Oregon
Oregon jobless may have found the bottom
The University of Oregon Index of Economic Indicators™ rose 0.2 percent to 86.2 (1997=100), the first increase since June. Compared to six months ago, more than half the index components declined while the UO Index fell 6.4 percent (annualized).
Highlights of the report include:
• Initial unemployment claims fell sharply to their lowest levels since March, a welcome reversal of the upward trend of the past five months. The improvement suggests that the labor market firmed in September. Still, expectations of dramatic improvement would be premature as claims remain well above levels consistent with sustained job growth.
• Employment services payrolls – largely temporary hiring – rose slightly, but the overall trend in recent months remains disappointingly weak. Aggregate nonfarm payrolls for Oregon (not included in the index) fell 1,800 compared to a revised loss of 2,800 in August, while the unemployment rate again held at 10.6%.
• Residential building permits (smoothed) were largely unchanged during September, holding just shy of 500 permits for the third consecutive month. Similar to Read all…
Wyden: Exempt Oregon from healthcare reform
Wyden Defects on ObamaCare Wall Street Journal Editorial 9/3/10
Most Democrats have come to understand that they can’t run on ObamaCare, but few have the temerity of Ron Wyden. The Oregon Senator is the first to break with the policy underpinnings of the bill he voted for. Last week Mr. Wyden sent a letter to Oregon health authority director Bruce Goldberg, encouraging the state to seek a waiver from certain ObamaCare rules so it can “come up with innovative solutions that the Federal government has never had the flexibility or will to implement.”
One little-known provision of the bill allows states to opt out of the “requirement that individuals purchase health insurance,” Mr. Wyden wrote, and “Because you and I believe that the heart of real health reform is affordability and not mandates, I wanted to bring this feature of Section 1332 to the attention of you and the legislature.”
Now, that’s news. One of the Democratic Party’s leading experts on health care wants his state to dump the individual mandate that is among ObamaCare’s core features. The U-turn is especi
Soda tax comes to Oregon
The Oregon Public Health Division is working on legislation to enact a tax on sweetened beverages. This would include many sodas and other sweetened drinks like Gatorade and ice tea drinks. The cost of a half-cent per ounce would equal to be about 6-cents per soda bottle. This beverage tax would generate over $160 million for the State of Oregon Government.
The Health Division is advocating the proceeds be used for anti-obesity programs. The proposal also comes at a time when Governor Kulongoski has announced that the state is $10.3 billion deficit over the next ten years. Many product taxes start with a dedicated fund idea and then get diverted to pay for other programs. This is the fear of every taxpayer who finds a continuing tax increase on more and more products.
The legislation which has the approval of Governor Kulongoski would be introduced in the 2011 Legislative Session. If Oregon Leg