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
EXCLUSIVE: Labor Secretary Reveals Whether Trump Can Axe H-1B Visas
FIRST ON THE DAILY SIGNAL—Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer said the law doesn’t allow the Trump administration to eliminate H-1B visas. When asked by The Daily Signal if eliminating the program—a proposal popular with the MAGA base—is a possibility, Chavez-DeRemer said “I don’t think that that’s really what’s in the law.” “The law is, H-1B visa… -
news
EXCLUSIVE: How Labor Secretary Is Saving American Jobs From AI Replacement
FIRST ON THE DAILY SIGNAL—Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer is dedicating every possible resource to ensuring American jobs aren’t lost to artificial intelligence, she told The Daily Signal in an exclusive interview. “You’ll see the media talk about, the fearmongering—you’re gonna lose your job—but I can tell you this,” she said, “we are deploying everything we… -
opinion
It’s Time for Congress to End OPT and Put American Workers First
For too long, Washington has allowed a massive, unauthorized foreign guest-worker pipeline to operate outside the law, undercut American students, and expose our nation to significant economic and national-security risks. It’s called Optional Practical Training, an Immigration and Customs Enforcement program created by bureaucratic fiat in 1992 and radically expanded by the Obama administration. And Congress never authorized a… -
news
How Obama, Biden Regulations Slowed Technology Growth in Health Care
Regulations from Obamacare and under the Biden administration not only increased the cost of health care, they also made it more difficult to advance artificial intelligence and other technology in medicine, experts told a House panel Wednesday. The regulations amount to “layers of permission” for health data, said Dr. Ziad Obermeyer, Blue Cross of California… -
news
BREAKING: Divided Fed Makes Money Decision Ahead of Christmas
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell announced the third interest rate cut of the year in a news conference Wednesday. “Today, the Federal Open Market Committee decided to lower our policy interest rate by a quarter percentage point,” Powell said. The rate cut brings the federal funds rate between 3.5% and 3.75%, following similar-sized rate cuts… -
news
18 States Now Allowed to Restrict Food Stamp Usage on Junk Food
Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said on Wednesday that she has granted waivers to six additional states, allowing them to prevent the use of food stamps to purchase certain items, like soft drinks and candy. “President [Donald] Trump has made it clear: we are restoring SNAP to its true purpose – nutrition. Under the MAHA initiative, we are taking bold,… -
news
Trump Administration Has Found 62,000 Children, Some Victims of Sex Trafficking and Forced Labor, Tom Homan Reports
The Trump administration has located 62,000 children who entered the U.S. unaccompanied under the previous administration, according to border czar Tom Homan. “Some of these children were in sex trafficking—we found them. Some were in forced labor, some were being mistreated—I can’t even discuss some of the mistreatment we found out about,” Homan said Sunday on Fox News’ “Fox & Friends Weekend.” “President [Donald] Trump, again, proves why… -
opinion
Don’t Trust the Government to Solve the Housing Affordability Problem That It Created
Owning a home is a cornerstone of the American Dream. But with the recent rise in home prices and mortgage rates, homeownership feels like a far-off dream for an increasing share of Americans, especially those in their 20s and 30s. In 2019, the median first-time homebuyer was 33 years old. Today, the typical first-time homebuyer… -
opinion
Democrats Want It Both Ways on Debt—and Working Americans Will Pay the Price
Democrats have spent the better part of two decades branding themselves as protectors of working Americans. But when you examine their actual policy choices rather than their press releases, a consistent pattern emerges: Their interventions routinely raise costs, distort markets, and ultimately hurt the very people they claim to champion. Their latest foray into student… -
news
‘HOAX’?: Trump Changes Tune on Affordability
President Donald Trump called affordability “a hoax that was started by Democrats who caused the problem of pricing.” “Look, affordability’s a hoax that was started by Democrats who caused the problem of pricing. And they didn’t end it when, look, they lost it in a landslide,” Trump said during a Cabinet meeting at the White… -
news
SEC Chairman Says at NYSE That Top-down ‘Communism’ Is a Proven Failure
As America turns 250 years old, it’s important to remember that freedom, not top-down communism, created our prosperity, Security and Exchange Commission Chairman Paul Atkins said in a speech at the New York Stock Exchange Tuesday morning. The SEC chairman’s speech about “Revitalizing American Markets” comes a month after New York voters elected socialist Zohran… -
opinion
New Survey Shows Increased Concerns About the Cost of Raising Children
A large majority of Americans no longer think it’s affordable to raise children. According to data from the 2025 American Family Survey, 71% of participants said it’s not affordable for most people to raise children. This is a 13-percentage point increase from 2024 and a 20-percentage point increase from 2015. Along similar lines, the most… -
opinion
The Unsung Hero of Rolling Thunder Mine
KANAWHA COUNTY, West Virginia—Steve Lipscomb was a son, a father, a husband, a Marine, a man of faith, and a coal miner. Ten days ago, Lipscomb and his crew encountered an unknown pocket of water when a “sudden and substantial” flood sent millions of gallons into the Rolling Thunder Mine. Lipscomb lived up to his… -
news
Blue States vs. Red States on ‘Affordability’
“Affordability” has become the word of the month as American economic anxieties become a major point of political contention between Democrats and Republicans. Socialist Democrat Zohran Mamdani rode to victory in the New York City mayor’s race in part due to his promise to address the issue. Of course, he offered what socialists have been… -
opinion
What Is Going On With the Economy?
The fate of the Donald Trump administration—and perhaps Republicans in Congress—is tethered to how Americans feel about the economy. And right now, it’s hard to find anyone who can say with confidence what the hell is going on. Thursday offered a fresh reminder of the chaos. As The Wall Street Journal noted, “Stocks surrendered gains… -
opinion
Shoppers Aren’t Buying Trump Economy Panic Narrative
Americans have a glum view of the economy, but that is not expected to affect their consumer spending as holiday shopping kicks off. According to a recent Fox News survey, 76% of Americans have a negative view of the economy. At the end of President Joe Biden’s term, this number was 70%. Yet, while Americans appear… -
news
New Park Fee for Foreign Tourists Could Generate Hundreds of Millions
THE CENTER SQUARE—The Donald Trump administration announced it is raising prices for nonresidents visiting national parks, a move that worries some tourism advocates but could generate hundreds of millions in extra revenue each year. Beginning Jan. 1, international tourists without an annual pass will have to pay a $100 surcharge to enter the 11 most… -
opinion
To Grow the Economy, Support Strong Families
Now that the longest government shutdown in history is over, it’s imperative that Washington lawmakers quickly prioritize pro-economic growth policies. One of the most effective ways to achieve this is by recognizing that strong families are the backbone of a vibrant and prosperous economy. After all, every American family wants the same thing: the chance… -
opinion
The Hidden Biotech Stakes of AI Moratorium Debate
After a resounding 99-1 defeat last summer, efforts to enact an artificial intelligence moratorium are back, this time with a push to force it into the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). As Annie Chestnut Tutor notes, supporters say it is needed to stop “an unworkable patchwork of disparate and conflicting state AI laws” and to… -
opinion
How We Can Finally Overcome the Affordability Crisis
Disapproval of the state of the economy is widespread today, despite many indicators improving since the start of the year. The reality is that most Americans’ financial situation deteriorated so much under the Joe Biden administration that there’s a long way to go before this affordability crisis is resolved. Fortunately, there are ways to speed up the…