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
Organization Pushes for Ballot Referendum on Seattle $15 Minimum Wage
In Seattle, a grassroots organization has submitted a petition complete with nearly 20,000 signatures—well above the 16,000 signature prerequisite, calling for a ballot referendum to repeal the city’s minimum wage hike, which will eventually increase the hourly wage to $15 an hour. On Wednesday, Seattle Forward, a non-partisan coalition of local business owners and citizens,… -
news
Export-Import Bank Didn’t Make 2012 Reforms Ordered by Congress
“Reauthorize with reforms.” That’s the new mantra from supporters of renewing the charter of the Export-Import Bank. But a review of reforms that Congress ordered the bank to make during the last reauthorization fight shows the agency has done little to remedy issues identified by the lawmakers in 2012. Some House Republicans view reforms as… -
news
Government Regulation Threatens 119-Year-Old Family Cigar Business
J.C. Newman Cigar Co. is one of a kind, literally. Founded in 1895 by Julius Caesar Newman, a Hungarian immigrant, the Tampa-based family business is the last of what was once 150 “Cigar City” factories. The business has outlasted 19 U.S. presidents, two world wars, a Cuban economic embargo that crushed many of its competitors… -
news
Schumer Plans to ‘Pressure’ House to Save Export-Import Bank
Advocates of pulling the plug on the Export-Import Bank are girding to resist what they see as a “blatantly partisan maneuver” in the Senate to save the agency. They’re talking about Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., who promises the Senate will take up and pass a bill to reauthorize the 80-year-old bank before Congress leaves for… -
opinion
Why We Must Get Rid of the Export-Import Bank
When the U.S. Chamber of Commerce aligns with a disciple of Fidel Castro and hires a working-class hero to lobby Congress, when a liberal economist like Paul Krugman sympathizes with the CEOs of Boeing, Bechtel, and General Electric, it is obviously not business as usual on Capitol Hill. Welcome to Ex-Im 2014. For those with… -
opinion
Memo to Krugman: Unchecked Liberalism Creates Economic Mayhem
Paul Krugman of the New York Times took a shot at economist Arthur Laffer and others who advise governors around the country to cut taxes to boost economic growth and jobs, calling us “charlatans and cranks” (“ Kansas shows enduring power of bad ideas,” July 1 Opinion). Krugman said it went awry in Kansas, where… -
opinion
Today’s Jobs Report Is Good News for America
Today the Bureau of Labor Statistics had encouraging news for Americans. The June jobs report contained some of the best labor market figures since the recession began. Employers added 288,000 net new jobs, and the unemployment rate fell 0.2 percentage points to 6.1 percent—the lowest since the financial crises worsened in September 2008. Unlike previous… -
news
Can Chris Christie Fix New Jersey’s Budget ‘Disaster’?
New Jersey’s budget mess is so bad a judge last week ruled it a “disaster.” It could be even worse in the new fiscal year that began Tuesday. At stake is a financial future of New Jersey, struggling under the weight of a $51 billion shortfall in the state retirement system. Gov. Chris Christie on… -
news
How One State Made the Minimum Wage Meaningless
DICKINSON, N.D.—As policymakers in Washington, D.C., debate raising the federal minimum wage, entry-level workers in North Dakota enjoy pay levels nearly twice the current federal minimum. “Effectively, our minimum wage in town is $14 an hour,” claims Shawn Kessel, administrator for the City of Dickinson, a community in North Dakota’s booming oil fields. Kessel isn’t… -
opinion
U.S. Economy Has Shrunk at Its Fastest Pace Since the End of the Recession
Despite large stimulus packages and near-zero interest rates since 2009, the U.S. still fails to achieve a sustained economic recovery. According to a third and final estimate from the Commerce Department, the U.S. economy contracted at a 2.9 percent annual pace in the first quarter of 2014, the sharpest pullback since the recession ended five… -
news
Report: House GOP Support for Axing Export-Import Bank Holds Steady
With 26 legislative days left before the Export-Import Bank’s charter expires Sept. 30, a preliminary count of the agency’s supporters and opponents finds that 40 percent of House Republicans are against extending its life. According to an analysis conducted by The Hill newspaper, four in 10 House Republicans — 93 or so of the chamber’s 233 majority… -
opinion
It’s the Cronyism, Stupid: Why the Ex-Im Fight Matters
Few Americans know much about the Export-Import Bank, and yet this obscure government agency is currently the focus of intense debate in the nation’s capital. So what gives? At the most practical level, lawmakers must decide whether to reauthorize Ex-Im’s charter, which expires on Sept. 30. The bank provides taxpayer-subsidized financing to foreign firms so… -
news
Ralph Nader Calls for Ending ‘Secretive’ Export-Import Bank
Consumer advocate and former presidential candidate Ralph Nader called for the end of the Export-Import Bank in an exclusive interview today with The Daily Signal. “I think it needs to be abolished, and if there is a legitimate need for export markets for U.S. products, there’s plenty of money in the private sector to provide for loans,”… -
news
John Stossel: Crony Capitalism at the Core of Export-Import Bank
As business leaders and members look to shift their strategy to gain back splintering support for reauthorizing the Export-Import Bank, Fox Business host John Stossel and George Mason University economist Don Boudreaux on Friday hit hard at the federal agency on his show. -
opinion
Supreme Court Ruling Could Force NLRB to Revisit Up to 800 Cases
Thursday’s Supreme Court ruling that President Obama’s “recess” appointments to the National Labor Relations Board were unconstitutional could mean as many as 800 cases decided by the illegal appointees would have to be reconsidered. The Court ruled three appointments President Obama made on Jan. 4, 2012, to fill out the five-member National Labor Relations Board,… -
news
Michele Bachmann’s 4-Point Plan for Restoring Economic Freedom
Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., used Wednesday’s congressional hearing on the Export-Import Bank to discuss corruption at the agency and how it contributes to the United States’ becoming a less free economy. She offered a four-point plan to get America back on track. It begins 42 seconds in. -
opinion
Here’s a Crazy Idea: What About Reforming Transportation Spending Instead of Hiking Taxes?
Americans know the drill. When Congress faces a gap between its spending wants and available money, it is quick to ask for more money, instead of fixing the spending side of the budget ledger. This time it’s Senate Finance Committee chairman Ron Wyden, D-Ore., who has proposed a rag tag group of revenue provisions, including… -
news
Lawmakers Spar Over Whether to Renew Export-Import Bank
Republicans and Democrats on the House Financial Services Committee faced off today at a hearing on the future of the Export-Import Bank and its role in subsidizing companies such as Boeing, Caterpillar and General Electric. Rep. Jeb Hensarling, R-Texas, chairman of the committee, established the narrative early into the hearing that although the 80-year-old federal agency is a boon… -
news
Marco Rubio: It’s Time to End Export-Import Bank
Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., today joined the growing list of conservatives speaking out against reauthorization of the Export-Import Bank. On CNBC’s “Squawk Box,” Rubio said it was time for the bank—which provides taxpayer-backed loans to foreign companies and governments to buy U.S. products—to end. Unless Congress acts to save it, the bank’s charter expires Sept…. -
news
A Taxpayer’s Guide: Export-Import Bank Under Microscope at House Hearing
Rep. Jeb Hensarling today convenes the House Financial Services Committee for a much-anticipated hearing on the fate of the U.S. Export-Import Bank, a federal agency that the Texas Republican says has a well-deserved reputation for corporate welfare and cronyism. The Export-Import Bank, which provides taxpayer-backed loans to foreign companies and governments to buy U.S. products, turned…