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
‘An Incredible Economic Boom’: The Effects of the 2017 Tax Cuts
Monica Crowley, Treasury Department assistant secretary of public affairs, joins the podcast to talk about the “incredible economic boom” that followed the tax reform passed in 2017. Read the lightly edited transcript, posted below, or listen on the podcast: Rachel del Guidice: The Daily Signal Podcast is coming to you from the U.S. Treasury Department… -
opinion
What Does ‘The Irishman’ Have to Do With Congress’ Latest Spending Bill?
Director Martin Scorsese’s award-winning new film “The Irishman” contains some important history for lawmakers as they prepare to vote on a spending package that would provide a $6 billion taxpayer bailout to one select union. That union is the United Mine Workers of America. For the first time in history, Congress is poised to use… -
opinion
How 2 Years of Tax Cuts Have Supported Our Strong Economy
This month marks the two-year anniversary of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, the most sweeping update to the U.S. tax code in more than 30 years. The reforms simplified the process of paying taxes, lowered rates on individuals and businesses, and updated the business tax code so that American corporations and the people they… -
opinion
The Pros and Cons of 3 Possible Budget Outcomes
Just over a week away from the next deadline for fiscal year 2020 appropriations, Congress still has not passed a single spending bill. If Americans are feeling a strange sense of déjà vu, it is because the current spending uncertainty has played out time and time again. The federal government is already on its second… -
news
Unemployment Dips to 3.5% as 266,000 Jobs Added
The U.S. economy added 266,000 jobs in November, while the unemployment rate dropped to 3.5%, according to Department of Labor data released Friday. The 266,000 jobs added in November, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics report, amounted to about 138,000 more jobs than were added in October. The surge comes after a 40-day General Motors strike,… -
opinion
Despite All the Spending, Productivity Growth Is Skipping Schools
Washington is abuzz that private-sector productivity growth has been low for the past decade or so, but do federal policymakers really know how to improve productivity in the American economy? If one very large sector of the economy is any indication, the answer is, regrettably, a resounding “no.” Since World War II, educators, lawmakers, and… -
news
3 Big Trump-Nadler Scuffles Before the Real Estate Mogul Became President
A rivalry that goes back to the mid-1980s culminates this week as Jerry Nadler presides over the next round of House Democrats’ impeachment hearings targeting Donald Trump. What started as a spat in which a New York state legislator tried to block a New York real estate mogul’s construction of luxury apartments has morphed into a… -
opinion
An Example of How Government Creates Problems
Governments create problems. Then they complain about them. “A public health crisis exists,” says Kentucky’s government, citing a report that found “a shortage of ambulance providers.” Local TV stations report on “people waiting hours for medical transportation.” “Six-year-old Kyler Truesdell fell off his motorcycle,” reported Channel 12 news. “The local hospital told [his mother] he… -
opinion
Fed Chairman Emphasizes Strong Economy and Labor Market, Cautions Unsustainable Debt and Trade Developments Pose Risks
The labor market is incredibly strong and the economic outlook favorable, yet risks remain. That was Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell’s message to Congress on Nov. 13. Powell highlighted many positive features of the economic outlook, including: The economy is in its 11th year of expansion and the “baseline outlook remains favorable.” Unemployment of 3.6%… -
opinion
Mexico’s New Tax Law Could Chill Its Economy, Hurt US Trade Relationship
A new tax law approved last month by the political party of Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador—which holds absolute control of the Mexican Congress—gives the government the right to seize land and assets without legal due process in certain tax evasion cases. These new fiscal enforcement measures could damage Mexico’s economic freedom as well… -
opinion
3 Reforms Congress Can Build on to Get the Budget Under Control
On Wednesday, the Senate Budget Committee approved its first bipartisan package of budget process reform proposals in nearly 30 years. The proposal is co-sponsored by Chairman Mike Enzi, R.-Wyo., and Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D.-R.I. The federal budget is more than $23 trillion in debt, with additional budget deficits projected to exceed $1 trillion annually for… -
opinion
Why New Auto Tariffs Won’t Increase Research and Development
In just a few days, the Trump administration could impose new tariffs on automobile and auto parts imports. The administration has erroneously claimed that tariffs are a necessary national security measure, supposedly needed to safeguard the American automobile market from foreign competitors and to create space for U.S. companies to undertake additional research and development…. -
opinion
‘Medicare for All’ Proposes Economy-Crushing Taxes on Middle Class
No other country in the world has been able to provide government-managed health care without soaking middle-class and lower-income taxpayers with high income and payroll taxes. The “Medicare for All” plan revealed by Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., shows how hard it is to raise tens of trillions of dollars without leaving typical Americans economically worse… -
news
October Jobs Report: 128,000 Jobs Added, Unemployment at 3.6%
The U.S. economy added 128,000 jobs in October, while the unemployment rate rose to 3.6%, according to Department of Labor data released Friday. Despite a General Motors strike, 128,000 jobs were added in October, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics report—about 8,000 fewer jobs than were added in September. Economists predicted the General Motors strike would heavily impact… -
opinion
Let’s Not Pay Congress If It Can’t Pass a Budget on Time
The first month of the new federal fiscal year has come and gone with a whimper and not a bang. Congress is hoping to make progress on a package of spending bills, but there’s talk of continuing resolutions and of a government shutdown come Nov. 21. For thousands of federal employees, contractors, and contracts, we’re… -
opinion
The Increasing Weight of Health Care Spending on American Taxpayers
Few factors are more critical to economic growth than health care. And few threaten future economic growth more than health care spending. That conundrum lies behind continued political agitation over health care, both in the U.S. and throughout the highly developed world. Advances in medicine have eradicated diseases, extended life expectancy, reduced infant mortality, and… -
opinion
Sen. Joni Ernst Wants to Cut Absurd Washington Spending
As the national debt grows larger and larger, our lawmakers continue to spend obliviously—and even on frivolous things. Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, is not happy about how much government agencies are spending on swag, and she recently introduced legislation to end things like the government spending over $600,000 on coloring books. Read a lightly edited transcript… -
opinion
Student Loans Can Be Perilous. Here’s a Better Way to Pay for College.
Student loan debt keeps growing. There is a better solution than the ones politicians offer, which stick the taxpayer or the loan lenders with the whole bill. It’s called an “income share agreement.” Investors give money to a college, and the college then gives a free or partially free education to some students. When those… -
opinion
White House Enters Into Hopeful ‘Phase 1’ of China Trade Deal
President Donald Trump announced on Friday he has reached a tentative trade deal with Chinese negotiators. This deal, labeled “phase one” of possibly two or three phases, is supposed to be finalized and signed next month when Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping meet in Santiago, Chile. As an immediate part of the deal, the… -
opinion
How to Beat the Student Debt Crisis
The cost of college has gone sky-high, and now Americans are $1.6 trillion in student loan debt. How did we get here? And how do we get out? Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., and The Heritage Foundation’s Mary Clare Amselem explain on this week’s episode of Washington Waste Wednesday.