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
Podcast: What You Need to Know About the Upcoming Budget Deadline
Congress is facing a budget deadline Dec. 8. Heritage Foundation’s Romina Boccia explains what’s at stake. Plus: the latest on the tax reform debate, and Poland’s push for no work on Sundays. -
opinion
Defense Spending Bill Gets It Right on Nuclear and Missile Defense
Last week, Congress passed the fiscal year 2018 National Defense Authorization Act, sending it to the president’s desk. This bill advances many commendable nuclear weapon and missile defense policies. The bill affirms Congress’ commitment to ensuring strong, extended measures of deterrence, and it addresses Russian arms control violations—including Russia’s potential violations of the New Strategic… -
opinion
Congress Should Reject a Reckless Budget Deal That Busts Spending Caps
A new report from Congressional Quarterly indicates Congress will soon announce another backroom budget deal that would bust the spending caps set by the Budget Control Act. According to the report, the deal would break the discretionary spending caps by at least $182 billion over the next two years. If true, this would bust the… -
opinion
How the GOP Tax Bill Will Affect the Economy
The House passed its version of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act on Thursday, a bill that would reform the tax code by lowering marginal rates for most households, corporations, and small businesses. The Senate is also working on its own version of the bill. Though the complete details are yet to be finalized, both… -
opinion
GOP Tax Plan Would Revitalize US Economy, Give Significant Tax Relief
House Republicans unveiled their plan to update the nation’s tax code on Thursday. If they are successful at passing the plan—known as the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act—it will mark the first time in more than three decades that Americans will have a chance to experience the benefits of comprehensive, pro-growth tax reform. Tax reform… -
news
Tax Reform Means Higher Pay for Americans, Council of Economic Advisers Predicts
Lowering the corporate tax rate will spur economic growth and encourage business owners to invest more in their businesses, leading to higher wages for employees, according to a new report from the president's Council of Economic Advisers. The report on tax reform, released Friday, focuses on the expected results of decreasing the corporate tax rate… -
opinion
Why Congress Must Preserve and Extend the 2011 Spending Caps
The Budget Control Act, passed in 2011, is one of the few mechanisms currently in place to control Congress’ appetite for spending. With the national debt projected to skyrocket over the next decade, now is not the time to abandon it. An upcoming report this week from The Heritage Foundation will detail the ways Congress… -
opinion
We Hear You: Debt, Democrats, Deductions, Deficit-Spending, and the Tax Code
Editor's note: We've had so much reader input on Republicans' tax reform proposals that we're devoting a second consecutive compilation to it. Enjoy, and don't forget to write us at [email protected].—Ken McIntyre Dear Daily Signal: Regarding the commentary by Rep. Mark Walker, R-N.C., I think members of Congress are bailing water in a sinking boat… -
news
Deduction for State and Local Taxes Stunts Economic Growth, Group Warns
Congress should get rid of federal taxpayers’ deduction for state and local income taxes because it ends up costing most taxpayers billions of dollars, an organization that advocates state-level reforms says in an open letter to lawmakers. Removing the deduction will save $1.5 trillion over the next 10 years, the American Legislative Exchange Council said… -
opinion
Why Washington’s Spending Addiction Is a Threat to Tax Reform
I’m not sure what left the bigger impression on me after my visit with The Heritage Foundation’s Romina Boccia and Adam Michel—the awesome bigness of the federal government’s fiscal challenges or the mindsets of those we elected to deal with them. The problem is enormous. The federal government spends $4 trillion per year. It takes… -
news
‘Feminist Economics’: Coming to a College Campus Near You
If you haven’t yet heard of “feminist economics,” get ready, because liberal economists, policy organizations, and activist groups are pushing the concept as the next battleground for women’s rights. Because condemning catcalling and “toxic masculinity” in cultural terms isn’t enough, they’re now targeting government policies and institutions they contend are oppressive and discriminatory toward women…. -
news
Conservatives Call for Tax Reform to ‘Put Small Businesses Back at the Heart of America’s Economy’
Meaningful tax reform is about putting small businesses at a competitive advantage, the leader of a nonpartisan organization committed to limited government and economic freedom said Friday. “Our cause is simple,” Alfredo Ortiz, the president and CEO of the Job Creators Network, said at the rally near IRS headquarters in Washington. “Put small businesses back… -
opinion
Trump’s Budget Deal With Democrats Will Only Worsen Our Fiscal Situation
Late Wednesday night, the Senate released the text of legislation that would provide disaster relief funding and other federal aid for Hurricane Harvey and other 2017 disasters, suspend the debt limit, and extend the National Flood Insurance Program and government funding into December. The latest budget deal forged by President Donald Trump and key Senate… -
opinion
House Spending Bill Is Too Bloated. Congress Should Stick to the Budget Caps.
This week, the House of Representatives is expected to vote on the eight remaining annual appropriations bills. The House will combine the four-bill Make America Secure and Prosperous Appropriations Act (H.R. 3354), which was passed prior to August recess, with another “mini-bus” package. In total, the package would spend $1.132 trillion in fiscal year 2018, busting… -
opinion
3 Ways the US Tax Code Is Killing Our Economy’s Potential
President Donald Trump, Speaker Paul Ryan, and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell told the American people that if they gave Republicans the chance to govern, pro-growth tax reform would be their major legislative priority in 2017. Now that the voters have given Republicans control of the White House, House, and Senate, there is a real… -
opinion
4 Ways to Change Our Tax Code to Boost Economic Growth
In a national speech on Wednesday, President Donald Trump framed the tax reform debate that will continue to unfold when Congress returns next week. The president’s vision focused on letting Americans keep more of their own money. Done rightly, this vision can unleash robust economic growth that will benefit all Americans. America is suffering under… -
opinion
Our Debt Problem Is Really a Spending Problem. Economic Growth Won’t Fix It.
Two hundred and sixty-nine billion dollars. That’s a big number, and yet it’s not the amount the federal government spends on any of its major activities like defense, Medicaid, Medicare, or Social Security. Rather, this is what the Congressional Budget Office currently projects the federal government will spend on interest payments on the debt for… -
news
Budget Experts Call for ‘Bold Leadership’ to Cut National Debt
Politicians continue to put their interests first in ignoring looming consequences to the massive and growing U.S. national debt, experts on the economy said at a recent forum. “We are facing the largest, most predictable crisis in U.S. history, and almost nobody is talking about it,” warned Romina Boccia, deputy director of economic policy studies… -
opinion
Conservatives Must Demand Spending Controls in Exchange for Raising Debt Ceiling
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin has indicated that the federal borrowing limit must be raised by Sept. 29, or the U.S. could run out of money to pay its bills. Congress, which controls the purse strings of the U.S. government, should not abdicate that authority by writing Mnuchin a blank check and getting nothing in return…