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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- Opinion
Mountain of Expenses: Denver’s Fiscal Woes Climb as Illegal Aliens Overwhelm City
Denver is buckling under a financial crisis caused by illegal immigration. But the fault lies not in the stars, but with the city itself. “Denver will cut hours at recreation centers, end in-person vehicle-registration renewals and eliminate spring flower beds to save $5 million this year, a response to the migrant crisis that is expected…Jarrett Stepman -
- Opinion
Understated by Feds, Through-the-Roof Housing Inflation Is Crushing Would-Be Homeowners
Business headlines say that inflation is down, yet countless Americans are struggling, particularly with finding somewhere affordable to live. How do we reconcile these seemingly contradictory notions? First, lower inflation means prices are rising slower, but still rising. Second, housing inflation is being undercounted by official government metrics as much as 4-to-1. The consumer price…EJ Antoni -
- News
San Francisco Spent Massive Amount of Taxpayer Dollars to House Homeless During Pandemic
San Francisco wants federal taxpayers to help cover the more than $423 million it spent housing approximately 5,000 homeless people in hotels and other “non-congregate” facilities during the COVID-19 pandemic. The total cost per homeless person housed by San Francisco during the pandemic was $84,600, according to data reported by the San Francisco Chronicle. San Francisco city…Robert Schmad -
- Opinion
With Bipartisan Measure, Congress Could Expand Successful ‘One Door’ Policy on Welfare, Workforce
The federal government has more than 90 welfare and workforce programs spread across dozens of federal agencies, with funding flowing to thousands of state and local agencies and programs. Navigating the web of welfare and workforce assistance can be a nightmare. And, too often, Americans end up trapped in the welfare web instead of being assisted…Rachel Greszler -
- Opinion
Arizona’s Proposed Reversal in School Choice Would Hurt Taxpayers, Not Just Students and Their Families
Three decades ago, Arizona policymakers created opportunities for educators to start new schools and for families to choose between them. Unfortunately, though, the state’s current governor aims to sharply reverse Arizona’s embrace of educational choice. Gov. Katie Hobbs, a Democrat, has called for the repeal of two programs: scholarship tax credits and education savings accounts. But…Matthew Ladner -
- News
Number of New Government Jobs Spikes to New Record as Federal Debt Soars
The U.S. set a new record in January for the total number of Americans employed by the government, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The government added 36,000 new employees in January, with 11,000 in the federal government and 19,000 in local government (excluding education), and now totaling 23,091,000, according to the bureau. January’s…Will Kessler -
- Opinion
Tax and Welfare Bill Reveals Washington’s Chronic Debt Delusion
Among the major pieces of legislation up for grabs in Congress is the inappropriately named “Tax Relief for American Families and Workers Act,” which the powerful House Ways and Means Committee passed Jan. 19 with bipartisan support. The bill could receive a House floor vote as soon as this week, although there is considerable debate…David Ditch -
- Opinion
America’s Families Would Be Slammed by House Panel’s Expansion of Welfare
A major feature of the House Ways and Means Committee’s “tax bill” is an expansion of the child tax credit. This expansion was necessary to secure Democrats’ support for the corporate tax provisions in the bill, but the trade isn’t worth the cost. The welfare-related child tax credit provisions aren’t a minor extension of the…Robert Rector -
- Opinion
If You Ran Your Family Budget Like the Government, You’d Be Broke: ‘Tax Cut’ Edition
The bipartisan Tax Relief for American Families and Workers Act might sound good on the surface. A closer look, however, reveals that the legislation is gimmicky, fiscally irresponsible, and misses a chance to fix work requirements for welfare. And its business tax cuts include retroactive relief alongside pro-growth tax cuts. To understand the gimmicky nature…Preston Brashers -
- Opinion
A Tax Policy Trojan Horse for Welfare Expansion and Inflationary Deficits
If you think congressional deadlocks are concerning, just wait until you see what Congress does when it’s in a blinding rush. The House Ways and Means Committee is ready to go from introducing its latest tax bill to House passage in under a week and a half. Though branded as full of middle-class tax cuts…Richard Stern -
- Opinion
New Biden Labor Dept. Rule Likely to Hurt Millions of Small Businesses, Independent Contractors
Some 99% of American companies are small businesses, and 100% of businesses started out small, but a recently finalized rule from the Biden administration’s Labor Department will make it harder for small businesses to start, grow and succeed. As of last May 1, a White House news release pointed out, “Young firms, which often start…Rachel Greszler -
- News
Mike Johnson Says He Won’t Back Out of Spending Deal Despite Freedom Caucus Opposition
House Speaker Mike Johnson said Friday he will not withdraw from a controversial spending deal to avoid a government shutdown that is opposed by several members of his conference. Johnson, on Sunday, announced a deal with other congressional party leaders on a spending package of $1.59 trillion for fiscal year 2024, which has been attacked by members…Arjun Singh -
- News
Analysis Ties Surge in Inflation to Increased Spending, Value of Debt
The U.S. government and those of other countries could be using higher inflation to lessen the value of growing public debt resulting from increased spending during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a new analysis by a Harvard economist working with The Heritage Foundation. The study covers government spending from 2020 through 2022, the high point…Fred Lucas -
- News
EXCLUSIVE: Biden Admin Adds LGBTQ Strings to Foreign Agriculture Grants
The U.S. Department of Agriculture intends to cultivate the transgender ideology on a global scale using international farm-aid programs. That could mean attaching strings to international grants that the USDA doles out to support the Biden administration’s LGBTQ agenda, which President Joe Biden ordered in a presidential memorandum. The USDA’s Sub-Working Group for the Memorandum…Fred Lucas -
- Opinion
As Debt Skyrockets, House Eyes New Budget Deal With Negligible Cuts
In May 2023, when then-Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy negotiated a debt limit deal that included spending limits, the gross national debt stood at just under $31.5 trillion. Conservatives in the House were deeply upset about the debt deal, which contained fraudulent gimmicks to get around the announced spending limits. Less than eight months…David Ditch -
- News
Heritage Action Calls for Lawmakers to Oppose Spending Deal
The budget deal reached this past weekend between Republican and Democratic leaders in Congress fails to include real spending cuts or to secure the border, warns Ryan Walker, the executive vice president of Heritage Action for America. “The American people are begging Congress to secure the border and rein in the unprecedented government spending and…Fred Lucas -
- News
Military Colonel Resigns Post in Protest Against Biden’s Taxpayer-Funded Abortion Policy
A military officer is retiring from service in protest against the Biden administration’s abortion policies. According to Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Col. Dillon R. Patterson voluntarily resigned from his position as the commander of the 188th Wing of the Arkansas Air National Guard on Dec. 18. In a letter Sanders addressed to President Joe Biden and…S.A. McCarthy -
- Opinion
As Planned Parenthood’s Abortion Market Share Goes Up, So Does Its Taxpayer Funding
To borrow from an old saying, nothing can be certain except for death and taxpayer funding for the abortion industry. At the request of pro-life members of Congress, the Government Accountability Office released the latest round of data detailing how much taxpayer funding goes to Planned Parenthood and other international abortion organizations. From 2019 through…Connor Semelsberger -
- News
Pentagon Bill Now Includes Taxpayer Funding for Abortion, Sex Changes
The Heritage Foundation’s grassroots advocacy arm called Thursday for congressional lawmakers to reject the proposed National Defense Authorization Act, which includes funding for abortion and sex changes as well as to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion in the military. “Americans agree that maintaining a strong national defense involves having a mission-driven military that prioritizes restoring strength…Fred Lucas -
- News
British Think Tank Leader: ‘Good Social Policy Makes for Good Economic Policy’
We as a society need to assert that healthy families build human flourishing in every nation and culture, and we are not being honest with people when we don’t, said the CEO of what has been called the most influential free-market think tank in Britain. “There are some logical steps to what leads to human flourishing, and…Lucy Gilbert