Eric Fruits was on the Jeff Kropf show (KUIK 1360), discussing the State of Oregon’s revenue projections.  Dr. Fruits advised that raising taxes would not sufficiently increase revenues.  More importantly, during this economic downturn tax increases will only deepen the recession.  Instead of raising taxes, cuts in state capital gains taxes will foster investment in the state.

Eric Fruits was invited by the Columbia Corridor Association to present a speech on the Portland’s transportation economy.  With the proposed Columbia River Crossing recently in the news [1,2,3], the conversation focused on the principles of congestion pricing, its benefits, and it complexities.

Some of the discussion covered recent issues in cutting carbon and light rail.

The slides and some brief notes are available for download (PDF).

Economists are notorious for offering advice on how to boost economic growth. So why in the world would some one provide advice on how to slow a state’s economy? Answer: To cut carbon emissions.

Eric Fruits writes in Oregon Business that the state’s efforts to cut carbon are sure to reduce the state’s economic growth. Similarly, reducing economic growth is one way to cut carbon emissions. Dr. Fruits provides five ways in which cutting carbon will slow the state’s economy:

1. Carbon taxes mean that every good purchased by every household and business in the state would be more expensive
2. “Green” energy mandates, euphemistically known as renewable portfolio standards, force companies to use more expensive sources of energy
3. Deferring road maintenance will reduce the flow of goods in an out of the state.
4. Eliminating industrial land means that carbon emitting businesses will have to locate elsewhere.
5. “Picking winners” with “green” tax credits will stifle investment in other businesses in the state.

For almost 50 years, health care expert have diagnosed a “crisis” of high and rising health care costs. It is easy to fall into the trap of thinking that all of today’s crises are new. In fact, high and rising health care costs are not a new problem.

Eric Fruits writes in Oregon Business that one part of the crisis has been the rising cost of health care and health insurance. For years, the cost of health care has outpaced inflation. In turn, the costs of health insurance have risen rapidly, taking a toll on businesses and their employees. Another part of the crisis is the number of uninsured. Last year, Oregon’s governor tried to sell voters a huge tobacco tax increase by pointing to an estimated 117,000 uninsured children in Oregon. These parts of the crisis are related and were born out of the growth of the third-party payer system of covering health and medical costs.

Eric Fruits participated in a roundtable discussion sponsored by BrainstormNW. Other participants were on the Oregon governor’s Council of Economic Advisors. Dr. Fruits discussed downtown Portland real estate and business trends. He also noted the difficulties entrepreneurs face in starting and expanding business in Oregon.