Economic Policy News
The Daily Signal provides economic policy news with reporting, analysis, and commentary on markets, growth, and fiscal responsibility.
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- Opinion
Economy Adds 225,000 Jobs as Nation Continues to Flourish
The U.S. economy added an impressive 225,000 jobs in January as low unemployment rates continued for all Americans. The new jobs report shatters the experts’ predictions and continues to make the case that, because of good economic policy, America is flourishing. This report shows that since President Donald Trump was elected in November 2016, employment…Timothy Doescher -
- Opinion
An Economics Reality Check
I have been teaching economics since 1967—40 years of it at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia. During that interval, economic reality has not changed. Just as Galileo’s law about the independent influence of gravity on falling objects has not changed, neither have the fundamental principles of economics. Economics is fun and simple. It’s made…Walter E. Williams -
- Opinion
5 Takeaways From the Latest Budget Projections
The Congressional Budget Office has released its budget and economic projections for fiscal years 2020-2030. The latest report confirms what the Congressional Budget Office has been telling lawmakers for years: The nation is hurtling toward a spending-driven debt crisis. Without major reforms to mandatory spending programs, it is not a question of if, but when,…Justin Bogie -
- Opinion
Andrew Cuomo Is Wrong. The Gig Economy Isn’t Like a Sweatshop at All.
In his State of the State address on Jan. 8, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo likened 21st-century gig-economy corporations to late 18th- and early 19th-century sweatshops, the latter characterized as such for their poor working conditions, exploitation of workers, and violations of labor laws. By asserting that entirely optional gig and contract-based work “is exploitive,…Rachel Greszler -
- Opinion
Federal Spending Explodes at Nearly $300,000 Per Household Since 2010
Amid the drama surrounding impeachment, both parties came together on one area of shared support: spending enormous amounts of taxpayer dollars and adding to the $23.1 trillion national debt. Congress had little time to properly review fiscal 2020 spending bills, which weighed in at more than 2,000 pages of clunky text. The legislation contained a…David Ditch -
- Opinion
Washington Post Concedes That Government Spending on Education Has Increased, Not Decreased
“The biggest problem plaguing U.S. public schools [is] a lack of resources.” So claims Robert Pianta, dean of the University of Virginia’s Curry School of Education, in an op-ed published last week in The Washington Post. In fact, Pianta asserts, government spending on K-12 education actually has declined since the 1980s. These claims are inaccurate,…Lindsey Burke -
- Opinion
‘An Incredible Economic Boom’: The Effects of the 2017 Tax Cuts
Monica Crowley, Treasury Department assistant secretary of public affairs, joins the podcast to talk about the “incredible economic boom” that followed the tax reform passed in 2017. Read the lightly edited transcript, posted below, or listen on the podcast: Rachel del Guidice: The Daily Signal Podcast is coming to you from the U.S. Treasury Department…Robert B. Bluey -
- Opinion
What Does ‘The Irishman’ Have to Do With Congress’ Latest Spending Bill?
Director Martin Scorsese’s award-winning new film “The Irishman” contains some important history for lawmakers as they prepare to vote on a spending package that would provide a $6 billion taxpayer bailout to one select union. That union is the United Mine Workers of America. For the first time in history, Congress is poised to use…Rachel Greszler -
- Opinion
How 2 Years of Tax Cuts Have Supported Our Strong Economy
This month marks the two-year anniversary of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, the most sweeping update to the U.S. tax code in more than 30 years. The reforms simplified the process of paying taxes, lowered rates on individuals and businesses, and updated the business tax code so that American corporations and the people they…Adam Michel -
- Opinion
The Pros and Cons of 3 Possible Budget Outcomes
Just over a week away from the next deadline for fiscal year 2020 appropriations, Congress still has not passed a single spending bill. If Americans are feeling a strange sense of déjà vu, it is because the current spending uncertainty has played out time and time again. The federal government is already on its second…Justin Bogie -
- Opinion
Despite All the Spending, Productivity Growth Is Skipping Schools
Washington is abuzz that private-sector productivity growth has been low for the past decade or so, but do federal policymakers really know how to improve productivity in the American economy? If one very large sector of the economy is any indication, the answer is, regrettably, a resounding “no.” Since World War II, educators, lawmakers, and…Benjamin Scafidi -
- Opinion
Fed Chairman Emphasizes Strong Economy and Labor Market, Cautions Unsustainable Debt and Trade Developments Pose Risks
The labor market is incredibly strong and the economic outlook favorable, yet risks remain. That was Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell’s message to Congress on Nov. 13. Powell highlighted many positive features of the economic outlook, including: The economy is in its 11th year of expansion and the “baseline outlook remains favorable.” Unemployment of 3.6%…Rachel Greszler -
- Opinion
Mexico’s New Tax Law Could Chill Its Economy, Hurt US Trade Relationship
A new tax law approved last month by the political party of Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador—which holds absolute control of the Mexican Congress—gives the government the right to seize land and assets without legal due process in certain tax evasion cases. These new fiscal enforcement measures could damage Mexico’s economic freedom as well…James M. Roberts -
- Opinion
3 Reforms Congress Can Build on to Get the Budget Under Control
On Wednesday, the Senate Budget Committee approved its first bipartisan package of budget process reform proposals in nearly 30 years. The proposal is co-sponsored by Chairman Mike Enzi, R.-Wyo., and Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D.-R.I. The federal budget is more than $23 trillion in debt, with additional budget deficits projected to exceed $1 trillion annually for…Justin Bogie -
- Opinion
‘Medicare for All’ Proposes Economy-Crushing Taxes on Middle Class
No other country in the world has been able to provide government-managed health care without soaking middle-class and lower-income taxpayers with high income and payroll taxes. The “Medicare for All” plan revealed by Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., shows how hard it is to raise tens of trillions of dollars without leaving typical Americans economically worse…Adam Michel -
- Opinion
Let’s Not Pay Congress If It Can’t Pass a Budget on Time
The first month of the new federal fiscal year has come and gone with a whimper and not a bang. Congress is hoping to make progress on a package of spending bills, but there’s talk of continuing resolutions and of a government shutdown come Nov. 21. For thousands of federal employees, contractors, and contracts, we’re…Charles Lee Barron -
- Opinion
The Increasing Weight of Health Care Spending on American Taxpayers
Few factors are more critical to economic growth than health care. And few threaten future economic growth more than health care spending. That conundrum lies behind continued political agitation over health care, both in the U.S. and throughout the highly developed world. Advances in medicine have eradicated diseases, extended life expectancy, reduced infant mortality, and…Doug Badger -
- Opinion
Sen. Joni Ernst Wants to Cut Absurd Washington Spending
As the national debt grows larger and larger, our lawmakers continue to spend obliviously—and even on frivolous things. Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, is not happy about how much government agencies are spending on swag, and she recently introduced legislation to end things like the government spending over $600,000 on coloring books. Read a lightly edited transcript…Rachel del Guidice -
- Opinion
Short-Term Spending Bill Will Create a Headache for the Military
President Donald Trump and Congress did what they had to do to get out of town for Congress’ two-week recess last Friday, agreeing on a continuing resolution that is a symbol of Congress’ inability to finish work on its primary responsibility: to “pay the debts and provide for the common defense and general welfare of…Frederico Bartels -
- News
Sen. Joni Ernst Calls Out Use-It-or-Lose-It Government Spending
The fourth-ranking Republican in the Senate called on colleagues Tuesday to pass her legislation to reduce wasteful government spending and rein in agencies’ spending practices. “Government agencies are going on their annual ‘Christmas in September’ use-it-or-lose-it shopping spree,” Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, said in remarks prepared for delivery on the Senate floor. “If not spent…Rachel del Guidice