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
Don’t Believe the Data Saying Women Have Lacked Substantial Economic Gains
According to widely reported survey data, women’s substantial gains in education, labor force participation, and earnings haven’t made them better off during retirement. But that outcome makes little sense, and it is in fact based on incomplete data. According to data from the Current Population Survey’s Annual Social and Economic Supplement, older women are no more likely… -
opinion
How to Restore Optimism and Verve to the US Economy
America’s entrepreneurial dynamism has been falling, and the cost of inaction grows daily. According to a recent study by the Economic Innovation Group, America “suffers from a problem of too little creation—not too much destruction—perhaps for the first time in its history.” Over the past decade, our economic and job creation engine has run out… -
opinion
Seattle Hiked Its Minimum Wage. Here’s How It’s Impacting Low-Income Workers.
Helping the “forgotten man” was an important and successful message for President Donald Trump in his election campaign. He tapped into the anxieties of many Americans who are struggling to find work and are watching as traditional industries disappear or are gobbled up by automation. While some of this development has been natural, much has… -
news
How Many Lawmakers Advocating $15 Minimum Wage Hire Unpaid Interns
Almost all of the lawmakers who co-sponsored a bill to raise the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour also hired unpaid interns to supplement their staffs, a survey shows. A report from the Employment Policies Institute reveals that 174 of the bill’s 184 co-sponsors, or 95 percent, hire interns who are paid nothing. “It’s hypocritical… -
opinion
How Hip-Hop Is Teaching High Schoolers About the Free Market
Greg Caskey is a 27-year-old Abington, Pennsylvania, native who is a social sciences teacher at Delaware Military Academy. The academy is a thriving charter high school in Wilmington, Delaware, that was founded in 2003 by two retired military officers, Charles Baldwin and Jack Wintermantel. Students from all socio-economic backgrounds attend the school, which is doing… -
opinion
Welfare Currently Punishes Work and Marriage. This Bill Would End That.
There is much to celebrate in America today. Americans are, on average, wealthier, healthier, and better educated than we ever have been. We’ve made huge strides in civil rights and racial equality. And we have access to technology that would have awed past generations. But fundamentally, our culture and way of life has undergone some… -
opinion
What the Treasury’s New Recommendations Would Mean for Financial Reform
This week, in response to President Donald Trump’s February executive order, the U.S. Treasury released the first in a series of reports examining the U.S. financial regulatory system. The report identifies policies that would improve federal financial regulation in a manner consistent with the Trump administration’s seven core principles. Treasury incorporated a wide range of… -
opinion
Why Economic Freedom and Peace Go Hand in Hand
It’s natural to think that economic freedom and peace should go together. Vindicating that idea, new empirical evidence shows that economically freer countries tend to be more peaceful and stable, while less economically free countries tend to be riddled with violence. The standings of more than 150 countries in two independent indexes, The Heritage Foundation’s… -
opinion
New Study Finds Americans Don’t Mind Lower Government Spending Due to Tax Cuts
America’s tax code is horribly out of date. Thankfully, Congress and the president have outlined plans for updating the tax code and cutting Americans’ taxes. The public strongly supports this agenda. A recent study by The Heritage Foundation’s American Perceptions Initiative into American attitudes toward tax reform found that almost two-thirds (64 percent) of Americans… -
news
House Conservatives Ready to ‘Go Big’ on Tax Reform That Includes Welfare Reform
The House Freedom Caucus wants to “go big” on a tax reform package to include welfare reforms, but likely wouldn’t include a tax on imports, or a border adjustment tax. “There is not consensus for the border adjustment tax,” Rep. Mark Meadows, R-N.C., said Friday during a panel of four House Freedom Caucus members at… -
news
House Conservatives Float Ideas for Tax Overhaul, Welfare Reform
Members of the most conservative caucus in the House of Representatives are ready to share their vision for a tax overhaul, welfare reform, and other legislative priorities. Tax reform is overdue, Rep. Mark Meadows, R-N.C., chairman of the House Freedom Caucus, said in a statement provided to The Daily Signal. “American voters have demanded a… -
opinion
Trump’s Labor Secretary Is About to Violate the President’s Agenda. Why He Should Delay This Obama-Era Rule.
A costly and burdensome rule issued by the Obama administration is set to go into effect Friday, barring action from the Department of Labor to delay it. Unfortunately, the new secretary of labor isn’t acting. Instead, he is tacitly undermining the president’s agenda on financial regulation. The rule at hand is the fiduciary rule. President… -
opinion
Drones Are About to Revolutionize Our World. This Bill Will Let America Lead the Drone Economy.
The last decade has seen a boom in recreational drone usage, as hundreds of thousands of law-abiding hobby pilots have taken to the skies with enthusiasm. Meanwhile, enterprising individuals are continually dreaming up new commercial uses for drone technology. Unmanned craft have already been used for aerial photography, helping realtors sell homes, and helping property… -
opinion
May Jobs Report Leaves the US Begging for Economic Reforms
With the month of June now here, the Bureau of Labor Statistics has released its jobs report for the month of May. The picture isn’t too bright. The report showed tepid economic growth with an increase of 138,000 jobs, down from 174,000 new jobs in April. That number is combined with another drop in the… -
opinion
Climate Budget Cuts Are Smart Management, Not an Attack on Science
It’s been described as a “slap in the face,” “slaughter,” “a punitive … assault on science, the environment, and indeed the planet.” Aside from being inappropriate and irresponsible, these remarks are how some in the policy world and media have depicted cuts to global warming spending in President Donald Trump’s first budget proposal. People seem… -
opinion
Why Washington Hates Trump’s Budget
The Trump administration is getting pushback on its 2018 federal budget, and it’s coming from elected officials on both sides of the aisle. Why does Washington find the budget plan so distasteful? As our video explains, maybe it’s because President Donald Trump’s budget focuses more on what’s good for taxpayers as opposed to what’s good… -
opinion
Political and Economic Chaos in Brazil Highlights Need for Reforms
There is not much good news coming out of Brazil these days. Political corruption scandals continue to rock the country, and the political instability has caused the nation’s stock market to crash. Judge Sergio Moro, who presides over the biggest corruption scandal of them all (dubbed Operation Car Wash), has become something of a folk… -
opinion
Trump’s Budget Moves Higher Education in the Right Direction
President Donald Trump released his budget proposal on Tuesday, which includes some dramatic changes to higher education funding. While there is still room for improvement, the president’s proposals would be a significant first step in reducing the federal government’s role in higher education and giving much-needed relief to the U.S. taxpayer. Elimination of Public Service… -
opinion
The Education Budget Has a Lot to Love and a Little to Critique
The Trump administration’s full budget for education for fiscal year 2018 would make some long-overdue cuts at the Department of Education. The proposal targets reductions in spending totaling $9 billion—a 13 percent cut in the agency’s current $68 billion annual budget. That type of reduction signals a serious commitment to reducing federal intervention in education—a… -
opinion
Why the Free Market Is Diversity’s Best Friend
Millions of people love Apple computers and wouldn’t be caught using a PC. By contrast, there are many millions of PC users who feel the same way about Apple computers. Many men like double-breasted suits, but I wouldn’t be caught dead in one. Some people swear by Cadillac cars, but my favorite is Mercedes-Benz. Despite…