The sequester continues to be a golden opportunity for conservatives to talk about principles of smaller government. Aside from that, budgets are very revealing. And cutting the budget isn’t bad because it forces you to reexamine your spending–in other words, prioritize. That being the case, budgets can also reveal where …
The Hillsboro Argus published my guest editorial this past Friday, pointing out that since we’re building free stadiums for sports teams now, we may as well do it for everyone. A few more comments on the article from 5440 readers might be nice. Come take a look! http://www.oregonlive.com/argus/index.ssf/2013/01/hillsboro_hops_public_financin.html (And as …
In the last four years, Oregon has dropped 15 places to 28th in the nation for litigation and business climate. But until we’re in the bottom 10, don’t expect tort reform to be on the state Democrat majority’s radar. From the Oregon Business Report: A state’s litigation environment is an …
Small Business Owner on Obamacare: Every Restaurant You Eat At Is Impacted Negatively View on YouTube It’s so sad to read these tweets from small business owners who are heartbroken at having to lay off employees because of Obamacare mandates. Unfortunately, now they have to suffer harassment from clueless …
I am proud and humbled to celebrate the first anniversary of this blog. It has evolved quite a bit in its first year. I am most proud of the contributors who have agreed to post their stories at 54°40’ Or Fight! We now have 21 active contributors from around the …
Any business that has more than 50 employees is required to purchase health insurance for their employees or pay hefty fines, so many are now downsizing or refusing to expand beyond 49 employees. Also, in order to avoid the increasing cost of purchasing insurance for full-time employees, many small businesses …
You may recall the Oregon businessman who took offense to Obama’s “You didn’t build that” quote and put a large sign in his shop window stating, “Hey Obama, I built my business by myself, you lousy incompetent excuse for a President.” Provocative, to be sure. But understandable, given this President’s …
In a recent report, the Congressional Research Service revealed that welfare spending has increased by 33% under Barack Obama, topping out at over $1 Trillion annually. As I pointed out in my previous post on the report, baseline spending on social programs has deliberately been driven up by the Obama …
Spoken like the clueless elitist that he is. The Blaze has the transcipt: There are a lot of wealthy, successful Americans who agree with me — because they want to give something back. They know they didn’t — look, if you’ve been successful, you didn’t get there on your own. You didn’t …
Funny thing about NPR’s Weekend All Things Considered—nobody’s listening, so they spend a LONG time on stories. This weekend, it was a gripping 11.5 minute story of the growing LIBOR scandal. It’s important because there is a very good chance your adjustable rate mortgage is tied to LIBOR is someway. …
A couple of weeks ago I read on a website about how Oregon’s Death Tax has obviously not affected my family because I was a 5th generation farmer. (Since then they have taken then claim down.) However this group, Tax Fairness for Oregon, knows nothing about my family. Here’s the thing, my …
Well now, this is interesting. A new economic study from Cornell University shows that the history of expected AND unexpected tax shocks has a demonstrable drag effect on our economy. Who would have guessed? Oh that’s right, the Tea Party. We have been telling legislators for three years that they …
Recently, a theme has developed in the Portland metro area regarding supposedly predatory tow truck drivers. It just so happens that the owner of a couple of these tow services, Gary Coe, is running as a Republican for Oregon Senate District 14. I’m sure it’s just a coincidence that the …
[5440 note: We ran across this blog post by a research fellow at the Wyoming Liberty Group. It's ironic that even other states are looking at Oregon as a poor model for public funding. Reposted by permission from The Liberty Bullhorn.] The High-Risk Game of Raising Taxes in Oregon The push …
The five cities with the highest water/sewer rates in the United States in 2011: Atlanta, Georgia Seattle, Washington Newport, Rhode Island San Francisco, California Portland, Oregon Given the amount of rainfall and the huge amounts of mountain runoff available, doesn’t it seem a bit odd that two of the most …
A U.S. District judge has ruled that Washington state cannot force pharmacies to sell emergency contraceptives. The judge ruled that Washington Pharmacy Board rules, as adopted by the state, did infringe on religious freedom and were unconstitutional. An immediate injunction was put in place so the pharmacies can’t be forced to sell …
Hey, did you notice the improvements at Indianapolis? The new retractable roof and the big new scoreboard at Lucas Oil Stadium? How about the snipers’ nests, featuring tripods made by an Albany, Oregon company? Those are some awesome tripods! Naturally, some folks have a problem with this, and want to go all political …
Hey, who knew there was a Wall Street in Harrisburg, Oregon? You know who is ruining the world for the little guy? Grass seed farmers! Let’s get ‘em! From today’s Albany Democrat Herald: Mid-valley grass-seed wholesalers and trucking companies got burned when Occupy Wall Street protesters descended on the Port …
This is a guest post by Freedomworks intern Celia Bigelow. Before President Obama and Washington rejoice over the decrease in the unemployment rate they need to face a harsh reality: America is still not gaining jobs. In fact, the main reason unemployment “fell” is because the workforce has shrunk. The …
It’s a sentiment based on admirable goals: supporting local jobs and businesses. But the push to shop locally is also partly based on a fundamental misunderstanding of how economics works. So before you reject “big box stores” out of hand as immoral marketplace bullies who gobble up their mom …