Economy News
The Daily Signal reports on economy news with analysis and commentary on growth, recession risks, employment, and financial trends.
-
opinion
50-Year Mortgages Won’t Fix the Affordability Crisis
Bill Pulte, director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, recently floated the idea of offering people a 50-year mortgage instead of the more conventional 30-year financing option. It sounds attractive at first because stretching out repaying of a mortgage would lower the borrower’s monthly payment, but this wouldn’t fix the homeownership affordability crisis. It’s no… -
opinion
Our Golden Age
We media types obsess about America’s problems. But we should acknowledge that today, life in America is better than life has been anywhere, ever. For most of history, the norm was hunger, disease, illiteracy, slavery and war. There were a few exceptions (from some of those problems)—so-called golden ages, Ancient Athens, Rome, the Renaissance, etc. In our new… -
news
Vance Reveals ‘Best Thing You Can Say About Trump Economy’
The United States added 119,000 jobs in September, blowing past expectations following a slowdown in hiring over the summer. The Bureau of Labor and Statistics’ September jobs report, which was delayed by the 43-day federal government shutdown, showed an acceleration in jobs from the previous month. Vice President JD Vance said the September jobs report indicates… -
opinion
Victor Davis Hanson: ‘We Did That’: Baby Boomers’ ‘Generational Betrayal’
In this episode of “Victor Davis Hanson: In His Own Words,” Victor Davis Hanson and Jack Fowler discuss the failure of baby boomers to pass on the American dream and the values of their grandparents. Editor’s note: This is a lightly edited transcript of today’s edition of “Victor Davis Hanson: In His Own Words” from Daily… -
news
Thanksgiving Dinner Will Gobble Up Slightly Less of Americans’ Paychecks This Year, Survey Says
DAILY CALLER NEWS FOUNDATION—Several staple Thanksgiving dinner items are expected to cost slightly less than last year, marking the third straight year of price declines, according to the American Farm Bureau Federation’s 40th annual survey released Wednesday. The average cost of a classic Thanksgiving feast for 10 people will cost an estimated $55.18, or about $5.52 per… -
opinion
Build More Homes
Young adults need lower housing prices, not longer mortgages. The median age of first-time homebuyers is now 40, according to a recent report from the National Association of Realtors. Among all buyers, the median age was 59. Homebuyers are more likely to be near or at retirement age than young, married parents. It wasn’t always… -
opinion
How Does SNAP Have More People in It Than California?
Had the government shut down in 1958, when Dwight Eisenhower was in office, how many people would have been at risk of losing their federal food stamp benefits? None. There was one good reason for this: There was no federal food stamp program at that time. Now, America is a nation where politicians in both… -
opinion
Payroll Costs of the Federal Swamp Exploded 24% During Biden Era
There were 5% more federal workers—2.77 million in 2020 to 2.90 million in 2025—when President Joe Biden left the White House, but the costs of paying this vast legion of bureaucrats exploded 24% during the same period, according to a new report by a nonprofit government watchdog. Much of the skyrocketing payroll costs is due to spiking… -
opinion
Victor Davis Hanson: What President Trump Needs to Tell Americans About Prices
In this episode of “Victor Davis Hanson: In His Own Words,” Victor Davis Hanson and Jack Fowler discuss what President Donald Trump needs to tell Americans about prices and when they can expect to come down. Editor’s note: This is a lightly edited transcript of today’s edition of “Victor Davis Hanson: In His Own Words” from… -
opinion
Gaslighting Americans on Inflation Is a Bad Idea
Fox News host Laura Ingraham asked President Donald Trump this week if the affordability issue was a factor in the elections in Virginia, New Jersey, and New York City. “More than anything else, it’s a con job by the Democrats,” Trump said, before going on to harangue the media and instruct the GOP to tell… -
opinion
What Makes Things Affordable
Affordability. It’s the word on everybody’s lips. Ever since self-described socialist Zohran Mamdani became the front-runner in the New York City mayoral election by saying the word “affordability” with talismanic regularity, we have been told that the key to modern politics is that word’s repetition. Say “affordability,” and watch your polls rise. And yet the… -
opinion
Trump Can Do Better Than Tariff ‘Dividends’ and 50-Year Mortgages
Time is short for the Trump administration. Last week’s elections were a setback, but not a devastating one: New Jersey is still a blue state, and while Virginia went red four years ago, it’s been trending Democratic for more than a decade. Republicans also fared poorly in Pennsylvania, however, an all-important presidential battleground. Democrats even… -
opinion
Trump’s Economic Advantage Is Disappearing Fast
During the 2024 presidential campaign, pollster Scott Rasmussen predicted that voters would pick their preferred candidate based on how they perceived their personal finances. Needless to say, it didn’t go well for Kamala Harris. Four years of rising prices and record-high inflation doomed the Democrat ticket—even though Joe Biden wasn’t on the ballot. Harris didn’t… -
news
Sec. Duffy Warns That More Traffic Controllers Are Not Coming To Work as ‘Democrats Refuse To Pay Them’
A growing number of flights are being cancelled and delayed as more air traffic controllers are refusing to come to work “because Democrats refuse to pay them,” Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said on “Fox News Sunday.” Air traffic could slow to a “trickle” by Thanksgiving if there’s no shutdown resolution. “Yesterday, we had 81 staffing… -
opinion
A Vast, Divergent Land
The United States of America is 3.8 million square miles, filled with 340 million people, producing over $30 trillion in gross domestic product per year. We are the fourth largest country by land, third by population and first by GDP. We no longer know each other, care for each other or like each other. We… -
news
Economy Shows Promising Trends as Trump Prioritizes ‘Typical Hardworking Family’
Even as Senate Democrats continue to prevent the end of the federal government shutdown, there are promising signs in the economy under President Donald Trump. “Our opponents are offering an economic nightmare—we are delivering an economic miracle … . They want higher spending for government and illegal aliens—we want bigger paychecks for American workers and… -
opinion
A Modest Proposal for SNAP Amid the Schumer Shutdown
Democrats are warning that thousands of children may go hungry if Republicans don’t cave in to Democrats’ demands and agree to fund COVID-19-era Obamacare subsidies for wealthier Americans. Meanwhile, Republicans have filed a bill just to fund the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, better known as food stamps, during the shutdown. If the impasse… -
opinion
What the World’s Richest Country Can’t Afford
Undermining the principles that made America wealthy is no way to fix poverty. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., recently participated in a CNN town hall. Sanders appears to be passing the socialist leadership torch to AOC. Don’t expect her to support collective ownership of that prize. You shouldn’t discount her ability… -
news
Small Business Chief Details Spillover Effects of Shutdown on Economy
Small Business Administration chief Kelly Loeffler, at a House Republican news conference on Monday, warned of the adverse effects the federal government shutdown is having on the economy. The SBA administrator’s comments came as the shutdown approaches the one-month mark. “The SBA’s loan-guarantee programs have been halted, and Main Street’s capital has been choked off,… -
opinion
Media Wail About Federal Layoffs, but Check Out Disparity Between Public and Private Sector Job Security
Let the wailing and gnashing of teeth begin. Within the first two weeks of the ongoing government shutdown, agency heads reportedly sent permanent layoff notices to about 4,000 federal employees under the guidance of Director of the Office of Management and Budget Russ Vought. But compared to the private sector, this is a proverbial drop…