Economic Policy News

The news of Michael Novak’s death Feb. 17 saddened close friends and colleagues in the community of think tank scholars who drew so much from his writings and lectures. Novak’s perspectives expanded our conceptual grasp of economic liberty beyond dry formulas to include a more complete picture of the creative, human, and virtuous nature of…

It’s already been eight years since the Great Recession, yet the U.S. economy has been just inching along, with its productivity flagging and millions being locked out of the labor market. One critical underlying factor for this lack of economic dynamism has been the startling decline of America’s economic freedom, an unfortunate legacy of Barack…

When members of Congress defend earmarks with “power of the purse” rhetoric, don’t fall for it. Congressional earmarks threaten the integrity of government spending. This January, Senate Republicans led by Arizona Sen. Jeff Flake voted to continue the moratorium on earmarks for the 115th Congress. Flake backed his sentiment with a witty comment that “you…

Late last week, we were reminded of how much work needs to be done to clean up the mess President Barack Obama left when the Bureau of Economic Analysis announced the economy grew at a dismal 1.9 percent in the fourth quarter—wrapping up 2016 with a growth rate of just 1.6 percent. This growth is…

The Congressional Budget Office’s budget and economic outlook for the next decade paints a grim picture of the nation’s fiscal situation and shows we continue to be on an unsustainable budget path. Despite years of warnings by CBO and others that this path will lead to fiscal disaster, Congress continually has failed to make substantive reforms….

In a win for the economy and the environment, President Donald Trump signed executive orders backing the construction of two unnecessarily controversial energy infrastructure projects: the Keystone XL pipeline and the Dakota Access pipeline. Getting the green light for the completion of the pipelines is kind of like receiving your appetizer halfway through your meal….

This week, Congress is expected to pass the second continuing resolution of the year, keeping the federal government operating until late April and avoiding a government shutdown. The bill released late Tuesday would provide $1.070 trillion in base discretionary funding as well as an additional $10.1 billion for Overseas Contingency Operations (a defense supplement), $4.1…

With control of both the White House and Congress, Republicans finally have the opportunity to reignite the economy. American families and workers have been waiting for eight long years for a return to healthy economic growth and opportunity, and congressional Republicans are ready to deliver. Along with Obamacare and the Environmental Protection Agency’s regulatory excesses,…

U.S. government spending on public relations campaigns, including NASA's Green Ninja videos on global warming and the Pajama Boy ads for Obamacare, should raise serious questions about fiscal responsibility and where to draw the line between appropriate communication and propaganda. The government spent about $1 billion annually on advertising and public relations from 2006 to 2015,…

The rise of Uber and Lyft has been a good thing for both riders and drivers. Riders like the cheaper prices and reliable service of these ride-hailing services, and drivers love the freedom to be their own boss and make their own schedule. All around the world, hundreds of thousands of people benefit from this…

How quickly does deregulation lead to economic growth? Most economists agree that less-regulated industries create more output and employ more people in the long run. New evidence shows, however, that some benefits of regulatory reform are immediate. In a recent study, economists Peter Gal and Alexander Hijzen quantified the short-term impacts of pro-market reforms on…

Hardly a day passes without one (or seven) news reports highlighting conflicts abroad. What this reality means for America and our safety under the current budget isn’t great. As violence has increased, defense spending has decreased by about 25 percent since 2011. And now there is a legitimate question about whether slashing the budget has…

The House and Senate budget committees have held hearings suggesting an openness to a budget commission to help fix our fiscal woes. Budget experts have suggested that the budget process has a shelf life. They say the current way of budgeting clearly isn’t working because Congress habitually fails to pass budgets and annual spending bills….

Yet again, the 2010 Dodd-Frank Act has spawned an out-of-touch regulation that could harm millions of Americans. The proposed rule titled “Payday, Vehicle Title, and Certain High-Cost Installment Loans” covers small-dollar loans with terms less than 45 days, as well as certain loans with terms longer than 45 days that have an “all-in” annual percentage…

Congress is up to no good. Lawmakers passed a continuing resolution before the end of the fiscal year that will fund the government only until Dec. 9. This means Congress most likely will enact another spending package in a lame-duck session, with the strong temptation to bust the budget yet again. With a $600 billion…

The Heritage Foundation was on the road in Africa last month with a message of economic freedom. The final stop was Ghana, whose capital is Accra. Ghana is the second most populous country in West Africa, after Nigeria, and has a population of nearly 25 million. Famed for its production of cocoa beans as well…

Liberal lawmakers held a liberal spending bill hostage this week until the Republican-controlled Congress agreed to even more big government priorities. Here’s what happened: For the past few weeks, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., worked with Democrats to propose a 10-week government funding bill, commonly referred to as a continuing resolution. That bill failed…