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
The Dirty Secret of How Washington ‘Balances’ the Budget
For the first time in more than five years, Congress has passed a budget plan. The plan would balance the budget by 2024—but only if Congress were to enact additional enabling legislation that would actually accomplish the savings included in their budget. That’s a huge “if.” This is one of Washington’s dirty secrets. Members of…Romina Boccia -
- Opinion
Cartoon: Washington’s Transportation Spending
Heritage's Michael Sargent wrote about the Highway Transit Fund earlier this week: Transportation funding could hit a dead-end at the end of the month. On May 31, the Highway Trust Fund’s authorization to pay for the nation’s highway and mass transit projects will expire. Even worse, the fund is running a $13 billion cash flow…Glenn Foden -
- News
Delaware Group Pulls Out of US Chamber Over Claim That Export-Import Bank Helps ‘Small’ Businesses
The founder of a chamber of commerce for small businesses is pushing back against claims from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce that the Export-Import Bank helps small businesses—one of the main points supporters of the government agency make. In an interview with The Daily Signal, Bob Older, founder and chief executive of the Delaware Small…Melissa Quinn -
- News
Does the Export-Import Bank Really Create Jobs?
Many of the Export-Import Bank’s biggest supporters argue the controversial agency creates jobs. But does it really? The Daily Signal reached out to the bank’s biggest supporters—Exporters for Ex-Im, American Action Forum, National Association of Manufacturers, U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the Bankers Association for Finance and Trade—to ask whether Ex-Im creates jobs and, if…Melissa Quinn -
- News
Here’s Where the Prospective 2016 Presidential Field Stands on the Export-Import Bank
There’s been a lot of talk about the Export-Import Bank in the news lately, with debate about the 80-year-old agency ramping up as Congress nears the June 30 deadline for reauthorization. The debate on Ex-Im’s future has also expanded to the campaign trail, where the prospective 2016 presidential field is weighing in on the bank….Melissa Quinn -
- News
House GOP Leader: It’s Time to ‘Wind Down’ Export-Import Bank
House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., tells The Daily Signal that it’s time to “wind down” the Export-Import Bank. “This is a place the speaker [John Boehner] and I disagree upon,” McCarthy says. “I think this is an opportunity to wind down the bank because I think private sector can fill that void.” The Export-Important…David Brody -
- News
The Valley of Missed Opportunity: One Town’s Fight for Economic Revival
WINDSOR, N.Y.—Marian’s Pizza Shack sits 10 miles north of the Pennsylvania line, an invisible boundary that separates this small business from economic opportunity. After 23 years in business, owner Marian Szarejko has decided to sell her pizza shack. “There are no jobs here,” Szarejko said. “Business has gone down so much that I am dipping into my…Alex Anderson -
- Opinion
After Baltimore, What We Can Do to Rescue Families Trapped in Cultures of Violence, Despair and Joblessness
The scenes of Baltimore set ablaze have many Americans thinking: What can be done to rescue families trapped in an inner-city culture of violence, despair and joblessness? There are no easy answers, but down the road from Baltimore in Washington, D.C., an education program is giving children in poor neighborhoods a big lift up. The…Stephen Moore -
- News
Can This Controversial Pipeline Boost the Economy and Protect the Environment?
It may seem like one of the smaller, less consequential clashes as environmental fights go, but the battle taking shape over a pipeline that would take natural gas from eastern Pennsylvania to the Trenton, N.J., area is fast becoming a proxy war for larger forces that could threaten the shale revolution on the East Coast…Kevin Mooney -
- Opinion
The 7 Steps the Next President Should Take to Boost Our Economy
Foreign policy should work to advance a constructive agenda—something that’s been largely lacking in the Obama era. Hopefully, the next president will come up with appropriate actions to fill that void. As a cornerstone of that effort, I would suggest a commitment to promoting free trade and more liberal markets worldwide. I’ve written before that…James Carafano -
- Opinion
April Jobs Report: Unemployment Rate Falls to Lowest Level Since 2008
The Bureau of Labor Statistics’ April jobs report contained modestly encouraging economic news. The payroll survey showed employers added just under a quarter million net new jobs in the month while the household survey reported unemployment falling to 5.4 percent—its lowest level since mid-2008. On the whole, the report provided a positive counterpoint to recent…James Sherk -
- News
Worried About ‘Government Picking Winners and Losers,’ Jindal Calls for Closing of Export-Import Bank
Bobby Jindal has become the latest Republican presidential hopeful to call for the end of a federal agency that makes taxpayer-backed loans to foreign businesses and countries to buy U.S. products. “I don’t like … the federal government saying we’re going to decide which companies, which countries to select to help,” the Louisiana governor said,…Ken McIntyre -
- News
For Two Groups on Opposite Sides of the Aisle, Records Requests to Export-Import Bank Return Different Results
For two groups on opposing sides of the political spectrum, requests to the Export-Import Bank for records under the Freedom of Information Act yield different results. In November 2013, Americans for Limited Government filed a Freedom of Information Act request for correspondence between a consulting firm with ties to the Clinton administration and Export-Import Bank…Melissa Quinn -
- News
Mike Huckabee Hopes to Broaden Appeal With Focus on Foreign Policy, Economics
Mike Huckabee, who announced his candidacy for president this morning in Hope, Ark., tells The Daily Signal this election will be dominated equally by foreign policy and the “economics of the working-class people” in America. Huckabee, the former Arkansas governor, spoke with The Daily Signal during a recent trip to Iowa. He is the sixth…David Brody -
- News
As Presidential Contender, Ben Carson Vows to Fix Economy Before Entitlement Programs
Now that retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson has officially thrown his hat into the ring as a Republican candidate for president in 2016, he is rolling out his policy proposals. In an interview at his West Palm Beach, Fla., home last November, Carson said entitlement programs don’t need to be touched until the economy is back on the…David Brody -
- Opinion
Lack of Economic Freedom Will Hinder Nepal’s Recovery
Nepal’s economy is almost entirely dependent on the service industry (including tourism) and remittances—49 percent and 28 percent of gross domestic product (GDP), respectively—and will take decades to recover from last month’s earthquake, in part due to the country’s lack of economic freedom. The 7.8-magnitude quake that hit the country’s capital, Kathmandu, early on April…Huma Sattar -
- News
The Export-Import Bank’s Charter Expires in Two Months. Here’s What You Need to Know About It.
Policymakers are currently considering the future of the Export-Import Bank, a little-known government agency that provides taxpayer-backed loans and loan guarantees to foreign countries and companies for the purchase of U.S. products. The bank’s charter expires June 30, and as Congress inches closer to its deadline on whether Ex-Im should be reauthorized, the debate over…Melissa Quinn -
- Opinion
The Truth About GOP Budgets: They Never Balance
In Washington, the conservative thing to do these days is to champion a balanced budget. Quite recently, in fact, Republicans have congratulated themselves for passing two budgets (one in each house of Congress) that, on their face, will achieve balance within 10 years. However, there is more to this story. When you remove the Enron-style…John Gray -
- News
Conservative House Freedom Caucus Comes Out Against Export-Import Bank
A group of 40 conservative lawmakers collectively known as the House Freedom Caucus have come out in opposition to the controversial Export-Import Bank, joining Republican presidential candidates and a legion of conservative groups speaking out against the agency’s reauthorization. “The Ex-Im Bank financially supports less than 2 percent of U.S. exports and supports mega-corporations at the…Melissa Quinn -
- Opinion
The Very Weak Growth in First Quarter Shows How Weak the Economic Recovery Is
In the first quarter of 2015 (January, February and March), the economy exhibited weakness that has become all too common during the Obama era. The Bureau of Economic Analysis reports that the economy grew at just 0.2 percent during that time. At 0.2 percent growth, the economy was dangerously close to not growing at all,…Curtis Dubay