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
Obama Gutted Work Requirements for Welfare. Why Trump Is Right to Restore Them.
President Donald Trump on Wednesday reversed an Obama administration policy that undermined one of the most successful domestic policy reforms in the last half-century. In doing so, Trump took strong steps to preserve the original intent of the 1996 welfare reform law: to weaken the cycle of poverty by reducing dependence and promoting self-sufficiency through…Robert Rector -
- Opinion
4 Ways to Change Our Tax Code to Boost Economic Growth
In a national speech on Wednesday, President Donald Trump framed the tax reform debate that will continue to unfold when Congress returns next week. The president’s vision focused on letting Americans keep more of their own money. Done rightly, this vision can unleash robust economic growth that will benefit all Americans. America is suffering under…Adam Michel -
- Opinion
Our Debt Problem Is Really a Spending Problem. Economic Growth Won’t Fix It.
Two hundred and sixty-nine billion dollars. That’s a big number, and yet it’s not the amount the federal government spends on any of its major activities like defense, Medicaid, Medicare, or Social Security. Rather, this is what the Congressional Budget Office currently projects the federal government will spend on interest payments on the debt for…Logan Cook -
- Opinion
Add Homebuilders to the List of Industries Hurt by Tariffs
New data show that protectionism is taking a toll on the confidence of homebuilders. Last month, homebuilder confidence hit its lowest reading since November 2016, according to the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market. The index fell two points from 66 to 64, upsetting economists’ predictions that confidence would actually improve. While anything…Robert Bellafiore -
- News
Budget Experts Call for ‘Bold Leadership’ to Cut National Debt
Politicians continue to put their interests first in ignoring looming consequences to the massive and growing U.S. national debt, experts on the economy said at a recent forum. “We are facing the largest, most predictable crisis in U.S. history, and almost nobody is talking about it,” warned Romina Boccia, deputy director of economic policy studies…Katrina Willis -
- Opinion
$15 Minimum Wage Would Wreak Havoc on One of America’s Richest Counties
Montgomery County, Maryland, would have passed a $15 minimum wage if is wasn’t for County Executive Ike Leggett. Leggett, a Democrat, openly supports increasing the minimum wage. But when the county legislature narrowly approved a minimum wage hike last December, Leggett decided to veto it. The 30 percent minimum wage increase had passed by a…Rachel Greszler -
- Opinion
Conservatives Must Demand Spending Controls in Exchange for Raising Debt Ceiling
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin has indicated that the federal borrowing limit must be raised by Sept. 29, or the U.S. could run out of money to pay its bills. Congress, which controls the purse strings of the U.S. government, should not abdicate that authority by writing Mnuchin a blank check and getting nothing in return…Patrick Tyrrell -
- Opinion
Strong Jobs Report for July Gives Trump Momentum for Tax Reform
The U.S. economy created 209,000 jobs last month, according to the most recent Bureau of Labor Statistics jobs report, exceeding expert predictions by nearly 30,000 jobs. This gives the Trump administration momentum to continue pushing for meaningful reforms that help grow the economy and increase prosperity. According to the report, the U-3 unemployment rate (unemployed…Timothy Doescher -
- News
Emails Show Seattle Mayor’s Office Manipulated a Minimum Wage Study for Political Benefit
The Seattle mayor’s office coordinated with a University of California, Berkeley economist to manipulate a study on the effects of a $15 minimum wage for maximum political benefit, according to emails obtained by the Employment Policies Institute. A staffer for Democratic Mayor Ed Murray reached out to the university's economics department asking it to rush the release of a study, released in…Jack Crowe -
- Opinion
The Minimum Wage Hurts Workers. So Why Does the Left Want to Hike It?
For the most part, people share common goals. Most of us want poor people to enjoy higher standards of living, greater traffic safety, more world peace, greater racial harmony, cleaner air and water, and less crime. Despite the fact that people have common goals, we often see them grouped into contentious factions, fighting tooth and…Walter E. Williams -
- Opinion
Senate Agriculture Appropriations Bill Would Expand Crony Handouts for Cotton Industry
What are Senate appropriators doing to address two new farm programs whose costs are spiraling out of control? They are increasing the costs even more. Cotton growers just can’t seem to get enough handouts, and many Senate appropriators are happy to funnel even more money their way at the expense of taxpayers. The Senate agriculture…Daren Bakst -
- News
Treasury Secretary Says Tax Reform Will Happen Within the Year
Tax reform will happen within the year, Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin says. “We will have success,” Mnuchin said Monday during an event hosted by Freedom Partners Chamber of Commerce and Americans for Prosperity. “This is a pass/fail exercise and we will pass tax reform, period.” The man President Donald Trump picked to oversee the nation’s…Rachel del Guidice -
- News
House Conservatives Target Jobs at Congressional Budget Office
The jobs of 89 federal workers involved in estimating the budget impact of legislation in Congress would be eliminated under a proposal from members of the House’s upstart conservative caucus. Rep. Mark Meadows, R-N.C., chairman of the House Freedom Caucus, said Monday that members would deploy an obscure rule that allows a House member to…Katrina Willis -
- News
Trump’s Labor Secretary Targets Occupational Licensing for Elimination
Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta took on occupational licensing reform Friday, calling for the elimination of unnecessary licenses and the streamlining of those that make sense. Acosta urged while speaking at the 44th Annual Meeting of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) in Denver, Colorado, state legislators roll back burdensome occupational licensing requirements that effectively serve as government-created barriers…Ted Goodman -
- Opinion
NAFTA Should Be About Free Trade, Not Minimum Wage Mandates
During the presidential campaign, two things topped the list of things Donald Trump didn’t like: the North American Free Trade Agreement and the Trans-Pacific Partnership. One of Trump’s first actions as president was to pull the United States out of the partnership. Another was to announce plans to renegotiate NAFTA. Therefore, it was shocking that…Bryan Riley -
- News
Failed Welfare State an Opportunity for Conservatives, ‘Hillbilly’ Writer Argues
Liberals built a welfare state that doesn’t offer upward mobility to Americans trapped in poverty, “Hillbilly Elegy” author J.D. Vance says, and conservatives should step forward and chart “a new direction” in government policy. The best-selling writer, speaking Thursday at The Heritage Foundation for the think tank’s release of its 2017 Index of Culture and…Ken McIntyre -
- Opinion
Here’s What ‘Made in America Week’ Should Have Celebrated
Earlier this week, craftsmen and entrepreneurs from all 50 states met on the White House lawn to celebrate American-made products, as a part of the newly proclaimed “Made in America Week.” While the administration may see this week as a time to highlight the companies that have a sticker on their product that says “Made…Erin Bardin -
- Opinion
Dodd-Frank Has Held Down the US Economy for Too Long
Carefree, Arizona—population 3,363—is 2,400 miles from Wall Street. But that’s still not far enough away to escape the harm caused by Democrats’ supposed “Wall Street reform” known as the Dodd-Frank Act, which was signed into law seven years ago this month. According to a local news report, a proposed housing project in Carefree was terminated…Rep. Jeb Hensarling -
- Opinion
Senate Health Care Bill Could Be Greatest Entitlement Reform in a Generation
The Senate health care bill (the Better Care Reconciliation Act of 2017) would fundamentally reform federal Medicaid payment. As Washington Post columnist George Will has written, the bill’s Medicaid provisions, as crafted by Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Pa., “makes it this century’s most significant domestic policy reform.” Will is correct. Medicaid financing needs reform. Jointly financed…Robert Moffit -
- Opinion
This Conservative Budget Proposal Is a Real Solution to America’s Debt Situation
The Republican Study Committee on Thursday released its fiscal year 2018 budget proposal, titled “Securing America’s Future Economy” (SAFE). This proposal would balance the budget in less than 10 years and begin to make meaningful reforms to Social Security and Medicare, the two biggest drivers of the federal debt. The Republican Study Committee budget builds…Justin Bogie