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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- News
As Presidential Contender, Ben Carson Vows to Fix Economy Before Entitlement Programs
Now that retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson has officially thrown his hat into the ring as a Republican candidate for president in 2016, he is rolling out his policy proposals. In an interview at his West Palm Beach, Fla., home last November, Carson said entitlement programs don’t need to be touched until the economy is back on the…David Brody -
- Opinion
Lack of Economic Freedom Will Hinder Nepal’s Recovery
Nepal’s economy is almost entirely dependent on the service industry (including tourism) and remittances—49 percent and 28 percent of gross domestic product (GDP), respectively—and will take decades to recover from last month’s earthquake, in part due to the country’s lack of economic freedom. The 7.8-magnitude quake that hit the country’s capital, Kathmandu, early on April…Huma Sattar -
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The Truth About GOP Budgets: They Never Balance
In Washington, the conservative thing to do these days is to champion a balanced budget. Quite recently, in fact, Republicans have congratulated themselves for passing two budgets (one in each house of Congress) that, on their face, will achieve balance within 10 years. However, there is more to this story. When you remove the Enron-style…John Gray -
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The Very Weak Growth in First Quarter Shows How Weak the Economic Recovery Is
In the first quarter of 2015 (January, February and March), the economy exhibited weakness that has become all too common during the Obama era. The Bureau of Economic Analysis reports that the economy grew at just 0.2 percent during that time. At 0.2 percent growth, the economy was dangerously close to not growing at all,…Curtis Dubay -
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What the Budget Conference Should Accomplish
This week, House and Senate negotiators are expected to pass their budget plan. After the House and Senate passed their respective budget blueprints in March, Congress is now debating the final details for its fiscal year 2016 concurrent budget resolution. The House and Senate budgets made progress in several areas, and fell short in others….Paul Runko -
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APEE Conference Highlights How Individual Decisions Shape the Economy
Professors, policy experts, and students of economics, politics, and philosophy gathered at the 40th annual conference of the Association of Private Enterprise Education (APEE) to exchange ideas about how individual decisions are made, both in the economy and in the government that regulates it. In small sessions, researchers received feedback to incorporate into their work….Salim Furth -
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Why the Death Tax Is All Economic Pain, No Gain
The House voted to repeal the death tax on Thursday. There are lots of persuasive reasons to kill this odious tax. The money in a person’s estate has already been taxed over the lifetime that it was earned. The tax breaks up family-owned businesses. It reduces capital investment and lifetime savings. It encourages people with…Stephen Moore -
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What You Need to Know About the Budget in 30 Seconds
The deadline for Congress to finish work on the federal budget is April 15, but will lawmakers manage to hammer out a deal in time? Heritage Foundation expert Romina Boccia, the Grover M. Hermann research fellow in federal budgetary affairs, explains what you need to know about the budget.Jamie Jackson -
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How Our High Corporate Tax Rate Hurts Our Economy
COMBINED CORPORATE TAX RATES (2014) Source: Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). The U.S. corporate tax rate is the highest in the developed world—by a long shot. At 39.1 percent (35 percent federal rate plus the average of state rates), it remains substantially higher than the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development average…Alex Rendon -
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Budget Conference: A Chance for Congress to Stop Monkeying Around with Spending Gimmicks
When we hear the word “chimp,” most of us think of that fury primate at the zoo or the subjects of a Jane Goodall documentary. In Washington, CHIMPs are not animals, but a notorious budget gimmick. This budget gimmick, short for Changes in Mandatory Programs, has been used to avoid budget restraints by increasing discretionary…John Gray -
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What Paul Krugman Got Wrong About Ireland’s Economy
New York Times columnist Paul Krugman once commented derisively on Ireland’s ongoing economic recovery: “It seems obvious to me that Ireland keeps being proclaimed a success because it’s supposed to be a success: they did the austerity thing forcefully, with a minimum of complaints, so there must be a pot of gold at the end…Anthony B. Kim -
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26 Economic Policy Reforms That Could Get Passed By Congress
There’s wide support for many economic policy reforms, despite the perception (and often the reality) that there’s partisan gridlock. Of course, getting anything passed through Congress is difficult, but some reforms have a much better chance of getting passed than other reforms. They are the “low-hanging fruit.” Policy experts from Heritage’s Roe Institute have put…Daren Bakst -
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What Exactly Congress Is Spending Your Dollars On
Let’s say you were a financial adviser, and a family came to you with the following situation. They make the median family income in the United States—$52,000. But last year they spent $61,000. That’s right, $9,000 more than they’re making, and it all went on the family credit card. That’s bad enough, but then you find out they…Ed Feulner -
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Americans Want to Drive, Not Take Mass Transit. But Government Spending Doesn’t Reflect That.
The Highway Trust Fund—which provides funding for building and maintaining the nation’s roads and bridges as well as transit, such as buses, streetcars, light rail and metros—will exhaust its operating funds by the end of May. Now more than ever, it is important for the nation to rethink the way it invests in transportation. As…Michael Sargent -
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House’s Bipartisan Deal Would Hike Deficit, Hurt Economy in Long-Term
Washington is exhibiting symptoms of schizophrenia. At the same time that lawmakers are debating their budget blueprints to eliminate deficits before the end of the decade, the Boehner-Pelosi deal to address the looming Medicare physician payment cuts proposes to add $141 billion to the deficit over the same period. The deal in question would replace…Romina Boccia -
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Budget Resolutions Need More Transparency
It’s a big week for the new GOP-controlled Congress. Unlike the past when Congress was divided, this year there is no one to blame if GOP lawmakers fail to pass a budget. This puts tremendous pressure to unite diverse lawmakers in the House and Senate behind one spending plan by the mid-April deadline. But first…Romina Boccia -
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Under an Honest Budget the Doc Fix Plan Adds to the Debt
On Friday night, House leaders released details of a proposal that would increase spending on doctors paid through Medicare (called the doc fix). Based on what is currently known without at official score by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), the new spending would only be partially offset in both the 10-year “budget window” and over…Paul Winfree -
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How Steve Forbes Would Turbocharge the ‘Molasses-Like Economy’
Steve Forbes made the flat tax the centerpiece of his two presidential campaigns. Now, he’s promoting the idea once again as he relaunches an organization called Americans for Hope, Growth and Opportunity to advance a pro-growth agenda. “The flat tax is absolutely crucial to turbocharging our molasses-like economy,” Forbes, editor in chief of the magazine that…Thaleigha Rampersad -
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The KORUS FTA at 3: Strengthening the U.S. Economy, Not Weakening
The retiring President and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, Richard Fisher, once famously noted, [P]rotectionism is the crack cocaine of economics. It provides a temporary high but is instantly addictive and leads to certain economic death. Indeed, here comes the latest example of that: Public Citizen’s bogus job loss claims against the…Anthony B. Kim -
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Federal Spending Per Household Has More Than Doubled Since 1962
Just how large has government grown over the past couple decades? To answer that, take a look at the increase in the amount the government spends per household in Heritage’s 2015 Federal Budget in Pictures. In 1962, the U.S. government spent about $12,000 of today’s dollars per American household; it now spends almost $29,000—more than…Michael Sargent