archives

May 23, 2022 - Portland rental housing shortage made worse

By Micah Perry Cascade Policy Institute According to a revised report from economic consulting firm ECONorthwest, Portland lost 14% of its single family rental houses between 2017 and 2020. That’s a decline of more than 1,300 rental homes per year. This steep drop shouldn’t come as a surprise given the […]


May 19, 2022 - NFIB urges Court to simplify DOL Tip Credit Rule

By NFIB, NFIB filed an amicus brief in the case Restaurant Law Center, et al. v. United States Department of Labor at the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. The case challenges DOL’s 2021 final rule on the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) tip credit provision. “The […]


May 19, 2022 - Big revenue forecast reminds us of the need to protect our Kicker

By Oregon Republican Senate Office, SALEM, Ore. – Oregon’s economists project that Oregon budgets will have big surpluses, much of which will be returned to taxpayers based on how much in taxes they paid in. “Thanks to the Kicker, Oregonians will get some of their taxes back and with it, […]


May 18, 2022 - Web Scraping and why employers should be concerned

By Heather J. Van Meter Bullard Law The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals recently ruled in LinkedIn v. hiQ Labs, Inc. that “web scraping” is likely not illegal and allowed web scraping company hiQ Labs, Inc. to “web scrape” LinkedIn’s website, including all of LinkedIn’s substantial publicly-available member profile data. Following the […]


May 17, 2022 - Ag warns over baby formula price gouging

By Oregon Attorney General, With increased shortages of baby formula due to recalls, labor shortages, and supply chain disruptions, Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum tonight sent a letter to Governor Kate Brown asking her to immediately declare an “abnormal disruption of the market” in Oregon pursuant to ORS 401.965. Oregon law […]


May 16, 2022 - Fake rentals plague Portland

By Oregon Taxpayers Foundation, Where there’s money to be made, scammers are likely to jump in—and that’s just what they’re doing in the hot Portland rental market. According to KPTV, they copy information from real estate listings where owners are selling their homes and then post it on Craigslist offering […]


May 13, 2022 - NFIb study: Small Business outlook at record low

By NFIB, The NFIB Small Business Optimism Index was unchanged in April, remaining at 93.2 and the fourth consecutive month below the 48-year average of 98. Small business owners expecting better business conditions over the next six months decreased one point to a net negative 50%, the lowest level recorded […]


May 12, 2022 - Rent aid: Less than half distributed

By Oregon Taxpayers Association Foundation, Oregon still can’t distribute rental assistance. The Oregon Housing and Community Services Department reported it has distributed $319.3 million in emergency rental assistance payments to landlords on behalf of 48,313 Oregon households since the U.S. Treasury made the first federal funds available in May 2021, […]


May 11, 2022 - Oregon’s cyclical labor shortage is gone

By Josh Lehner Oregon Office of Economic Analysis Labor market dynamics are shifting. Job growth will be more balanced across industries. Job gains will moderate in a full employment economy, slowing aggregate wages along the way, which should help lessen some inflationary pressures as well. However, a structural labor shortage […]


May 10, 2022 - Wyden: Publicize fraud hotline so consumers can report price gouging

U.S. Senator Ron Wyden Press Release, Amid numerous allegations of corporations padding their profits by raising prices to gouge consumers, U.S. Senator Ron Wyden, D-Ore.,  urged the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to ensure Americans are aware they can report suspected price gouging to the FTC, either at ReportFraud.FTC.gov or the […]