Economic Policy News

The House Appropriations Committee is set to mark up its interior appropriations bill for fiscal year 2018. This markup could lead to a slight revision of the Environmental Protection Agency’s “Buy America” provision. While the bill should just repeal Buy America regulations for the EPA altogether, it does take a small step in the right…

The United Kingdom’s government triggered a two-year period of negotiations to exit the European Union in March. This “Brexit” process will offer the U.K. the opportunity to forge new trade relationships with nations around the world, including—importantly—the United States, as Heritage Foundation scholars have explained. Unfortunately, recent press reports indicate that the loss of Prime…

According to widely reported survey data, women’s substantial gains in education, labor force participation, and earnings haven’t made them better off during retirement. But that outcome makes little sense, and it is in fact based on incomplete data. According to data from the Current Population Survey’s Annual Social and Economic Supplement, older women are no more likely…

America’s entrepreneurial dynamism has been falling, and the cost of inaction grows daily. According to a recent study by the Economic Innovation Group, America “suffers from a problem of too little creation—not too much destruction—perhaps for the first time in its history.” Over the past decade, our economic and job creation engine has run out…

It’s natural to think that economic freedom and peace should go together. Vindicating that idea, new empirical evidence shows that economically freer countries tend to be more peaceful and stable, while less economically free countries tend to be riddled with violence. The standings of more than 150 countries in two independent indexes, The Heritage Foundation’s…

America’s tax code is horribly out of date. Thankfully, Congress and the president have outlined plans for updating the tax code and cutting Americans’ taxes. The public strongly supports this agenda. A recent study by The Heritage Foundation’s American Perceptions Initiative into American attitudes toward tax reform found that almost two-thirds (64 percent) of Americans…

The last decade has seen a boom in recreational drone usage, as hundreds of thousands of law-abiding hobby pilots have taken to the skies with enthusiasm. Meanwhile, enterprising individuals are continually dreaming up new commercial uses for drone technology. Unmanned craft have already been used for aerial photography, helping realtors sell homes, and helping property…

It’s been described as a “slap in the face,” “slaughter,” “a punitive … assault on science, the environment, and indeed the planet.” Aside from being inappropriate and irresponsible, these remarks are how some in the policy world and media have depicted cuts to global warming spending in President Donald Trump’s first budget proposal. People seem…

There is not much good news coming out of Brazil these days. Political corruption scandals continue to rock the country, and the political instability has caused the nation’s stock market to crash. Judge Sergio Moro, who presides over the biggest corruption scandal of them all (dubbed Operation Car Wash), has become something of a folk…

President Donald Trump released his budget proposal on Tuesday, which includes some dramatic changes to higher education funding. While there is still room for improvement, the president’s proposals would be a significant first step in reducing the federal government’s role in higher education and giving much-needed relief to the U.S. taxpayer. Elimination of Public Service…

The Trump administration’s full budget for education for fiscal year 2018 would make some long-overdue cuts at the Department of Education. The proposal targets reductions in spending totaling $9 billion—a 13 percent cut in the agency’s current $68 billion annual budget. That type of reduction signals a serious commitment to reducing federal intervention in education—a…

With this week’s release of President Donald Trump’s fiscal year 2018 budget, the congressional appropriations season is officially underway. Although discretionary appropriations only account for one-third of the federal budget, they are critical in reducing the size and role of the government and provide an opportunity to make a down payment towards the national debt….

Two months after unveiling his “skinny budget,” President Donald Trump officially submitted his completed budget to Congress. The proposal sends a strong message to Washington that the president intends to jump-start the country’s lagging economy and reign in the size and scope of the federal government. If implemented by Congress, the plan could spark economic…

As Congress and the Trump administration develop their budget plans for the fiscal year 2018 budget and beyond, there’s one area that can provide them significant savings: the out-of-control farm handouts. The current farm handout system, often referred to as the “safety net” for agricultural producers, consists of commodity programs such as two major new…

Have you noticed that free checking accounts are now nearly nonexistent, and locally owned stores are increasing the $5 minimum charge on debit cards? These are not the result of some financial conspiracy. They are a direct result of Dodd-Frank regulations. After the financial crash of 2008, President Barack Obama decided to increase the role…