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
Emails Show Seattle Mayor’s Office Manipulated a Minimum Wage Study for Political Benefit
The Seattle mayor’s office coordinated with a University of California, Berkeley economist to manipulate a study on the effects of a $15 minimum wage for maximum political benefit, according to emails obtained by the Employment Policies Institute. A staffer for Democratic Mayor Ed Murray reached out to the university's economics department asking it to rush the release of a study, released in… -
opinion
The Minimum Wage Hurts Workers. So Why Does the Left Want to Hike It?
For the most part, people share common goals. Most of us want poor people to enjoy higher standards of living, greater traffic safety, more world peace, greater racial harmony, cleaner air and water, and less crime. Despite the fact that people have common goals, we often see them grouped into contentious factions, fighting tooth and… -
opinion
Senate Agriculture Appropriations Bill Would Expand Crony Handouts for Cotton Industry
What are Senate appropriators doing to address two new farm programs whose costs are spiraling out of control? They are increasing the costs even more. Cotton growers just can’t seem to get enough handouts, and many Senate appropriators are happy to funnel even more money their way at the expense of taxpayers. The Senate agriculture… -
news
Treasury Secretary Says Tax Reform Will Happen Within the Year
Tax reform will happen within the year, Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin says. “We will have success,” Mnuchin said Monday during an event hosted by Freedom Partners Chamber of Commerce and Americans for Prosperity. “This is a pass/fail exercise and we will pass tax reform, period.” The man President Donald Trump picked to oversee the nation’s… -
news
House Conservatives Target Jobs at Congressional Budget Office
The jobs of 89 federal workers involved in estimating the budget impact of legislation in Congress would be eliminated under a proposal from members of the House’s upstart conservative caucus. Rep. Mark Meadows, R-N.C., chairman of the House Freedom Caucus, said Monday that members would deploy an obscure rule that allows a House member to… -
news
Trump’s Labor Secretary Targets Occupational Licensing for Elimination
Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta took on occupational licensing reform Friday, calling for the elimination of unnecessary licenses and the streamlining of those that make sense. Acosta urged while speaking at the 44th Annual Meeting of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) in Denver, Colorado, state legislators roll back burdensome occupational licensing requirements that effectively serve as government-created barriers… -
opinion
NAFTA Should Be About Free Trade, Not Minimum Wage Mandates
During the presidential campaign, two things topped the list of things Donald Trump didn’t like: the North American Free Trade Agreement and the Trans-Pacific Partnership. One of Trump’s first actions as president was to pull the United States out of the partnership. Another was to announce plans to renegotiate NAFTA. Therefore, it was shocking that… -
news
Failed Welfare State an Opportunity for Conservatives, ‘Hillbilly’ Writer Argues
Liberals built a welfare state that doesn’t offer upward mobility to Americans trapped in poverty, “Hillbilly Elegy” author J.D. Vance says, and conservatives should step forward and chart “a new direction” in government policy. The best-selling writer, speaking Thursday at The Heritage Foundation for the think tank’s release of its 2017 Index of Culture and… -
opinion
Here’s What ‘Made in America Week’ Should Have Celebrated
Earlier this week, craftsmen and entrepreneurs from all 50 states met on the White House lawn to celebrate American-made products, as a part of the newly proclaimed “Made in America Week.” While the administration may see this week as a time to highlight the companies that have a sticker on their product that says “Made… -
opinion
Dodd-Frank Has Held Down the US Economy for Too Long
Carefree, Arizona—population 3,363—is 2,400 miles from Wall Street. But that’s still not far enough away to escape the harm caused by Democrats’ supposed “Wall Street reform” known as the Dodd-Frank Act, which was signed into law seven years ago this month. According to a local news report, a proposed housing project in Carefree was terminated… -
opinion
Senate Health Care Bill Could Be Greatest Entitlement Reform in a Generation
The Senate health care bill (the Better Care Reconciliation Act of 2017) would fundamentally reform federal Medicaid payment. As Washington Post columnist George Will has written, the bill’s Medicaid provisions, as crafted by Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Pa., “makes it this century’s most significant domestic policy reform.” Will is correct. Medicaid financing needs reform. Jointly financed… -
opinion
This Conservative Budget Proposal Is a Real Solution to America’s Debt Situation
The Republican Study Committee on Thursday released its fiscal year 2018 budget proposal, titled “Securing America’s Future Economy” (SAFE). This proposal would balance the budget in less than 10 years and begin to make meaningful reforms to Social Security and Medicare, the two biggest drivers of the federal debt. The Republican Study Committee budget builds… -
opinion
9 Key Takeaways From the House Budget Proposal
After months of delays, the House Budget Committee has released its fiscal year 2018 budget resolution. The plan makes progress in some areas, such as prioritizing national defense, reforming Medicare, implementing mandatory reforms through reconciliation, repealing Obamacare, and beginning to reform the Department of Veterans Affairs. However, the budget falls short in others. It busts… -
opinion
House Spending Bill Takes a Small Step Toward Reforming ‘Buy America’ Policy
The House Appropriations Committee is set to mark up its interior appropriations bill for fiscal year 2018. This markup could lead to a slight revision of the Environmental Protection Agency’s “Buy America” provision. While the bill should just repeal Buy America regulations for the EPA altogether, it does take a small step in the right… -
opinion
CBO Analysis of Trump Budget Shows Need for Entitlement Reform, Pro-Growth Tax Policies
The Congressional Budget Office released its analysis of President Donald Trump’s budget request last week, and it wasn’t good news. The report paints a stark picture of the proposal compared to the administration’s findings, showing that the president’s budget would never reach balance. In the report, the CBO uses different criteria and assumptions than the… -
opinion
We Hear You: The Minimum Wage, Welfare, Medicaid … and Walling Off the Eiffel Tower
Editor's note: Jarrett Stepman's commentaries for The Daily Signal ring bells with readers. See for yourself in this selection of responses.—Ken McIntyre Dear Daily Signal: Jarrett Stepman writes in opposition to Seattle's having raised the minimum wage: "Lincoln saw the ‘opportunity society’ and reaping the fruits of one’s labor as fundamental to the growth and… -
opinion
Minimum Wage Hikes Are an Act of Cruelty
There are political movements to push the federal minimum hourly wage to $15. Raising the minimum wage has popular support among Americans. Their reasons include fighting poverty, preventing worker exploitation, and providing a living wage. For the most part, the intentions behind the support for raising the minimum wage are decent. But when we evaluate… -
opinion
Brexit Means More Economic Freedom and International Prosperity. It Should Not Be Derailed.
The United Kingdom’s government triggered a two-year period of negotiations to exit the European Union in March. This “Brexit” process will offer the U.K. the opportunity to forge new trade relationships with nations around the world, including—importantly—the United States, as Heritage Foundation scholars have explained. Unfortunately, recent press reports indicate that the loss of Prime… -
opinion
Jobs Report Stronger Than Expected, but More Must Be Done to Boost the Economy
Despite the low rumble of an economic slowdown on the horizon from various experts predicting the worst is to come, the Trump administration will no doubt be happy to say the experts were wrong with the July jobs report released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics Friday. It reports the economy added 222,000 jobs, which… -
opinion
Why the Left Is Wrong About Welfare Reform
Welfare reform is becoming an issue again and the left isn’t happy about it. Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, recently proposed a bill, backed by the conservative House Freedom Caucus, that would increase work requirements for those on welfare, as well as create billions of dollars in savings for taxpayers. This would be the most significant…