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
More Economic Freedom Could Mean Less Civil Strife in Ethiopia
The Heritage Foundation has taken its message of economic freedom to Africa. Today’s stop is Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia—source of the Blue Nile river and one of the oldest countries in the world that traces its history back to Biblical times 1,000 years before Christ. Remember the Queen of Sheba, in the time…James M. Roberts -
- News
House Conservatives Resort to Spending Plan B to Avoid Government Shutdown
When Congress returns to Capitol Hill on Monday to hammer out a stopgap spending measure, House conservatives plan to introduce a spending safety valve that would eliminate the possibility of a government shutdown. Congress has struggled for months to reach a spending agreement. As the end of the fiscal year approaches and government’s spending authority…Philip Wegmann -
- Opinion
Tax Increases Won’t Make the Budget Sustainable
In his final budget proposal, President Barack Obama proclaimed that the federal budget is “on a more sustainable fiscal path.” This is simply not true. Over the last two presidential administrations, total debt has grown considerably, along with the risk of a significant financial crisis. U.S. government debt now climbs above $19.5 trillion. When the next president takes office, publicly-held debt will be…Paul Winfree -
- Opinion
In New Spending Bill, McConnell Sides With Liberals, Ignores Conservative Priorities
After voting to proceed to a bill that didn’t exist earlier this week, the Senate has finally produced text of the continuing resolution, a short-term government spending bill. The bill, written behind closed doors by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, was brought to the floor late Thursday afternoon, and for the majority of Senate Republicans,…Rachel Bovard -
- Opinion
Congress Is Set to Cave in to Higher Spending Again
It’s an all too familiar sight: It’s the end of the fiscal year, and Congress is scrambling to keep the government open after it has shirked its responsibility to pass the requisite 12 appropriations bills all year. The end of the fiscal year is when Congress tends to throw fiscal responsibility out the window in…Michael Sargent -
- News
What Happened After This Blue State Introduced an Income Tax to Balance Its Budget
In 1991, Connecticut Gov. Lowell Weicker decried the state’s “orgies of spending,” and said his income tax proposal—which would include fiscal discipline—would balance the books. Connecticut recently marked the 25th anniversary of the income tax, which has resulted in little to no spending restraint. State spending grew 71 percent faster than inflation from 1991 to 2014…Fred Lucas -
- News
House Republicans Divided Over Spending Bill Strategy
House Republicans huddling in the basement of the Capitol Friday morning weren’t strategizing to defeat Democrats. They were trying to quell dissension inside their ranks over the length of a stopgap spending measure. And they’re running out of time. Congress must decide how to fund the federal government before its spending authority expires on Oct….Philip Wegmann -
- News
Congress Must Close New $10 Billion Gap in Government Spending, Report Says
To meet current obligations, the government will need $10 billion more next year, forcing Congress to make new cuts, according to lawmakers’ nonpartisan budget office. The Congressional Budget Office’s preliminary new projections, obtained by The Daily Signal, show current government operations without changes would cost nearly $1.08 trillion, up from $1.07 trillion. Lawmakers returning to…Philip Wegmann -
- Opinion
The August Jobs Report Was So-So. That’s Bad News.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics’ August employment report showed little change in the labor market. Employers added a net 151,000 jobs. That rate of job growth essentially keeps up with population growth. Unsurprisingly, then, the unemployment rate remained unchanged at 4.9 percent. The labor force participation rate (62.8 percent) and employment-to-population ratio (59.7 percent) also…James Sherk -
- Opinion
What Liberals Don’t Get: Blacks Often Hurt by Government Regulation
A general economic principle is that any law or regulation that restricts market entry tends to impose the greatest burden on those who can be described as poor, latecomers, discriminated against, and politically weak. The president of the NAACP’s St. Louis chapter, Adolphus Pruitt, has petitioned a circuit court judge to reject the St. Louis…Walter E. Williams -
- Opinion
A 12-Step Plan for Global Economic Freedom
In the decades since The Heritage Foundation began publishing its annual Index of Economic Freedom in 1995, the world has witnessed profound advances in economic freedom. Open economies have led the world in a startling burst of innovation and economic growth, and political authorities have found themselves increasingly held accountable by those they govern. Unfortunately,…James M. Roberts -
- Opinion
3 Reasons Congress Can Defeat Corporate Welfare This Fall
Last December, lobbyists successfully resurrected one of their favorite corporate cash cows: the U.S. Export-Import Bank, a government agency dedicated to subsidizing wealthy and well-connected businesses at the taxpayers’ expense. But those special interests didn’t get everything they wanted. For all of this year, the Ex-Im Bank hasn’t had a full board of directors—meaning it hasn’t…Andy Koenig -
- News
How Republicans in Congress Would Respond to Big-Spending Infrastructure Push
Fresh after Congress and the White House scored the largest transportation spending package in a decade, both presidential candidates this year are proposing billions in funding to rebuild the nation’s infrastructure. While both Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump—and the parties they represent—agree the nation’s roads, bridges, airports, rail system, and ports are in need of…Josh Siegel -
- News
Facing High Labor Costs From Minimum Wage Hikes, Chicago Restaurant Closes
A Chicago restaurant abruptly closed this week, with ownership blaming the “rapidly changing labor market” and a 27 percent increase in base minimum wage costs over the last two years as culprits for the collapse. Cantina 1910, a farm-to-table Mexican restaurant located in Chicago’s Andersonville neighborhood, opened in September 2015. Former Cantina 1910 employees said…Leah Jessen -
- Opinion
20 Years Ago, Welfare Reform Was Signed Into Law. Here’s What We’ve Learned.
Two decades ago, President Bill Clinton signed one of the most successful public policies into law: welfare reform. It was called the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act—and its results were dramatic. Watch to learn more.Genevieve Wood -
- News
Find Out How Many Jobs Your State Could Lose With a $15 Minimum Wage
Following legislation in New York and California raising their statewide minimum wages to $15 an hour, a new study has found that such statewide mandates would lead to hundreds of thousands of job losses. According to a new study from The Heritage Foundation, proposals at the state and federal levels to raise the minimum wage…Melissa Quinn -
- Opinion
Did Welfare Reform Really Throw 3.5 Million Children Into Third World Poverty? The Facts May Surprise You
Today is the 20th anniversary of welfare reform. Two decades ago, President Bill Clinton signed the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act, known as welfare reform, into law. The highly popular reform cut welfare caseloads by over 50 percent, sharply boosted the employment of the least-skilled single mothers, and pushed the poverty rates of…Robert Rector -
- Opinion
Marriage Reduces Child Poverty, but Our Welfare System Penalizes Marriage
According to a recently released study from the American Enterprise Institute, 82 percent of lower-middle-class families with young children face “marriage penalties” in the welfare system. Couples who marry would lose all or some of their welfare benefits because their combined income is often greater than each of their independent incomes. The study found that…Paul Draper -
- News
How These States Ensure Welfare Dollars Aren’t Used for Alcohol, Lottery Tickets
A new state law in Maine went into effect last month prohibiting welfare recipients from purchasing items like alcohol, lottery tickets, and tattoos with their welfare funds. Alongside Kansas, Maine has been one of the leading states reforming welfare, and nearly half of the states have already taken action. Maine Gov. Paul LePage, a Republican,…Melissa Quinn -
- News
How DC Small Businesses Are Preparing for a $15 Minimum Wage
With the District of Columbia’s new $15 an hour minimum wage law slated to go into effect over the next four years, many local businesses are still figuring out how they can pay workers more and remain profitable. On the one hand, many local business owners think that an employee working full time should be…Andrew Egger