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
Lawmakers Eye a Huge Backdoor Spending Increase
Members of Congress are promoting the concept of changing three programs from the discretionary category (requiring annual appropriations) into mandatory (auto-pilot) spending. Such changes would become a huge backdoor spending increase. Spending limits have come under relentless attack from both parties. In 2013, 2015, and 2018, Congress passed massive spending increases with little to no… -
opinion
Podcast: 2 House Conservatives Explain Why It’s Time to Focus on Spending, Budget
Today we feature Genevieve Wood’s interview with Rep. Mike Johnson, chairman of the Republican Study Committee, and Rep. Jim Banks. The two Republicans, who represent districts in Louisiana and Indiana, respectively, talk about spending, the debt, and why it’s time to take these issues seriously. We also cover these stories: President Donald Trump says he’s… -
opinion
National School Lunch Program Has Morphed Into Massive, Wasteful Entitlement Program
The National School Lunch Program has changed dramatically since it began in 1946. What started as a grant program to help poor students and those with special needs has morphed into a massive entitlement offering meals to 30 million students every year—equivalent to nearly 55% of all children enrolled in public and private schools. And… -
opinion
House Democrats Pursue a Reckless Spending Deal, Not a Budget
Democrats are trying to put the last nail in the coffin of the Budget Control Act of 2011, one of the few remaining semblances of fiscal restraint left in Washington. This week, the House likely will vote on a plan to raise the law’s discretionary spending caps by at least $357 billion for 2020-2021. As… -
opinion
The US Economy Beat the Experts by Nearly 20,000 Jobs in March
The U.S. economy is strong and growing, according to the latest jobs report. The Bureau of Labor Statistics on Friday released a positive jobs report on March, showing gains of 196,000 jobs, after only 20,000 jobs were created in February. All the while, the U.S. continues to boast an almost record low unemployment rate and… -
opinion
Economic Freedom Is the Way Out of Extreme Poverty
A recent report by McKinsey Global Institute contains a startling fact. From 1990 through 2013, an estimated 1.1 billion people escaped extreme poverty—defined as subsisting on less than $1.90 per day—in the 71 developing countries covered by the report. Of those individuals, an estimated 1,057,000,000—about 95 percent—lived in just 18 countries. Interestingly, these are the… -
news
Government Regulations Are Putting Some Homeowners’ Dreams on Hold
BRYAN, Texas—Born and raised in Houston, Melody Woodard moved an hour and a half away from her hometown to start anew here in Bryan, outside College Station, Texas. But after her husband died, things changed. An animated, outspoken woman, Woodard was determined to make it on her own. But without help from her husband, things… -
opinion
Here Are 5 Things the Senate’s 2020 Budget Would Do
The Senate Budget Committee will move one step closer to producing a new budget this week when it meets for a mark-up hearing on its fiscal year 2020 budget resolution. The proposal as it exists now would take steps to avoid another irresponsible budget deal and would eliminate one particularly egregious budget gimmick. Yet the… -
opinion
Budget Cuts Would Stifle US Broadcasting to Post-Soviet Regions
The Trump administration’s budget proposal for the U.S. Agency for Global Media for fiscal 2020 reflects indifference—if not disdain—for the agency whose self-proclaimed mission is to “inform, engage, and connect people around the world in support of freedom and democracy.” The spending blueprint released on March 18 would reduce the budget for the agency, formerly… -
news
Trump Taps Stephen Moore for Federal Reserve Board
President Donald Trump will name economist Stephen Moore, a visiting fellow at The Heritage Foundation and former Wall Street Journal economics writer, to the Federal Reserve Board to oversee the nation’s monetary policy. “I will be nominating Mr. Moore for the Fed,” Trump told reporters Friday at the Palm Beach International Airport. “You know who… -
opinion
How Trump’s Tariffs Hiked Taxes on Americans by $14.4 Billion in 2018
Each year, the Council of Economic Advisers releases the “Economic Report of the President,” which assesses the state of the U.S. economy and the impact of the current administration’s policies. The 2019 report was published this week, and it contains valuable information on the economic effects of the Trump administration’s approach to trade. According to… -
opinion
Closing So-Called ‘Carried Interest Loophole’ Would Hurt the Economy
Increasing taxes on investment is always a bad idea, and that’s exactly what a new bill in Congress aims to do. Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., and Rep. Bill Pascrell Jr., R-N.J., want to increase taxes on investments that support businesses and jobs all across in America. The Carried Interest Fairness Act of 2019 is simply… -
opinion
The Long History of the Economic Costs of Higher Tariffs
What are the economic effects of tariffs? That question has been studied in detail dating back to Adam Smith’s “The Wealth of Nations” in 1776, and a general consensus was long ago agreed to among economists. Tariffs decrease the health, happiness, and fortunes of those engaging in trade by: Steering trade toward inefficient producers. Encouraging… -
news
‘Self-Sufficiency, Not a Sinkhole’: JOBS Act Updates Work Requirements for Welfare Recipients
Republicans in the House and Senate are making another legislative push to enforce work requirements for able-bodied adults on welfare. Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., and Republicans on the House Ways and Means Committee on Thursday announced the Jobs and Opportunity with Benefits and Services Act. The JOBS Act comes as the Trump administration makes a… -
news
Bernie Sanders Says ‘Many Thousands’ Will Die as Budget Chief Predicts Stronger Medicare
President Donald Trump’s budget proposal would extend the life of Medicare by eight years, the administration’s budget chief told a Senate committee Wednesday. But Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., had a sharp question during the Senate Budget Committee hearing. “How many thousands do you think will die because of massive cuts to Medicare and Medicaid?” Sanders… -
opinion
What Liberals Forget: Before the Welfare State, Americans Took Care of Each Other
Over the weekend, Democratic fresh face and socialist darling Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., spoke at the South by Southwest conference. While sitting amidst the enormous bounty provided by capitalism—top-notch electronic equipment, a massive crowd of paid ticket holders—AOC tore into capitalism. She called the system that has raised 80 percent of the globe from extreme… -
news
Government Lays Out $4.6 Million on Lobster and Crab in Spending Spike
Against the backdrop of a record-breaking $22 trillion in national debt, the revelation that the federal government spent $4.6 million on lobster tail and crab is only one line item in a report that may disturb cash-strapped taxpayers. OpenTheBooks.com, a government watchdog nonprofit working to put all government spending online, has published “The Federal… -
opinion
Trump’s Military Budget Request Would Build on Recent Gains
The Pentagon on Tuesday released the president’s budget request for defense, which calls for the resources needed to sustain the increase in military readiness experienced over the last two years. The total funding request of $750 billion would represent an increase of 4.7 percent over the 2019 budget, largely aligned with the needs expressed by… -
opinion
Why the Commerce Secretary Shouldn’t Testify to Lawmakers About the Census
Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross is scheduled to testify Thursday before the House Oversight and Reform Committee in a hearing on the Trump administration’s reinstating a standard citizenship question on the U.S. census. But with civil litigation over that very issue now before the Supreme Court, the House committee should cancel the hearing in recognition of… -
opinion
Trump’s Budget Reaffirms Commitment to Work-Based Welfare Policy
President Donald Trump issued an executive order last April that called for policy reforms to, among other things, “improve employment outcomes and economic independence.” Nearly one year later, the president’s budget proposal for fiscal year 2020 doubles down on this goal by renewing policies to promote work in means-tested welfare programs. Trump’s “Budget for a…