Tag Archives: Christopher St Jeor

Around Idaho: May Economic Activity

  • Information provided in this article has been gathered from various sources throughout the state, including professional sources, news releases, weekly and daily newspapers, television and other media.
Statewide
Northern Idaho
North Central Idaho
Southwestern Idaho
South Central Idaho
Southeastern Idaho
Eastern Idaho

SCHOOL BOND RECAP
As reported in idahoednews.org:

  • Bonneville County: More than 66 percent of voters said yes to a $56.1 million high school bond May 19, but fell shy of the two-thirds supermajority needed to pass a school bond. In all, 6,673 voters said yes, a 66.19 majority, while 3,408 voters said no. It is the third time since 2014 that Bonneville voters have rejected a bond issue.
  • Notus: School officials got the go-ahead to replace an 89-year-old elementary school, as patrons gave a $4.8 million bond issue a 70 percent supermajority. Another school bond issue had failed in November.
  • Preston: A five-year, $4.5 million plant facilities levy passed with 72 percent backing, the Idaho State Journal reported. The vote was 398-155.
  • Emmett: Patrons approved a two-year, $2.8 million supplemental levy, with a 63 percent majority.
  • Troy: Voters turned down a one-year, $1.2 million supplemental levy. The proposal received only 44 percent support. Voters rejected a $1.3 million proposal in March.
  • Sugar-Salem: A two-year, $900,000 supplemental levy barely received the simple majority required to pass. The tally was 275 in favor, 271 opposed.
  • Whitepine: A one-year, $850,000 supplemental levy passed with 60 percent support.
  • Marsing: Voters approved a two-year, $800,000 supplemental levy. It was the first supplemental levy sought by the district since at least 1974, the Owyhee Avalanche reported.
  • Ririe: A two-year, $770,000 supplemental levy passed with 71 percent support, the Post Register reported.
  • Parma: A two-year, $700,000 supplemental levy passed with 79 percent support.
  • Horseshoe Bend: A two-year, $600,000 supplemental levy passed with 70 percent support, KIVI TV reported. An identical levy narrowly failed in March.
  • Salmon River: Voters approved a one-year, $545,000 supplemental levy with 75 percent support.
  • Nezperce: A one-year, $475,000 supplemental levy passed with a 66 percent majority, the Lewiston Tribune reported.
  • Cottonwood: A one-year, $350,000 supplemental levy passed with 71 percent backing.
  • Butte County: Voters approved a one-year, $330,000 school bond extension with an 82 percent supermajority, according to the Post Register.
  • Kamiah: A one-year, $325,000 supplemental levy went down to an overwhelming defeat, receiving just 30 percent support.
  • South Lemhi: A 10-year, $200,000 plant facilities levy received a 93 percent landslide, the Post Register reported.
  • North Gem-Grace consolidation: Patrons in the two Southeast Idaho districts rejected a proposal to combine the districts, the Idaho State Journal reported.

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Idahoans Benefit from Falling Oil Prices

After years of rising gasoline prices Idahoans are getting a reprieve, but as the state further integrates into the global economy, the ramifications of falling – or rising – oil prices become more complicated.

What is Driving the Drop in Prices?

crude oil table

Over the past four years global oil production has grown from roughly 85 million barrels per day to 90.1 million, largely due to the significant technological advancements in hydraulic fracturing – fracking. This has allowed producers to extract oil from shale formations previously thought unviable.

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A Slowing Global Economy and The Great Recession Continue to Impact Idaho’s Economy

Recessions are natural in any economy and are commonly defined as two or more successive quarters of negative economic growth. Since the end of WWII, the United States has experienced 10 recessions – each with its own unique impact.

And in December 2007, the U.S. entered a recession unlike any other.

The Great Recession

After six consecutive years of significant economic growth – largely spurred by a hyper-inflated housing market – the U.S. economy crashed into an 18-month recession. Worthy of its name, the Great Recession was the worst U.S. financial crisis since World War II. While the foibles of those who played the housing market are well documented, what was it that made the Great Recession so bad?

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Despite Losses, Idaho Manufacturing Sees Improvements

In recent years, the manufacturing industry in the United States has been a skeleton of what it once was. As some manufacturers outsourced work to foreign countries in pursuit of cost savings, others simply struggled to stay alive, unable to keep up with increasing competition in an ever-expanding global economy.

From 2000 to 2010, manufacturing posted net job losses each year. Manufacturing jobs decreased 30 percent, losing more than 5 million jobs over the decade. Regardless of the cause, once proud cities like Detroit are left desolate by the relative death of the industry.

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January Economic Activity Around Idaho

Information provided in this article has been gathered from various sources throughout the state, including weekly and daily newspapers, television and other media.

Statewide
Northern Idaho
North Central Idaho
Southwestern Idaho
South Central Idaho
Southeastern Idaho
Eastern Idaho

Statewide Developments

  • A recent report from the finance website Wallet Hub says Idaho is the third most-generous state – tied with Kansas, according to Boise State Public Radio. Utah and South Dakota topped the list. Using IRS statistics and survey data for the report for the Chronicle of Philanthropy, Wallet Hub looked at volunteer time and money donated. Idahoans’ high rate of giving was attributed in part to the state’s large Mormon population. About a quarter of Idahoans identify as members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Giving money to a church counts as a charitable contribution in most studies. A University of Pennsylvania study found that 88 percent of active Mormons report giving 10 percent of their income to the church. That’s higher than any other religion in America.

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