Marketplace: Of traffic, taxes and turbulence

Julia Anderson

Traffic counts across the Interstate 5 and 205 Columbia River bridges continue to indicate that we are in an economic downturn.

In April, daily average traffic on the two bridges was down 0.5 percent, or 1,436 trips per day. This is the third year in a row that bridge traffic has declined. That’s no surprise when we learn that an estimated 138,600 Portland-Vancouver metro area residents are off the job and looking for work. Since peaking in January 2008, the metro area, including five counties in Oregon and Clark County, has lost 50,700 jobs, mostly in manufacturing and construction.

There’s talk on the Oregon side of the river that income taxes should be raised on that state’s residents who earn more than $125,000 a year and households that earn more than $250,000. It’s one of the latest ideas for how to balance Oregon’s operating budget, trashed by the recession. Republicans warn that such a move would push more people northward into Clark County and no-income-tax Washington. About 30,000 Oregon taxpayers would be affected by the plan. Of course to deal with its own budget issues Washington needs to lower its burdensome sales tax and implement an income tax. Oregon needs a sales tax. But no body in either state has the guts for those moves.

Hewlett-Packard Co. isn’t speculating on the timing of an economic turnaround. HP’s CEO Mark Hurd told investors Thursday that the recession has created a lot of pent up demand because it has disrupted the normal cycle of tech upgrades, but he warned investors that it was still uncertain when that would get back on track, reported the online redOrbit.com. Meanwhile, rival Dell Inc., reported on Thursday a 63 percent drop in quarterly profit and a 23 percent decline in revenue.

Regional bank earnings didn’t look so hot in the first quarter, according to a survey by Marple’s Pacific Northwest Letter. Marple’s tracked 29 banks doing business in the Northwest that lost a combined $117 million in the January-March period. That’s a "huge swing" from profits of $125 million in the same period in 2008. Banks that reported profits were: Washington Federal, Glacier Bancorp, Eagle Bancorp, Columbia Banking System, First Financial NW, Home Federal, Pacific Continental, Northrern CanCorp, Washington Banking, Siuslaw Financial Group, Cascade Financial, Puget Sound Bank and Sound Financial.

Clark Public Utilities has completed the sale of $58.7 million in municipal revenue bonds at an average interest cost of 4.6 percent over the next 30 years. The money will fund electric system and generating system capital investments. Municipal bonds are tax-exempt for many investors under federal tax law.

The Portland Business Journal reports that China-based SunTech Power Holdings Inc. is eyeing sites in Oregon for a possible manufacturing plant. SunTech is the largest manufacturer of crystalline silicon photovoltaic modules. Rumors here have another major tech-company considering a solar wafer plant in Clark County.

Julia Anderson is The Columbian’s business editor.