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
9 Examples That Show Why Democrats’ Revised Spending Bill Is Still Awful
House Democrats unveiled an updated version of their social spending package on Oct. 28. Weighing in at 1,684 pages, and with trillions of dollars in taxing and spending, it is one of the largest legislative proposals in history. Progressives like Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., claim that the bill is a compromise. In reality, it is…David Ditch -
- Opinion
Trade Expert Breaks Down Supply Chain Crisis
Editor’s note: Why is the U.S. suddenly in the midst of a supply chain crisis? Heritage Foundation’s Tori Smith, a senior policy analyst who focuses on trade joins Tim Doescher, host of the “Heritage Explains” podcast to discuss. Watch or read an abridged and edited transcript below. Tim Doescher: So welcome. Now let’s cut right…Timothy Doescher -
- Opinion
What’s in Third Version of Biden’s Big Government Spending Bill
Nov. 4 Update: What’s in the Third Version of Biden’s Big Government Spending Bill? Congressional Democrats have released a third version of their big government socialist Build Back Better Act. Compared to the previous draft, the newest version adds another 450 pages, resulting in a 2,135-page plan for a reckless tax and spending spree. We…Christian Mysliwiec -
- Opinion
Democrats Ponder Cutting Medicare Advantage to Fund $3.5 Trillion Spending Bill
Politico is reporting that congressional Democrats are pondering major cuts to Medicare Advantage, a system of competing private health plans, to help pay for their massive multitrillion-dollar spending bill. This would be a bad policy. Compared to traditional Medicare, Medicare Advantage provides better benefits, lower costs, and higher quality care. Medicare Advantage is a popular alternative to traditional Medicare. From 2011 to 2020 alone, private plan enrollment grew by 103% compared to overall Medicare growth of 28%. This year, private plans are projected to enroll over 27 million senior and…Robert Moffit -
- Opinion
10 Ways Biden’s ‘Build Back Better’ Bill Would Kill Economic Opportunity
President Joe Biden wants you to view his $3.5 trillion tax-and-spend Christmas wish list as an “investment.” However, the specific details of this 2,465-page manifesto tell a very different story. It’s an old story, one where your interests and hard work are subverted for the benefit of a well-connected few. Politicians often discuss the economy…Richard Stern -
- Opinion
Democrats Use Accounting Gimmicks to Conceal Spending in Bloated ‘Build Back Better’ Bill
President Joe Biden is twisting arms to get “agreement” this week on hundreds of tax and spending provisions in his multitrillion-dollar social welfare bill while key Democrats seem to be settling on a plan to keep the price tag down. They want to reduce the overall size of the spending bill to “only” $1 trillion…Grace-Marie Turner -
- Opinion
8 Ridiculous ‘Green New Deal’ Programs in Democrats’ Bloated Spending Bill
Both chambers of Congress are focused on a raging debate over whether to pass a 2,465-page, $3.5 trillion tax-and-spend bill. With the legislation almost guaranteed to have no Republican support, different factions of Democrats are locking horns over the bill’s fate. Progressives want to spend recklessly, which is much easier to do when you’re using…David Ditch -
- Opinion
Trillion-Dollar Spending Packages Will Hurt Working Families They’re Supposed to Help
There seems to be something for everyone in the massive spending packages working their way through Congress. And with a price tag of $4.6 trillion, or $37,400 per household, offering something for everyone—government-paid family leave, monthly child payments, free community college, union dues write-offs, a $12,500 electric vehicle tax credit, or new bike paths—is easy….Rachel Greszler -
- Opinion
What Is the Root Cause of Our Supply Chain Problems?
Americans across the nation are feeling the effects of an unprecedented supply chain crisis. Prices for everyday essentials like milk and gas have skyrocketed and public officials are warning people to start buying their Christmas gifts now. But what is causing all of these supply chain issues? And how do we get out of this…Douglas Blair -
- Opinion
What’s Inside Democrats’ 2,465-Page $3.5 Trillion Spending Bill?
Democrats’ $3.5 trillion spending package gives the IRS permission, and funding, to snoop on nearly every American’s bank account, Jessica Anderson, executive director of Heritage Action for America, says. The “Biden administration is asking Congress to go … weaponize the IRS to spy on Americans,” Anderson says. The future of the bill is unclear after…Virginia Allen -
- Opinion
Biden’s Inept Economic Policies Indirectly Causing Strikes, Unionizing Efforts
President Joe Biden’s pro-union, anti-business economic policies are not faring well. Economic mismanagement has turned the labor market into mayhem with consequences far worse than what many Americans imagined. Firms are experiencing greater government-imposed regulatory burdens and barriers to employment, potentially leaving them worse off than before the COVID-19 pandemic. Businesses have become helpless in protecting…Elizabeth Hanke -
- Opinion
24/7 Operations Might Not Be Enough to Solve Supply Chain Crisis
The Biden administration announced last Wednesday that the Port of Los Angeles will now operate 24 hours a day. That’s belated good news, but how operations have been going at the neighboring Port of Long Beach, which is also operating around the clock, suggest that this might not be enough to solve California’s supply chain…Patrick Tyrrell -
- Opinion
Biden’s Vaccine Mandates Needlessly Polarize, Impede Private Sector Labor Market
The Biden administration is impeding the private sector through its federal vaccine mandates. The Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration on Tuesday forwarded a vaccine rule to the Office of Management and Budget that requires vaccination of workers at businesses with 100 or more employees. Employees who refuse vaccination would have compulsory weekly…Elizabeth Hanke -
- Opinion
Democrats Erase Women Through Budget ‘Reconciliation’
According to Senate rules, a reconciliation package should be limited to budget questions. But in 2021, $3.5 trillion tax-and-spend bill Democrats are trying to push through via the reconciliation process offers the chance for radical gender activists to slip the language and assumptions of their ideology into federal legislation. For instance, the text on “Maternal…Jay Richards -
- Opinion
Democrats’ Destructive Spending Spree Would Turn America Into a European Social Welfare State
Capitol Hill staffers are working around the clock to hammer into some twisted shape a spending bill that warring factions of the Democratic Party will support in their goal to transform America. The cradle-to-grave subsidies in the 2,448-page, $3.5 trillion spending bill that Democrats in Congress are crafting will create a welfare trap for millions…Grace-Marie Turner -
- Opinion
More Bad Policies and Government Spending Will Worsen Labor Shortage
The September employment report released on Oct. 8 showed a modest employment gain, with 194,000 new jobs added, and a drop in unemployment from 5.2% in August to 4.8%. What appears to be good news in the report—a 0.4 percentage point drop in the unemployment rate to 4.8%—is not all positive news. The decline is…Rachel Greszler -
- Opinion
Fact Check: Would Biden’s Spending Bill Hike Taxes on Those Making Less Than $400,000?
President Joe Biden repeatedly has promised that his massive tax increases won’t hit people earning less than $400,000. Biden even put his family honor on the line, tweeting, “I give you my word as a Biden: If you make under $400,000 a year, I’ll never raise your taxes one cent.” But now that the official…Matthew Dickerson -
- Opinion
Biden’s ‘Build Back Better’ Budget Gets ‘F’ for Its Second Grade Math
President Joe Biden, 78, has a 7-year-old’s grasp of basic math. “My Build Back Better Agenda costs zero dollars,” Biden claimed via Twitter on Sept. 25. Regarding this multitrillion-dollar budget, he continued: “And it adds zero dollars to the national debt.” One can imagine a second grader named Joey Biden showing off his new train set and telling his playmates,…Deroy Murdock -
- Opinion
Democrats’ Spending Bill Unprecedented in Every Way
There was a time not very long ago when political parties never would have entertained the idea of jamming through any massive, generational reform without some form of buy-in from the other party. Today, Democrats argue that the filibuster’s imaginary threat of “minority rule” has compelled them to use (really, abuse) the budgetary reconciliation process…David Harsanyi -
- Opinion
Rep. McClintock ‘Terrified’ for Economy as Democrats Push Massive Spending Bills
America’s national debt has topped $28.4 trillion, but Democrats want to raise the debt limit and keep on spending. For months, Democrats have been pushing a $3.5 trillion tax-and-spend bill, but they may have hit a roadblock Thursday. Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., said he can’t support the social welfare spending package. “My top line has…Virginia Allen