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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news
Jeff Flake Explains Why Republicans Want Entitlement Reform in Debt, Spending Deal
Congress has until November 3 to raise the debt limit so the government can borrow to pay its bills and avoid the risk of defaulting on its obligations. Meanwhile, government funding expires on Dec. 11. Today, multiple media outlets reported that House and Senate leaders are negotiating a two-year budget agreement that would raise the… -
news
Obama Celebrates a Drop in the Budget Deficit as the National Debt Balloons
The Obama administration is trumpeting a shrunken federal deficit as new justification for more spending and an end to mandatory budget cuts. The Congressional Budget Office, though, already has warned of “dramatic” debt trouble ahead. The Department of Treasury last week released the numbers for fiscal year 2015, announcing a $44-billion drop in the deficit from… -
news
Seattle Voted to Hike the Minimum Wage to $15 an Hour. Here’s What Happened to Seattle’s Job Market.
The $15 minimum wage increase in the Seattle area “is getting off to a pretty bad start,” according to a new report. Data shows that the Seattle Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) lost 700 restaurant jobs from January to September of this year, and a report from the American Enterprise Institute suggests that this could be the product… -
news
Old Budget System Makes Modernizing Nuclear Defense Difficult
The need to modernize the U.S. nuclear arsenal is inevitable, but modernization of Major Force Programs for budget projections needs to come first, said panelists at The Heritage Foundation this month. The panel explained how informed discussion about the future costs of modernizing the nuclear triad is hampered by the disparity between the different… -
opinion
Why Congress Must Work to Balance the Budget
Important budget questions were discussed this week at a widely attended event by the Institute to Reduce Spending that featured Chairman of the House Budget Committee Dr. Tom Price, R-Ga., as well as a panel of experts (I was delighted to be among the panelists). Price explained that the goal of fiscal policy and of… -
opinion
How Congress Can Mess Up the Highway Spending Bill
With the threat of a government shutdown largely averted (at least until December), Congress is turning to address other must-pass measures it has skirted this fiscal year. Chief among them is the authorization for highway and transit spending, which is set to expire at the end of October following its latest $8-billion bailout in July…. -
opinion
Because of Defense Spending Cuts, Navy Won’t Have Aircraft Carrier in Middle East Anymore
Is the world becoming safer or more dangerous? Few people would select the first option. It doesn’t take Russia launching air strikes in Syria (to cite only one recent example) for most to admit that tensions are rising. So why in the world are we cutting defense spending? And not by small amounts. The U.S. military—which is… -
news
What Is the Link Between Culture and Economic Opportunity?
At a panel discussion on Tuesday at The Heritage Foundation, contributors to the 2015 Index of Culture and Opportunity discussed what they characterized as the essential link between culture and economic opportunity. Jennifer Marshall, the vice president of the Institute for Family, Community, and Opportunity, said that opportunity isn’t just limited to economics, but is… -
opinion
September Jobs Report: Unexpected Weakness
The Bureau of Labor Statistics’ September jobs report showed unexpected weakness in the labor market. The payroll survey showed that employers created only 142,000 jobs in September. The economy created only 167,000 net new jobs a month in the 3rd quarter—a substantial drop from the 231,000 jobs a month pace in the 2nd quarter. The numbers are… -
news
California Labor Union That Fought for $15 Minimum Wage Now Wants an Exemption
The labor union that led the charge for a $15 minimum wage hike in cities across California is now moving to secure an exemption for employers under union contracts. The Los Angeles County Federation of Labor buried the exemption on the eighth page of its 12-page proposal for the Santa Monica City Council to review… -
opinion
Can Two Polar Opposite Senators Muzzle the Federal Reserve?
The Federal Reserve has injected trillions into the banking system since the 2008 crisis, and we’re still stuck in a low-growth economy. Yet rather than question the Fed’s overall mission and effectiveness, we’ve become obsessed with interest rates: Did the Fed make rates too low? Should it raise rates now or wait till December? If… -
opinion
US Spends Far More on Social Welfare Than Most European Nations
The U.S. Census Bureau has released its annual poverty report. Conventional wisdom holds that the U.S. has a small social welfare system and far more poverty compared with other affluent nations. But noted liberal scholars Irwin Garfinkel, Lee Rainwater, and Timothy Smeeding challenge such simplistic ideas in their book “Wealth and Welfare States: Is America… -
opinion
Can Uber End Traffic Jams? CEO Has Bold Plan to Overhaul Transportation Industry
Travis Kalanick gave a rare interview in San Francisco this week at the mega Dreamforce conference. Since Uber began getting regularly hammered in the press for its aggressive political tactics and potential legal violations, the once outspoken CEO hasn’t given the public much direction about the future of the multi-billion-dollar transportation company. This week, he gave… -
opinion
The Budget Battle: What You Need to Know
Federal funding for most government agencies and departments expires on Sept. 30. Lawmakers have just a few working days left to avert a government shutdown. At the same time, Congress is also facing budget deadlines this winter on the national debt, highway programs, regulations, and taxes. So can lawmakers do? The Heritage Foundation has published… -
opinion
3 Reasons to Focus on Something Other Than the Fed’s Interest Rate Target
Stocks tumbled in several major markets earlier this week because, supposedly, investors were nervous about this weeks Fed meeting. The Fed has flirted with raising its interest rate target for months now, but mixed economic news keeps giving them cold feet. When it does finally raise its target rate, it will be the first time… -
opinion
The Redistributive State: How Government Shifts Economic Resources from High- to Low-Income Households
This week, the U.S. Census Bureau will release its annual report on income and income inequality. Historically, the official Census figures on inequality are misleading because they fail to account for most government fiscal redistribution. The high taxes paid by affluent households are ignored, and most of the government benefits and services received by lower-income… -
opinion
Five Years After the Recession, Only 21% of Small Businesses Say They’ve Recovered
More than five years after the end of the “Great Recession,” only 21 percent of small businesses* say they have fully recovered. During the recession, lack of sales ranked as the top problem small business faced. Taxes placed second, and “government regulations and red tape” placed third. And since 2012, at least one in five… -
news
Conservative Group Won’t Support a Spending Bill That Funds Planned Parenthood
The House Freedom Caucus, a group of conservative lawmakers, has announced that it will oppose any spending bill that grants taxpayer funds to Planned Parenthood. In a statement, members of the group said: Given the appalling revelations surrounding Planned Parenthood, we cannot in good moral conscience vote to send taxpayer money to this organization while… -
opinion
A Higher Minimum Wage Would Eliminate Opportunity for Success
Watching the news these days, it may seem as though a minimum-wage job is the equivalent of a life sentence of poverty. But nothing could be farther from the truth. A minimum-wage job is not an end, but a beginning of what could be a very successful career. For more than a year, union-backed protesters have… -
opinion
Government Regulations Have Created the Problem of Unaffordable Housing
Why is housing so expensive in some cities, and relatively cheap in others? Place the blame on land-use restrictions put in place by local governments. During the housing boom of 2000 to 2005, the cry often went up from Washington that housing wasn’t affordable anymore. From 2000-2005 the median sales price of American single-family homes…