Good idea, but as others note, it is a REGIONAL economy and Portland can only do so much. W/respect to the survey, it leaves a lot to be desired. I think city does ok job helping business thru PDC, county sucks at this and most everything else it does. some of the measures are missing the point. Portland's future isn't in manufacturing (nor is that of the US for that matter). That will fall to the third world and the South (or other places willing to cut labor cost to get jobs). We need to excell in the "creative" arena which should include making the machine that makes the tools of mass production used overseas. But, "creative" can be in ways that aren't measured by patents, so that isn't the best metric. Maybe patents and trademarks/copyrights/etc. would be better. If Portland's future is tied to its creative community, as it should be, it will be tougher to measure success. Business formation is probably a good measure, but for that you need a metric for "businesses" and no one wants to pay business taxes, so .... Sam's proposal to eliminate the business tax for small businesses might help, but businesses still need some king of incentive to register/license. A flat out exemption from taxes/fees/harrassment by the Fire Department/B of Buildings, County Health, etc. for 5 years after registering might be such an incentive for those that currently fear licensing (coupled with a constructive business education/outreach program by the above named organizations to show new businesses what they need to do to be in compliance with applicable codes, etc. so they have nothing to fear. Enough for now.