Economy News
The Daily Signal reports on economy news with analysis and commentary on growth, recession risks, employment, and financial trends.
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- News
OPM Moves to End Grade Inflation for Top-Level Bureaucrats
The Office of Personnel Management announced a proposed rule Thursday morning to stop including diversity, equity, and inclusion metrics and end grade inflation on senior bureaucrats’ performance evaluations. The proposed rule aims to reform the Senior Executive Service performance appraisal system. For several years, more than 96% of bureaucrats in the SES, top-level agency employees…Bradley Devlin -
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EXCLUSIVE: Trump’s Transportation Department Cut $9.5B of Waste in 100 Days
FIRST ON THE DAILY SIGNAL—Secretary Sean Duffy is celebrating 100 days of prioritizing safety and efficiency at the Department of Transportation. “The Department of Transportation is focused on its core mission of safety and efficiency,” Duffy said in a statement shared with The Daily Signal. “Under this administration, America is building again—forging a future with…Elizabeth Troutman Mitchell -
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Hill GOP Budget Leaders in ‘Lockstep,’ Treasury Chief Bessent Says
“The House is moving things along quickly, and the Senate is in lockstep,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told reporters Monday, in reference to the Republican budget reconciliation bill that is being ushered through Congress. The message of unity comes after the treasury secretary met with the top four Republican congressional leaders in the budget reconciliation…Jacob Adams -
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Newsom Touts Calif. as World’s 4th-Largest Economy on Paper as Real Jobs Fall
THE CENTER SQUARE—California Gov. Gavin Newsom says the state is now the world’s fourth largest economy. But after accounting for the high cost of goods and services, California only barely edges out low-performing Italy, with the state’s continued losses in private sector jobs amid falling corporate and sales tax revenue painting a darker picture of the Golden…Kenneth Schrupp -
- Opinion
The High Cost of Big Government—A Heist on Taxpayers
$521 billion. That’s the estimate the federal government itself put forward of annual fraud levels. That’s enough money to rebuild every crumbling bridge and school in the country—all squandered due to government incompetence. In fiscal year 2024, just 16 agencies reported improper payment estimates that totaled $162 billion—money lost to error, fraud, overpayments, or ineligible…Richard Stern -
- Opinion
You Don’t Just Pay Taxes on April 15. Here’s a Hidden Tax That Picks Your Pocket All the Time.
The government doesn't just directly charge Americans in taxes—it also imposes a hidden tax that makes everything more expensive, according to a new report. The federal government doesn't just pass laws in Congress. Each year, many of the 438 federal agencies—nominally under the president's control through the executive branch—publish tens of thousands of pages in…Tyler O’Neil -
- Opinion
Virginia’s ‘DOGE’ Saves Taxpayers Millions
Editor’s note: For additional context for the story below, what would become Virginia’s Office of Regulatory Management began as a pilot program under Gov. Ralph Northam that covered two agencies. Under Gov. Glenn Youngkin, the pilot program was turned into an official agency and expanded to cover all agencies of the executive branch of Virginia…Joe Thomas -
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Americans Support Pulling Funds from Harvard, Taxing Endowments According to Poll
Americans are broadly supportive of the Trump administration’s battle with Harvard University, and majorities even support the federal government taxing the endowments of wealthy universities. This is according to a poll conducted by RMG Research and released by the Napolitan Institute on Wednesday. The major exception to the broad-based support for restricting funds to Harvard and…Jarrett Stepman -
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$5 Million on Trees, $300K to Trans Farmers: Brooke Rollins Shares Woke Agriculture Department Spending Cuts
The Department of Agriculture has worked with the Department of Government Efficiency to slash millions in woke spending projects, from a $300,000 contract educating queer and transgender farmers to $5 million to keep trees alive. “Probably the most stunning for me was the $500,000 grant to study transgenderism in mice,” Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins told…Elizabeth Troutman Mitchell -
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Here’s Why the World Economic Forum Is Investigating Its Own Founder
Klaus Schwab, the founder and chairman of the World Economic Forum, resigned on Easter Sunday amid a whistleblower report about alleged misuse of Forum funds, and the globalist organization’s board voted to launch an independent probe into allegations against him. “Following my recent announcement, and as I enter my 88th year, I have decided to…Tyler O’Neil -
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US Treasury Sanctions Iranian Shipping Magnate
President Donald Trump’s Treasury Department is sanctioning an Iranian national and his corporate network for what Treasury says is the laundering of hundreds of millions of dollars in illicit petroleum products “to evade U.S. sanctions and generate revenue for Iran.” Iranian shipping magnate Seyed Asadollah Emamjomeh has worked with companies affiliated with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary…Elizabeth Troutman Mitchell -
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As Deals Advance, Farmers May Not Need Tariff Bailouts, Agriculture Secretary Hopes
As deals advance with foreign countries, farmers may not need bailouts from tariffs, Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins told The Daily Signal. Rollins hopes deals will be “struck pretty quickly” with foreign countries facing Trump administration tariffs so bailouts to farmers will be unnecessary. “The economy has already begun to realign around putting America first,…Elizabeth Troutman Mitchell -
- Opinion
Defunding NPR and PBS Through Rescissions is a Good Start
President Donald Trump plans to ask Congress to rescind the funds it appropriated for public broadcasting, which is a good start in defunding NPR and PBS. The legislative branch must do that and then move to dissolve the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Rescission deals with the immediate. It applies instant pain to the public broadcasters because Congress would claw back…Mike Gonzalez -
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Report Highlights States With the Best and Worst Economic Outlook for 2025
DAILY CALLER NEWS FOUNDATION—A Tuesday report from the American Legislative Exchange Council, a conservative nonprofit, highlighted the states with the best and worst economic prospects for 2025. The 18th edition of ALEC’s “Rich States, Poor States,” an annual report that examines all 50 states’ economic outlook “based on a state’s current standing in 15 state…Ireland Owens -
- Opinion
End US Taxpayer Support for the Higher Education Gravy Train
One of the most important insights of public policy is the understanding that most laws are predicated upon a (stated or unstated) quid pro quo. Take, for example, the roiling monthslong debate about President Donald Trump’s immigration enforcement agenda. Prior to the media uproar over the much-ballyhooed MS-13-tied “Maryland man,” the since-deported Salvadoran national Kilmar…Josh Hammer -
- Opinion
Denver’s Sanctuary Policies Leave Colorado Vulnerable and Cost Taxpayers Millions
Denver has long been at the forefront of sanctuary policies, officially becoming a “sanctuary city” around 2013 and pioneering a trend that has transformed Colorado into a full-blown “sanctuary state”—and Coloradans are paying the price. Legislation enacted by Democrat-dominated state lawmakers prohibits sheriffs from cooperating with federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement in identifying and deporting…John Fabbricatore -
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Van Hollen’s Office Mum on Cost to Taxpayers for El Salvador Visit
Sen. Chris Van Hollen’s office is mum about how much the taxpayers had to shell out for his trip to El Salvador — or whether he or someone else paid — in a failed effort to win the release from prison of a former illegal immigrant who resided in his state. Spokespersons for the Maryland…Fred Lucas -
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White House Prepares to Go After Noncitizens Who Defraud Entitlement Programs
THE CENTER SQUARE—The White House announced Tuesday plans to help protect Social Security benefits from noncitizens and ramp up anti-fraud efforts. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt outlined key points from the memorandum to reporters at a press briefing on Tuesday afternoon. Through the memorandum, President Donald Trump aims to stop noncitizens and “other ineligible people” from…Morgan Sweeney -
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How Treasury’s Bessent Went From Soros Employee to One of Trump’s Top Lieutenants
One of the most prominent defenders of the Trump agenda during the president’s second term has been Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent. A relative unknown on the national stage prior to being tapped for the post, Bessent, 62, has quickly become one of the president’s most effective communicators. A recent poll found him to…Jacob Adams -
- Opinion
Democrats Mislead Public About Benefits of GOP Tax Cuts
It’s Tax Day in the United States. “Republicans believe every day is the Fourth of July, but the Democrats believe every day is April 15,” President Ronald Reagan quipped during his 1984 reelection campaign. But Tax Day will be much worse next year if Republicans don’t extend our signature 2017 legislation—the Tax Cuts and Jobs…Rep. Ron Estes