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 Ending Student Loan Forgiveness Will Help the Poor
A college education offers many advantages. Graduates enjoy the benefits of their university’s alumni network, and the diploma can give grads a leg up over non-degree-holding competitors in the job market. College graduates are generally likely to out earn non-grads over time, and those with postgraduate degrees improve their earnings potential even more. But college…Mary Clare Amselem -
- News
Conservatives Sound the Alarm on Budget Deal
Conservative lawmakers warned that Congress was on track to pass a last-minute budget deal, pushed by Republican and Democrat leaders, that will raise caps on spending by $300 billion over two years. Update: The Senate approved the deal by a vote of 71-28 about 1:30 a.m. Friday, followed by the House, which passed it 240-186 around 5:30 a.m….Rachel del Guidice -
- Opinion
Podcast: The Consequences of the Terrible Budget Deal
Just how bad is this new budget deal? The Heritage Foundation’s Justin Bogie joins us to explain what the short-term and long-term consequences of this big spending splurge could be. Plus: President Donald Trump attends the National Prayer Breakfast, and Vice President Mike Pence is bringing Otto Warmbier’s dad to the Olympics in South Korea.Katrina Trinko -
- Opinion
Good News. Economic Freedom Is Back on the Rise.
Good news: For the first time in a while, the United States isn’t just economically stronger. It’s economically freer. How do we know? Check the just-released 2018 “Index of Economic Freedom,” an annual data-driven research project that scores and ranks almost every country. The U.S. isn’t alone, I’m glad to say. Since it began measuring…Ed Feulner -
- Opinion
The Senate’s Ugly Budget Deal Would Trample on the Success of Tax Reform
The bipartisan budget deal to spend hundreds of billions of dollars over the next two years is worse than you think. Not only would it bust the budget caps that have long kept federal spending under control. It also would renew a package of expired tax subsidies, marking the return of a corrupt ritual of…Adam Michel -
- News
Conservatives Criticize $300 Billion Spending Deal Proposed by Leadership
Conservatives are voicing alarm over a Senate proposal announced Wednesday by Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., to increase existing statutory budget caps by $300 billion over the next two years. “This budget deal is a betrayal of everything limited government conservatism stands for and I will be voting no,”…Rachel del Guidice -
- Opinion
5 Things to Know About Congress’ Latest Budget-Busting Deal
Congressional leaders on Wednesday announced their latest budget-busting deal. The plan would provide a much-needed boost to defense spending, but fails in almost all other areas. Over the next two years, it would raise the Budget Control Act caps by $296 billion with only a third of that being paid for. This agreement would raise…Justin Bogie -
- Opinion
The Constitutional Amendment That Would Rein in Spending
Some people have called for a balanced budget amendment to our Constitution as a means of reining in a big-spending Congress. That’s a misguided vision, for the simple reason that in any real economic sense, as opposed to an accounting sense, the federal budget is always balanced. The value of what we produced in 2017—our…Walter E. Williams -
- News
Rep. Jim Jordan Makes the Case for Welfare Reform
Rep. Jim Jordan said he hopes Congress will reform welfare spending and believes people should have to work for their taxpayer subsidies. CNN’s “New Day” host Chris Cuomo challenged Jordan, R-Ohio, during a Wednesday interview, and said President Donald Trump wasn’t interested in tackling welfare reform. “We’ve talked to the president actually about welfare reform, and he…Nick Givas -
- News
Michigan Approves $360 in Weekly Unemployment to a German Shepherd
A Michigan dog owner was surprised to find out that the state approved his German shepherd for weekly unemployment benefits. The Michigan Unemployment Insurance Agency sent a letter to lawyer Michael Haddock saying that a Michael Ryder was approved to receive $360 a week in unemployment, reports ABC News. The only problem is that Ryder is Haddock’s…Amber Randall -
- Opinion
5 Principles the New House Budget Committee Chairman Should Follow in the 2019 Budget
Rep. Steve Womack of Arkansas was chosen last month to replace a fellow Republican, Rep. Diane Black of Tennessee, as chairman of the House Budget Committee. With fiscal 2018 appropriations yet to be finalized, Womack finds himself in an uncertain position. If a deal is reached to raise the Budget Control Act caps for 2019, some…Justin Bogie -
- Opinion
To Promote Human Flourishing, Economic Freedom Must Be Increased
We live in a Golden Age of economic progress. People living today enjoy long lives, good health, and high standards of living unimagined just a few generations ago. Billions of people around the world have escaped poverty. Things we take for granted—antibiotics, the iPhone, air travel—would have seemed like magic to our great-grandparents. These blessings…Steve Forbes -
- Opinion
5 Ways Trump’s New Tariffs Will Hurt Americans
On Jan. 23, President Donald Trump signed two proclamations imposing tariffs and quotas on imports of solar cells and modules, large residential washers, and washer parts. Solar cells and modules will see a tariff of 30 percent after the first 2.5 gigawatts. Washers will be tariffed at 20 percent for the first 1.2 million units,…Tori K. Smith -
- News
In US and Across the Globe, Record Numbers of CEOs Are Optimistic About Economy
A record number of CEOs are optimistic about the the U.S. and global economies, thanks in part to the tax cuts President Donald Trump signed into law Dec. 22, according to consulting firm PwC’s new annual survey. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act lowered the U.S. corporate tax rate to 21 percent from 35 percent….Kyle Perisic -
- Opinion
3 Reasons Trump Should Pull the Plug on Solar Tariffs
An expansive trade case has simmered on the back burner since April 2017 and is now finally on its way to President Donald Trump’s desk for a decision by Jan. 26. The case involves two failing manufacturing companies—Suniva and SolarWorld—which have petitioned the government for globally applicable tariffs on inexpensive imports of solar cells and…Katie Tubb -
- News
Unemployment Claims Drop to Lowest Number in 45 Years
The total number of workers claiming unemployment insurance fell to the lowest level in 45 years, the Department of Labor reported Thursday. In the first two weeks of 2018, the number of applications claiming unemployment insurance benefits dropped by 41,000 to 220,000, the lowest recorded number since Feb. 24, 1973, when the number was 218,000,…Henry Rodgers -
- Opinion
Why Congress Needs to Reform Disaster Relief Spending
In the coming weeks, Congress is set to vote on a spending bill that will include funding for federal disaster relief. Following a year of intense hurricanes and record-breaking wildfires, the congressional desire to continue the trend of expanding the Federal Emergency Management Agency to provide the bulk of relief funds to states affected by…Paul Fredrick -
- News
Wal-Mart Announces Higher Minimum Wage and Bonuses, Citing Trump Tax Cuts
Wal-Mart announced Thursday it will raise its starting wage to $11 per hour and will give employees a bonus of up to $1,000, crediting the tax cuts signed into law Dec. 22 by President Donald Trump. Wal-Mart President and CEO Doug McMillon said in a statement the retail giant was “pleased” to announce the wage…Kyle Perisic -
- Opinion
New Short-Term Spending Bill Would Continue to Hamper the Military
Lawmakers are discussing the possibility of passing yet another continuing resolution on Jan. 19 to keep the government from shutting down. If another continuing resolution comes to fruition, it will be the fourth one since the fiscal year started back on Oct. 1. As of now, we have already passed more than one-quarter of the…Frederico Bartels