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
Xi’s Latest Promises of Economic Openness Ring Hollow
Chinese President Xi Jinping spoke at China’s first International Import Expo in Shanghai earlier this month, reiterating familiar promises that China will improve access to trade, facilitate investment, and protect intellectual property. He and President Donald Trump will meet to discuss outstanding trade issues at the G20 summit in Argentina later this month. The expo,…Helen Lamm -
- Opinion
October Showed Huge Economic Gains. Here’s How Congress Can Keep It Going.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics shattered expert predictions on Friday, reporting that the economy added 250,000 new jobs in the month of October. The labor force participation rate also climbed, unemployment stayed at a record low, and the number of employed Americans stands at a record high. The economy saw gains in crucial sectors like…Timothy Doescher -
- Opinion
Higher Defense Spending Gives Us Better Diplomacy, Not Just a Better Military
[R]obust U.S. military power produces positive spillovers in other areas of statecraft. … Put simply, if the United States did not command such impressive military power, it would be far less effective in achieving its economic and diplomatic goals. With these words, in testimony before the House Armed Services Committee on Sept. 26, Hal Brands…Cooper Millhouse -
- Opinion
America Cannot Afford for Congress to Abandon the Budget Caps
When recently asked about the soaring national debt, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., blamed entitlement spending and Congress’ lack of interest in taking up entitlement reform. He was right, of course. Entitlements are a major driver of our debt, which is projected to reach $1 trillion next year and skyrocket from there. But aside from…Romina Boccia -
- News
Trump’s Plan to Cut Budget by 5% Meets With Skepticism
With the federal budget deficit reaching $779 billion, President Donald Trump is asking Cabinet members to cut spending in their departments by 5 percent next fiscal year. Because such trimming is hardly slashing the total budget, however, some experts question whether that even will make a difference in fiscal 2020, which will begin Oct. 1,…Fred Lucas -
- Opinion
This Book Will Bring Economics to Life for You
A widely anticipated textbook, “Universal Economics,” has just been published by Liberty Fund. Its authors are two noted UCLA economists, the late Armen A. Alchian and William R. Allen. Editor Jerry L. Jordan was their student and later became a member of President Ronald Reagan’s Council of Economic Advisers, as well as the president and…Walter E. Williams -
- Opinion
Growing National Debt Threatens the Current Economic Boom
The federal government’s fiscal year 2018 is over. In some ways, it was a banner year: economic growth quickened, average paychecks fattened, and there were more jobs available than there were people looking for work. But there are clouds on the horizon. Washington’s soaring deficit and debt could wipe out the progress being made, hitting…Justin Bogie -
- Opinion
Congress Sees Hundreds of Millions in New Spending as an Afterthought
For most Americans, $351 million is serious money. The median worker earns $45,708 per year, which means it would take 7,679 average earners to reach $351 million. But for Congress, $351 million is an afterthought. This is the amount that Congress has voted to spend on Pell Grants in addition to the budget-busting deal agreed…David Ditch -
- News
Spending Deal Breaks Promises to Voters, Conservative Lawmakers Say
Conservative lawmakers say they are disappointed with a lack of conservative priorities in a new spending package, some saying it goes against stipulations President Donald Trump outlined when signing the last spending bill. “Americans elected Republican majorities to the House and Senate to rein in federal spending and return to regular order,” Rep. Jim Banks,…Rachel del Guidice -
- Opinion
How the Economic Boom Is Lifting Latino Communities
It’s no secret that for many Latinos, the most important voting issue is the economy. For years, our families have been disadvantaged by a lack of available jobs, sluggish wage growth, and the real challenge of trying to pay down debt and save more to get ahead. Latinos put a high priority on greater economic…Daniel Garza -
- Opinion
Congress Is Using These Deceptive Tricks to Drive Spending Higher
Congress is up to its old tricks again, trying to pass another massive spending bill that uses gimmicks and tricks to push deficit spending even higher. And it thinks it can hoodwink President Donald Trump into signing it. Next week, the House is expected to vote on a combined fiscal year 2018 continuing resolution and…Justin Bogie -
- Opinion
How Emergency Spending Has Exploded in Recent Years
Over the next several weeks, Heritage Foundation experts will publish short articles on the budget and federal spending. The next 12 months are a critical time for adjusting the spending outlook. In the last spending agreement enacted in the spring of 2018, Congress intentionally designed the spending limits so that they will be broken or…Paul Winfree -
- Opinion
As Summer Comes to an End, the Economy Is Hot as Ever
The Bureau of Labor Statistics announced another solid jobs report Friday, reporting that in August, the U.S. exceeded expert predictions by creating 201,000 jobs. The unemployment rate stayed at a near-record low of 3.9 percent. This year’s string of healthy jobs reports is consistent with other factors that indicate a robust economy. For instance, small…Timothy Doescher -
- Opinion
Paraguay’s Economic, Political Transformation Deserves Recognition
South America is not at the center of global affairs, but few countries in the region may go as unnoticed as Paraguay. At first glance, Paraguay appears an unlikely prospect to stand out as an emerging-market democracy. In the shadow of the large and populous economies of Brazil and Argentina, the small landlocked country was…Anthony B. Kim -
- Opinion
Houston Has a School Spending Problem, and ‘Free’ Lunches Won’t Fix It
Houston schools will offer free meals to all students this year, but there’s no guarantee that will help more families who are still recovering from Hurricane Harvey, which struck a year ago this week. Nearly all Houston students were eligible for subsidized free meals last year, so this move just expands an already sizable federal…Jonathan Butcher -
- Opinion
Economic Freedom Improves Lives, Yet Another Study Finds
A new metastudy by Serbian think tank Libek confirms that countries wishing to increase their economic growth—and reap the many rewards that come from doing so—need to focus on advancing the economic freedom of their people. Libek looked at 92 scholarly research studies that considered the relationship between economic freedom and economic growth. Eighty-six of…Patrick Tyrrell -
- Opinion
America Leapfrogged Other Countries in Tax Reform, and Economic Growth Is the Result
In February 2017, U.S. House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady remarked at a conference on international tax competition, “Our blueprint delivers a tax code built specifically to leapfrog America from dead last among our global competitors back into the lead pack of the most pro-growth tax systems on earth.” Fast forward to August…Anthony B. Kim -
- Opinion
Economic Turnaround: Pittsburgh Rebuilds and Rebrands
The collapse of the U.S. steel industry in the 1980s sent once-thriving Pittsburgh into a severe economic depression. Pittsburgh has struggled to rebuild and rebrand itself for decades. Yet the city today is not the crumbling, desolate place one might expect. The city has been transforming itself from an industrial economy based on steel to…Julia Howe -
- News
New Jersey Budgets $5M to Prop Up ‘Community’ Newspapers
The New Jersey state Legislature set aside $5 million in the annual budget to help fund what it calls “community journalism,” which critics say raises serious ethical questions regarding the influence it gives government over news coverage. As local newspapers have seen circulation and advertising steadily decline in the digital age, the traditional business model…Jeremiah Poff -
- Opinion
3 Budget ‘Reforms’ That Would Make Matters Worse, Not Better
A congressional select committee on reforming the budget process recently held another public hearing, supposedly with the ultimate aim of designing a more transparent, accountable, and responsible budgetary process. Any such changes should also re-establish and enhance Congress’ power of the purse. But if those are the goals of the Joint Select Committee on Budget and…Dody Eid