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
How Enormous Boost in IRS Funding Is Warping Tax Agency’s Priorities
The IRS released its strategic operating plan on April 6, describing its intentions for spending the nearly $80 billion of supplemental funding it’s receiving under the so-called Inflation Reduction Act. The report was 48 days late beyond the Feb. 17 deadline the IRS was given and only included funding and staffing details for two of… -
news
Economic Freedom Being ‘Strangled Into Stagnation,’ Ex-British Prime Minister Warns
The ideas of low taxes, limited government, and free enterprise won the Cold War, but now they are being “strangled into stagnation,” former British Prime Minister Liz Truss warned Wednesday. Truss made her remarks in Washington at The Heritage Foundation's 2023 Margaret Thatcher Freedom Lecture, hosted by Nile Gardiner, director of the foundation's Margaret Thatcher… -
news
63% of Small Business Employers Concerned ‘Shaky Economic Environment Could Force Their Business to Close’
FIRST ON THE DAILY SIGNAL—A Job Creators Network Foundation monthly survey is providing somber insight into how some small businesses view the U.S. economy. Sixty-three percent of small business owners "said they’re worried that the shaky economic environment could force their business to close—a six-point jump compared to February," a press release said. The March… -
news
10 House Republicans to File Amicus Brief in Suit Seeking to Overturn Omnibus Spending Bill
House Democrats violated the Constitution in December in approving the $1.7 trillion Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023 omnibus spending bill with proxy voting, according to an amicus brief introduced by Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas. Roy, along with nine other Republican members of Congress, were set to submit the amicus brief Tuesday about the harms of… -
opinion
6 Charts Show Why Washington Must Cut Spending ASAP
The recently released Biden administration budget for 2024 was layered with problems. It doesn’t take the surging size of the national debt seriously; it views shaking down taxpayers as the solution to fiscal problems; it would hand massive raises to federal bureaucrats; and it offers bad medicine for Medicare while allowing Social Security to go… -
opinion
I’ll Continue to Block Biden’s Nominees Until Pentagon Stops Facilitating Taxpayer-Funded Abortions
Federal law permits the U.S. military to only provide abortions in very narrow circumstances: rape, incest, and threat to the life of the mother. Yet, the Biden administration has turned our Department of Defense into an abortion travel agency. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin did it using a memo—without congressional approval. >>> Grassroots Army Backs Senator’s… -
news
Why ‘Climate Alarmism’ Is Seen by Many in Developing World as Economic Threat
OXON HILL, Md.—The Earth is warming, and while many worry about the potential consequences of the change, it is not unprecedented or dangerous, and will be a net benefit for humanity, Vijay Jayaraj said. Numerous figures in the mainstream media have pushed “climate alarmism,” but Jayaraj, a research associate at the nonpartisan, nonprofit CO2 Coalition,… -
opinion
If You’re Woke and Go Broke, Should Taxpayers Pay Your Bills?
It’s feeling like 2007 all over again as Silicon Valley Bank and other financial institutions are going belly up and asking for bailouts from the federal government. President Joe Biden insists that he won’t be bailing out Silicon Valley Bank, but he certainly is. The bailouts are coming. They’ve already begun. The official reason for… -
news
19 ‘Freedom-Loving States’ Form Anti-ESG Alliance
A group of 19 Republican governors from "freedom-loving states" announced an anti-environmental, social, and governance, or ESG, alliance on Thursday. "This month, Congress exercised its powers under the Congressional Review Act to disapprove of the Department of Labor Rule relating to 'Prudence and Loyalty in Selecting Plan Investments and Exercising Shareholder Rights,’" the governors' joint statement… -
news
Treasury Secretary: US ‘Banking System Is Sound’
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said the U.S. “banking system is sound” just days after the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank. “This week the government took decisive and forceful actions to stabilize and strengthen public confidence in our financial system,” Yellen said before the Senate Finance Committee on Thursday. “First, we worked with… -
opinion
From Liquidity to Insolvency, Big Government Shows How to Crash Economy
We are in a looming financial crisis, even if we don’t want to see it. Silicon Valley Bank was, according to Moody’s, worthy of an investment-grade rating as of March 8. S&P Global Ratings similarly held a high opinion of SVB. Two days later, SVB was shut down. Immediately, Moody’s dropped SVB into junk territory…. -
opinion
Biden’s $7 Trillion Budget Shell Game Takes More of Everyone’s Money, Despite His Promises
The president’s budget for fiscal year 2024 is less a display of prudent finance as it is reminiscent of a carnival shell game. If you don’t pay close attention to the details, you’ll wind up suckered by the man moving the ball around. President Joe Biden’s political talking points may appease his Democrat colleagues, but… -
opinion
8 Things to Know About Biden’s Fiscal 2024 Budget, From Bad to Worse
When discussing budgets, President Joe Biden often uses a quote that he attributes to his father: “Don’t tell me what you value. Show me your budget—and I’ll tell you what you value.” If the administration’s latest budget is any indication, Biden doesn’t value America’s future. 1) More Spending and Debt A president’s budget is a… -
news
Republicans Plan to Combat ‘Drunk Government Binge Spending.’ Here’s How
WASHINGTON, D.C.—The House’s most conservative caucus announced its “Shrink Washington, Grow America” plan on Friday as the debt ceiling debate continues in Washington. Rep. Scott Perry, R-Pa., chairman of the House Freedom Caucus, began the caucus’ press conference by discussing the Democrats’ support for a $1.7 trillion omnibus bill that President Joe Biden signed into… -
opinion
‘We’re Going to Tackle It Head-On,’ GOP Lawmaker Says of America’s Spiraling National Debt, Spending
OXON HILL, Md.—The clock is ticking on America’s debt. “You cannot spend yourself into oblivion like this country’s been doing,” Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., says, adding that Republicans are “going to tackle it head-on.” America has reached its current debt ceiling of $31.4 trillion, and Treasury’s extraordinary measures will likely be able to extend current… -
opinion
‘Canceling Student Loan Debt Is Not Legal,’ Iowa Attorney General Says After Supreme Court Arguments
Iowa is one of six states suing the Biden administration over the president’s plan to forgive billions in student loan debt. “Canceling student loan debt is not legal,” Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird says. “In order for that to happen, something would have to pass the House, the Senate, [and] be signed by the president…. -
opinion
From Concerning to Terrifying: 7 Horrible Milestones on Horizon for Bloated Federal Budget
A character in Ernest Hemingway’s first novel, “The Sun Also Rises,” explains how he went bankrupt: “Gradually and then suddenly.” Americans who have fallen deep into credit card debt or had to rely on high-interest, payday loans probably can relate. As a borrower’s debt mounts and his credit score is downgraded, creditors demand higher and… -
opinion
Unpacking the Oral Arguments Against Biden’s Student Loan Cancellation
The Supreme Court heard two cases Tuesday challenging the Biden administration’s claim that it could use a law meant to provide relief to first responders and military personnel after 9/11 to cancel $430 billion in student loan debt for over 40 million borrowers. The administration has relied on an emergency-powers law called the HEROES Act,… -
news
A Biden Loss in Student Loan Forgiveness Case Would Be Third Defeat in Supreme Court on Executive Overreach
Litigants preparing for oral arguments in the Supreme Court on Tuesday against the Biden administration’s student loan forgiveness plan anticipate victory, based on past high court decisions batting down the administration’s executive overreach. “This really is reminiscent of what we saw with the [ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] eviction program, the [Occupational Safety… -
opinion
US Slips to Worst-Ever Score in 2023 Index of Economic Freedom
The Heritage Foundation’s 2023 Index of Economic Freedom, released Monday, offers sobering insights into setbacks to economic freedom across the globe, including, regrettably, here at home. Since its inception in 1995, the index—an annual global study that compares countries’ entrepreneurial policy environments—has measured a nation’s commitment to limited government and free enterprise by evaluating four…