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
What Exactly Congress Is Spending Your Dollars On
Let’s say you were a financial adviser, and a family came to you with the following situation. They make the median family income in the United States—$52,000. But last year they spent $61,000. That’s right, $9,000 more than they’re making, and it all went on the family credit card. That’s bad enough, but then you find out they…Ed Feulner -
- Opinion
Americans Want to Drive, Not Take Mass Transit. But Government Spending Doesn’t Reflect That.
The Highway Trust Fund—which provides funding for building and maintaining the nation’s roads and bridges as well as transit, such as buses, streetcars, light rail and metros—will exhaust its operating funds by the end of May. Now more than ever, it is important for the nation to rethink the way it invests in transportation. As…Michael Sargent -
- Opinion
House’s Bipartisan Deal Would Hike Deficit, Hurt Economy in Long-Term
Washington is exhibiting symptoms of schizophrenia. At the same time that lawmakers are debating their budget blueprints to eliminate deficits before the end of the decade, the Boehner-Pelosi deal to address the looming Medicare physician payment cuts proposes to add $141 billion to the deficit over the same period. The deal in question would replace…Romina Boccia -
- Opinion
Budget Resolutions Need More Transparency
It’s a big week for the new GOP-controlled Congress. Unlike the past when Congress was divided, this year there is no one to blame if GOP lawmakers fail to pass a budget. This puts tremendous pressure to unite diverse lawmakers in the House and Senate behind one spending plan by the mid-April deadline. But first…Romina Boccia -
- Opinion
Singapore’s Lee Harnessed the Free Market to Make His Country Prosperous
Henry Kissinger is often quoted lamenting what a pity it was that Lee Kuan Yew, founder of modern Singapore and long-serving leader, did not rule a larger country. Singapore may, indeed, have been a smaller stage than Lee deserved. But it was his first love, and he saw it grow beyond even his own wildest…Walter Lohman -
- Opinion
Under an Honest Budget the Doc Fix Plan Adds to the Debt
On Friday night, House leaders released details of a proposal that would increase spending on doctors paid through Medicare (called the doc fix). Based on what is currently known without at official score by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), the new spending would only be partially offset in both the 10-year “budget window” and over…Paul Winfree -
- News
How Steve Forbes Would Turbocharge the ‘Molasses-Like Economy’
Steve Forbes made the flat tax the centerpiece of his two presidential campaigns. Now, he’s promoting the idea once again as he relaunches an organization called Americans for Hope, Growth and Opportunity to advance a pro-growth agenda. “The flat tax is absolutely crucial to turbocharging our molasses-like economy,” Forbes, editor in chief of the magazine that…Thaleigha Rampersad -
- Opinion
Cartoon: Washington’s Idea of ‘Budgeting’
Interested in learning more about the budget? Check out The Heritage Foundation's analyses of the Republican House and Senate budgets—and whether Republicans were willing to make the tough cuts or not: • How Does the House Budget Measure Up? • How Does the Senate Budget Measure Up?Glenn Foden -
- Opinion
The KORUS FTA at 3: Strengthening the U.S. Economy, Not Weakening
The retiring President and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, Richard Fisher, once famously noted, [P]rotectionism is the crack cocaine of economics. It provides a temporary high but is instantly addictive and leads to certain economic death. Indeed, here comes the latest example of that: Public Citizen’s bogus job loss claims against the…Anthony B. Kim -
- Opinion
Federal Spending Per Household Has More Than Doubled Since 1962
Just how large has government grown over the past couple decades? To answer that, take a look at the increase in the amount the government spends per household in Heritage’s 2015 Federal Budget in Pictures. In 1962, the U.S. government spent about $12,000 of today’s dollars per American household; it now spends almost $29,000—more than…Michael Sargent -
- Opinion
How Does the House Budget Measure Up?
Today the House Budget Committee released its fiscal year 2016 budget blueprint. Any good budget should balance within 10 years or less, without raising taxes above the average historical level (roughly 18 percent of gross domestic product (GDP)). In addition, Heritage policy experts previously established seven priorities for the congressional budget resolution. Let’s see how…Romina Boccia -
- Opinion
7 Things Congress Should Do in the Budget
For Washington, it’s budget season. President Obama released his budget early last month, and this week it’s Congress’ turn to reveal its own budget resolutions. Government spending and debt has grown out of control: The current national debt exceeds $18.1 trillion and is only growing higher. It is Congress’ responsibility to address the national spending…Sophie Simunek -
- News
Republicans Will Unveil Their Budget Next Week. Here’s What You Need to Know.
Budget season on Capitol Hill is quickly approaching, but Republican lawmakers have remained quiet about the details of their fiscal blueprints. Both Senate and House Republicans are expected to release separate budgets next week and plan to vote on the resolutions by the end of the month. Though few details on the proposals have emerged,…Melissa Quinn -
- Opinion
Federal Reserve Reforms Should Not Be a Partisan Issue
The Washington Post’s Robert Samuelson is the latest commentator to paint conservative critics of the Federal Reserve as dangerous and misinformed. Samuelson discounts auditing the Fed and imposing a monetary policy rule as merely ideological, but the truth is that he’s overly dismissive. These common sense reforms do have their share of scholarly support and…Norbert Michel -
- Opinion
New Report: Over Next Decade, Budget Deficits Will Hit Trillion-Dollar Mark
You’ve probably heard the claim that deficits have been cut in half and are at the smallest level since 2009, implying that the nation has corrected its fiscal course. But that’s not nearly whole story. The Congressional Budget Office’s latest “Updated Budget Projections: 2015 to 2025,” which details spending, revenues and deficits, shows that while…Romina Boccia -
- Opinion
In February, Jobs Added and Unemployment Rate Dropped
The Bureau of Labor Statistics’ employment report found robust economic growth continued in February. Employers added 295,000 net new jobs while unemployment dropped to 5.5 percent. Employment expanded across many industries while wage growth remained moderate. The household survey reported the unemployment rate dropped 0.2 percentage points. This largely happened because 354,000 Americans left the…James Sherk -
- News
Poll: Post-Recession Economic Policy Hasn’t Helped Poor, Middle Class
A new poll shows that Americans don’t believe the economic policies put in place by the government in the wake of the recession have been helpful to the poor and the middle class. According to a new poll by the Pew Research Center, Americans see government policies under the Obama administration as having mostly benefited wealthy…Kate Scanlon -
- Opinion
How the New Lee-Rubio Tax Plan Would Boost the Economy
The U.S. has the highest corporate tax rate in the developed world, is the only major country to tax its businesses on income earned outside the country and delays the ability of businesses to deduct capital expenses for as long as 39 years. The monstrous complexity of the U.S. tax system has a disproportionately adverse…David Burton -
- News
Jeb Bush Pleases Conservatives by Saying Export-Import Bank ‘Should Be Phased Out’
Republican presidential hopeful Jeb Bush’s declared support for phasing out the Export-Import Bank could give him an opening with conservatives who have grown skeptical of what they consider his more establishment cast in recent years. Bush, laying out his conservative record as a two-term governor of Florida, told a group of wealthy, pro-free-market donors that…Ken McIntyre -
- News
Ben Carson Tells CPAC Crowd He Wants to ‘Get Rid of Dependency,’ Not Welfare Programs
Ben Carson, the celebrated neurosurgeon who has excited many grassroots conservatives, said today that if he were president he would not be an enemy of welfare programs but of “dependency” on government. “I’m not interested in getting rid of the safety net; I’m interested in getting rid of dependency,” said Carson, the lead-off prospective candidate…Ken McIntyre