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
More Economic Freedom Could Mean Less Civil Strife in Ethiopia
The Heritage Foundation has taken its message of economic freedom to Africa. Today’s stop is Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia—source of the Blue Nile river and one of the oldest countries in the world that traces its history back to Biblical times 1,000 years before Christ. Remember the Queen of Sheba, in the time…James M. Roberts -
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House Conservatives Resort to Spending Plan B to Avoid Government Shutdown
When Congress returns to Capitol Hill on Monday to hammer out a stopgap spending measure, House conservatives plan to introduce a spending safety valve that would eliminate the possibility of a government shutdown. Congress has struggled for months to reach a spending agreement. As the end of the fiscal year approaches and government’s spending authority…Philip Wegmann -
- Opinion
Tax Increases Won’t Make the Budget Sustainable
In his final budget proposal, President Barack Obama proclaimed that the federal budget is “on a more sustainable fiscal path.” This is simply not true. Over the last two presidential administrations, total debt has grown considerably, along with the risk of a significant financial crisis. U.S. government debt now climbs above $19.5 trillion. When the next president takes office, publicly-held debt will be…Paul Winfree -
- Opinion
In New Spending Bill, McConnell Sides With Liberals, Ignores Conservative Priorities
After voting to proceed to a bill that didn’t exist earlier this week, the Senate has finally produced text of the continuing resolution, a short-term government spending bill. The bill, written behind closed doors by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, was brought to the floor late Thursday afternoon, and for the majority of Senate Republicans,…Rachel Bovard -
- Opinion
Congress Is Set to Cave in to Higher Spending Again
It’s an all too familiar sight: It’s the end of the fiscal year, and Congress is scrambling to keep the government open after it has shirked its responsibility to pass the requisite 12 appropriations bills all year. The end of the fiscal year is when Congress tends to throw fiscal responsibility out the window in…Michael Sargent -
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What Happened After This Blue State Introduced an Income Tax to Balance Its Budget
In 1991, Connecticut Gov. Lowell Weicker decried the state’s “orgies of spending,” and said his income tax proposal—which would include fiscal discipline—would balance the books. Connecticut recently marked the 25th anniversary of the income tax, which has resulted in little to no spending restraint. State spending grew 71 percent faster than inflation from 1991 to 2014…Fred Lucas -
- News
House Republicans Divided Over Spending Bill Strategy
House Republicans huddling in the basement of the Capitol Friday morning weren’t strategizing to defeat Democrats. They were trying to quell dissension inside their ranks over the length of a stopgap spending measure. And they’re running out of time. Congress must decide how to fund the federal government before its spending authority expires on Oct….Philip Wegmann -
- News
Congress Must Close New $10 Billion Gap in Government Spending, Report Says
To meet current obligations, the government will need $10 billion more next year, forcing Congress to make new cuts, according to lawmakers’ nonpartisan budget office. The Congressional Budget Office’s preliminary new projections, obtained by The Daily Signal, show current government operations without changes would cost nearly $1.08 trillion, up from $1.07 trillion. Lawmakers returning to…Philip Wegmann -
- Opinion
A 12-Step Plan for Global Economic Freedom
In the decades since The Heritage Foundation began publishing its annual Index of Economic Freedom in 1995, the world has witnessed profound advances in economic freedom. Open economies have led the world in a startling burst of innovation and economic growth, and political authorities have found themselves increasingly held accountable by those they govern. Unfortunately,…James M. Roberts -
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How Republicans in Congress Would Respond to Big-Spending Infrastructure Push
Fresh after Congress and the White House scored the largest transportation spending package in a decade, both presidential candidates this year are proposing billions in funding to rebuild the nation’s infrastructure. While both Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump—and the parties they represent—agree the nation’s roads, bridges, airports, rail system, and ports are in need of…Josh Siegel -
- Opinion
Here’s How Americans Can Curtail ‘Autopilot’ Spending and Take Back the Federal Budget
The federal budget is out of control. Autopilot spending currently consumes 68 percent of all tax dollars and will devour an ever-larger share of the budget in the future. If the lack of a congressional budget resolution this year is any indicator, Congress isn’t jumping at the chance to make meaningful reforms. However, time is…Mollie McNeill -
- Opinion
Grim Budget Projections Show Need for More Congressional Action, Less Rhetoric
A recently released congressional report shows the depth of American fiscal problems and the need for lawmakers to tackle the nation’s dire financial situation. On Tuesday, the Congressional Budget Office released its 2016 Long-Term Budget Outlook. The annual publication projects the levels of U.S. spending, taxes, deficits, and the debt for the next 30 years….Justin Bogie -
- Opinion
How the Federal Government Can Get Its Spending Under Control
The federal government has a spending problem that threatens to swallow up the resources of the American taxpayer and crush the American economy. Congress can begin to solve this dilemma if it expands self-imposed restrictions to the part of the budget that is driving the country toward crisis. With Congress reneging on its promise to…Justin Bogie -
- Opinion
These 3 Conservative Policies Have Allowed Indiana’s Economy to Flourish
Last month, America’s economy added just 38,000 jobs, the weakest growth in five years. We should expect more than the lackluster 2 percent growth we’ve grown accustomed to under President Barack Obama. Luckily, there is already a successful working model in my home state of Indiana to accomplish this. The recession hit Indiana harder than most states….Sen. Dan Coats -
- Opinion
America’s Next President Must Fix Autopilot Entitlement Spending
A recent report by the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget raises concerns that proposals by this year’s presidential candidates would further increase the national debt. America’s major entitlement programs—Medicare, Medicaid, Obamacare, and Social Security—are driving the nation’s greatest fiscal challenge, and yet Americans have heard very little about how the candidates will address these…Christian Chelak -
- Opinion
What Does Brexit Mean for America’s Economy?
Last Thursday, British voters chose to leave the European Union, 52 percent to 48 percent. The vote will have significant political implications in the U.K. and may tilt the balance of influence in Brussels, but it is likely to have little lasting economic impact on Americans. The U.S. exported $56.4 billion worth of goods to the U.K. in…Salim Furth -
- News
Koch Group Pushes 2-Year ‘Stop, Cut, and Fix’ Spending Plan on Congress
To put Washington’s fiscal house in order, an organization inside the conservative Koch network is pushing Congress to skip a budget and move straight to a two-year spending bill instead. Dubbed “Stop, Cut, and Fix,” the plan calls for a continuing resolution that would fund government in fiscal years 2017 and 2018 at current spending…Philip Wegmann -
- Opinion
New Peruvian President Pledges to Fight Populism and Expand Economic Freedom
It was the latest encouraging sign that Latin Americans are abandoning populist leftism in favor of market-based democracy. Last week Pedro Pablo Kuczynski, a conservative 77-year old former World Bank economist and investment banker better known by his initials, “PPK,” narrowly defeated right-wing populist Keiko Fujimori, daughter of autocratic former Peruvian president Alberto Fujimori. Peru’s…James M. Roberts -
- Opinion
Congress Should Not Use Defense Budget as Piggy Bank for Personal Priorities
The defense budget should be used to pay for things that make our country more secure and help the men and women in uniform accomplish their mission. Unfortunately, some in Congress use this funding as a piggy bank for their own unrelated priorities. In fact, for the current fiscal year, Congress took almost $500 million…Justin Johnson -
- Opinion
Venezuela’s Crisis Is the Latest Example of Why Socialism Doesn’t Work
It seems the “Socialism of the 21th Century” is really no different from socialism from the past. Venezuela’s current tragedy, simultaneously culminating in food shortages, a crime epidemic, and an energy collapse, is the latest example of why centralized planning economy does not work—and how it is indistinguishable from tyranny. In the South American country,…Gabriel de Arruda Castro