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
Education Spending Spree Continues Apace in Omnibus
The omnibus bill was released Tuesday night. Here are some key details about what it does regarding education spending. Maintains historically high levels of federal education spending. At all levels, the spending measure maintains elevated levels of federal spending and intervention in education. Maintains high levels of funding for Head Start. The spending bill increases…Lindsey Burke -
- Opinion
No Excuses for ‘CRomnibus’ Spending Bill
At more than 1,600 pages, Congress’s $1.1 trillion behemoth spending bill funding almost all government agencies through September 2015 has arrived. For those keeping track, Congress had ample time to debate its 12 spending bills and give lawmakers a real opportunity to address out-of-control federal spending. But it was not to be. The “CRomnibus” spending bill…Romina Boccia -
- Opinion
Average Federal Spending Per Household Nearly $30K
Did you know that the National Institutes of Health spent $374,000 to find out if a puppet show would convince preschoolers to eat more vegetables? Or that the Department of Agriculture gave $50,000 to a business that packs and sells alpaca manure? Your tax dollars paid for it–and much more. In 2014, federal spending per…Spencer Woody -
- News
N.Y. Labor Official Defends ‘Independent’ Investigation After Union Linked to Papa John’s Case
Two state labor officials have publicly acknowledged there are ample opportunities for “community organizers” and labor unions to partner with government agencies to enforce workplace laws and regulations against American businesses. Speaking at the Center for American Progress last week, California Labor Commissioner Julie Su and Terri Gerstein, labor bureau chief for New York’s attorney general,…Kevin Mooney -
- News
Obama Administration Now Has 1,000 Government Investigators Targeting Businesses for Minimum Wage Violations
Under President Obama, government officials are aggressively enforcing the law against employers who fail to pay the minimum wage, deny overtime compensation and misclassify workers as contractors. That was the central message Labor Secretary Tom Perez delivered before an audience of approximately 100 attendees last week at the Center for American Progress in Washington, D.C….Kevin Mooney -
- Opinion
November Jobs Report Gives Insight into Why Most Americans Think the Economy Is Lousy
The Bureau of Labor Statistics’ November employment report showed solid economic growth, but also provides clues about why many Americans report unhappiness with the economy. The headline figures contained mostly good news. The household survey reported the unemployment rate remaining flat (5.8 percent) at the lowest rate since July 2008. Labor force participation also remained flat…James Sherk -
- Opinion
Americans Are Spending 42 Percent More on Health Insurance Than They Did in 2007
Data on consumer spending show that spending on health insurance surged 42 percent from 2007 to 2013, according to analysis by the Wall Street Journal. The rise reflects the increasing cost of health insurance and the Affordable Care Act’s requirement that everyone buy extensive health insurance. Another feature shown by the data is the movement…Salim Furth -
- Opinion
Relief from the Hagel Budgets
Secretary Chuck Hagel served as the head of the Department of Defense (DOD) for a grand total of 21 months and, like those previous to him, was an enabler to President Obama’s misguided foreign policy. As the world continues to deteriorate, the next Secretary of Defense will have to do what previous Secretaries have failed…Diem Salmon -
- Opinion
You’ve Never Heard of This Legislation. But If Passed, It Would Increase the Welfare State.
Before Congress recessed for the midterm elections, lawmakers announced plans to use the current lame-duck session to work on passing a bill called "The Achieving a Better Life Experience (ABLE) Act." Supporters describe the bill as a way to eliminate "barriers to work and saving by preventing dollars saved through ABLE accounts from counting against…Robert Rector -
- News
Colorado’s New Welfare Rule Increases Benefits, Costs Taxpayers
Temporary Assistance for Needy Families is six months less temporary and millions of dollars more expensive in Colorado after a state Department of Human Services rule change last year, documents show. Before the change, counties had to certify welfare recipients’ eligibility to receive benefits annually, but recipients had to submit monthly status reports to ensure…Arthur Kane -
- Opinion
SSA Investigation of Judges Shows $2 Billion in Questionable DI Payments
More than $2 billion in “questionable” payments was paid out to nearly 25,000 Disability Insurance (DI) recipients, according to a recent report by the Social Security Administration’s (SSA) Office of the Inspector General. The report states that 44 Administrative Law Judges (ALJs) with particularly high numbers of decisions and high rates of benefit approval were…Rachel Greszler -
- Opinion
Japan Falls into Recession
Japan’s economy contracted by 1.6 percent annually between July and September, according to preliminary results released Sunday night. Following a second-quarter contraction of 7.3 percent, Japan has fallen into a recession, casting a shadow over Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s economic plan “Abenomics.” Japan should end its quantitative easing, which has increased its national debt, and…Riley Walters -
- News
Which City Has the Freest Transportation Market? This Map Ranks the Best and Worst
Is your city transportation-friendly? A new interactive scorecard, created by the R Street Institute, grades 50 cities on their regulatory openness toward car services. The report seeks to identify whether cities encourage competition in the transportation market. Andrew Moylan, senior fellow at the R Street Institute, said the scorecard provides a snapshot of the current regulatory…Alex Anderson -
- News
Federal Workers Ask Obama for a Raise: Watch Them Make the Case for a $15 Minimum Wage
Government contractors from around Washington, D.C., held a one-day strike Thursday to urge President Obama to raise the minimum wage to $15 for federal employees. Fearing the Republican-controlled Congress won’t act, the workers pressed Obama to move forward on his own with an executive order. In February, Obama used his executive authority to boost the minimum wage for contract…Gabriella Morrongiello -
- Opinion
Export-Import Bank Misleads Congress and Public About Helping Small Businesses
Officials of the Export-Import Bank continuously justify apportioning billions of dollars in taxpayer subsidies as necessary to the very survival of America’s small businesses. But an investigation by the Reuters news agency has found that potentially hundreds of the subsidy recipients categorized as “small businesses” by Ex-Im are actually very large enterprises or units of…Diane Katz -
- Opinion
The Budget Control Act Is Sending America’s Military Back in Time
Three years ago, Congress passed the Budget Control Act (BCA) in an attempt to curb spending and begin reducing the deficit. Sequestration was included in the BCA to motivate lawmakers to agree to additional deficit-reduction measures, including reductions in entitlement spending. Regrettably, the super committee squandered the opportunity to address the key drivers of spending…Greg Andrews -
- News
After Minimum Wage Hike Success, Nebraska Democrats Want Voters, Not Lawmakers, Deciding on Key Issues
LINCOLN, Neb. — Fresh off a rousing success getting Nebraska voters to approve a minimum wage hike, Democratic leaders may take other issues to the ballot box, too. Medicaid expansion, for example, has been a hot potato in the legislature for the past two years. A bill to expand the program — a key provision…Deena Winter -
- News
Lawmakers Subpoena Details From ‘Stonewalling’ Export-Import Bank Officials
Lawmakers tasked with overseeing the Export-Import Bank have issued a subpoena for records that detail the agency’s internal deliberations, saying they had endured months of “stonewalling” from Chairman Fred Hochberg and other bank officials. “The taxpayers want to know about the use of their tax dollars, and [Hochberg] wouldn’t give this information,” Rep. Jim Jordan,…Melissa Quinn -
- Opinion
It’s the Culture, Stupid: Welfare Programs Can’t Solve Economic Gap Created by Marriage Decline
This may be a surprising statement from a bleary-eyed, number-crunching economist, but the best anti-poverty program in America may not be tax cuts, debt reduction or regulatory relief, but rather that old-fashioned institution called marriage. It turns out that poverty rates are very low among intact families and prevalent among homes without a father. Children…Stephen Moore -
- Opinion
How the New Congress Should Deal With This ‘Too Big to Fail’ Entitlement Program
It’s an entitlement program “too big to fail.” Medicare now covers 52 million seniors and disabled citizens. That’s why you can expect the seemingly unending debate on Medicare to resume when the new Congress convenes in January—no matter who controls the Senate. The first order of business will be to repeal and replace the Medicare…Robert Moffit