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
This Book Will Bring Economics to Life for You
A widely anticipated textbook, “Universal Economics,” has just been published by Liberty Fund. Its authors are two noted UCLA economists, the late Armen A. Alchian and William R. Allen. Editor Jerry L. Jordan was their student and later became a member of President Ronald Reagan’s Council of Economic Advisers, as well as the president and… -
opinion
Growing National Debt Threatens the Current Economic Boom
The federal government’s fiscal year 2018 is over. In some ways, it was a banner year: economic growth quickened, average paychecks fattened, and there were more jobs available than there were people looking for work. But there are clouds on the horizon. Washington’s soaring deficit and debt could wipe out the progress being made, hitting… -
news
US Unemployment Hits 49-Year Low
The U.S. economy added 134,000 jobs in September, falling under experts’ expectations by 46,000, according to Friday’s jobs numbers from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The unemployment rate fell 0.2 points to 3.7 percent, matching the lowest rate since 1969. Economists expected the rate to drop slightly to 3.8 percent, according to The Wall Street Journal. August’s jobs numbers were revised upward from… -
opinion
3 Reasons to Celebrate Amazon’s $15 Minimum Wage, and 3 Reasons to Fear a $15 Federal Minimum Wage
Workers at an Amazon fulfillment center in South Carolina erupted in cheers and high fives when the news broke that Amazon is raising its minimum wage to $15 per hour. Those cheers would have ceased, however, had the company then divided workers into two groups—those receiving pay increases and those receiving pink slips. That would… -
news
What You Need to Know About the New Trade Deal
This is a transcript of an interview on the Oct. 2 Daily Signal podcast. Katrina Trinko: So, before we break out the champagne and start a chorus of USMCA, we’re bringing in The Heritage Foundation’s Tori Whiting, who is the Jay Van Andel trade economist, to talk to us about this deal and why it… -
news
The Daily Signal Podcast: A First Look at the USMCA Trade Deal
Is the new United States Mexico Canada Agreement better than the North American Free Trade Agreement? The Heritage Foundation’s Tori Whiting joins us to discuss the new North American trade deal President Donald Trump hawked Monday, and what the next steps are. Plus: Kanye West tells the truth about the left on “Saturday Night Live.”… -
opinion
Congress Sees Hundreds of Millions in New Spending as an Afterthought
For most Americans, $351 million is serious money. The median worker earns $45,708 per year, which means it would take 7,679 average earners to reach $351 million. But for Congress, $351 million is an afterthought. This is the amount that Congress has voted to spend on Pell Grants in addition to the budget-busting deal agreed… -
news
Highest Minimum Wage in the US Will Hit $19 an Hour
The commissioners of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey voted unanimously Thursday to raise the minimum wage of workers at three airports to $19 an hour by 2023, the highest government mandated minimum wage in the U.S. The decision will affect roughly 40,000 workers and airline companies operating at La Guardia Airport… -
news
Spending Deal Breaks Promises to Voters, Conservative Lawmakers Say
Conservative lawmakers say they are disappointed with a lack of conservative priorities in a new spending package, some saying it goes against stipulations President Donald Trump outlined when signing the last spending bill. “Americans elected Republican majorities to the House and Senate to rein in federal spending and return to regular order,” Rep. Jim Banks,… -
opinion
How the Economic Boom Is Lifting Latino Communities
It’s no secret that for many Latinos, the most important voting issue is the economy. For years, our families have been disadvantaged by a lack of available jobs, sluggish wage growth, and the real challenge of trying to pay down debt and save more to get ahead. Latinos put a high priority on greater economic… -
opinion
Congress Is Using These Deceptive Tricks to Drive Spending Higher
Congress is up to its old tricks again, trying to pass another massive spending bill that uses gimmicks and tricks to push deficit spending even higher. And it thinks it can hoodwink President Donald Trump into signing it. Next week, the House is expected to vote on a combined fiscal year 2018 continuing resolution and… -
opinion
New York City Just Sent Its Transportation Industry Back to the 1930s
At 5 o’clock on Aug. 14, New York City turned its clocks back to the 1930s. The Taxi and Limousine Commission officially stopped issuing licenses to most for-hire vehicles, effectively declaring war on Uber and Lyft in an effort to protect taxis from competition. This is the first of many steps that aim to constrain… -
opinion
How Emergency Spending Has Exploded in Recent Years
Over the next several weeks, Heritage Foundation experts will publish short articles on the budget and federal spending. The next 12 months are a critical time for adjusting the spending outlook. In the last spending agreement enacted in the spring of 2018, Congress intentionally designed the spending limits so that they will be broken or… -
opinion
Geoffrey Owens and Historic Unemployment Rate Reinforce the Value of Work
As summer winds down to a close, the economy continues to fire on all cylinders. According to the Labor Department, the national unemployment rate remained at 3.9 percent for the month of August. As recently as President Barack Obama’s second term, it was more than twice as high. Black and Hispanic unemployment rates have now… -
opinion
As Summer Comes to an End, the Economy Is Hot as Ever
The Bureau of Labor Statistics announced another solid jobs report Friday, reporting that in August, the U.S. exceeded expert predictions by creating 201,000 jobs. The unemployment rate stayed at a near-record low of 3.9 percent. This year’s string of healthy jobs reports is consistent with other factors that indicate a robust economy. For instance, small… -
opinion
Newspapers Win as Trade Commission Spikes Tariffs on Canadian Newsprint
American newspapers, their workers, and readers dodged a protectionist bullet last week when the U.S. International Trade Commission unanimously blocked the Trump administration from imposing tariffs on Canadian newsprint. The Commerce Department had proposed the tariffs in the belief that Canadian paper producers were dumping product in the U.S. at unfair prices. It came to… -
opinion
Paraguay’s Economic, Political Transformation Deserves Recognition
South America is not at the center of global affairs, but few countries in the region may go as unnoticed as Paraguay. At first glance, Paraguay appears an unlikely prospect to stand out as an emerging-market democracy. In the shadow of the large and populous economies of Brazil and Argentina, the small landlocked country was… -
opinion
It’s Time for a Trade Deal With Taiwan
Taiwan and the United States have always been natural partners. Both are committed to free markets, the rule of law, and democracy. Yet due to China’s constant and growing impositions, the U.S.-Taiwan relationship has not reached its full potential. The two nations have enjoyed a long history of economic cooperation, but there is much more… -
opinion
Houston Has a School Spending Problem, and ‘Free’ Lunches Won’t Fix It
Houston schools will offer free meals to all students this year, but there’s no guarantee that will help more families who are still recovering from Hurricane Harvey, which struck a year ago this week. Nearly all Houston students were eligible for subsidized free meals last year, so this move just expands an already sizable federal… -
opinion
Economic Freedom Improves Lives, Yet Another Study Finds
A new metastudy by Serbian think tank Libek confirms that countries wishing to increase their economic growth—and reap the many rewards that come from doing so—need to focus on advancing the economic freedom of their people. Libek looked at 92 scholarly research studies that considered the relationship between economic freedom and economic growth. Eighty-six of…