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
20 Years Ago, Welfare Reform Was Signed Into Law. Here’s What We’ve Learned.
Two decades ago, President Bill Clinton signed one of the most successful public policies into law: welfare reform. It was called the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act—and its results were dramatic. Watch to learn more. -
news
Find Out How Many Jobs Your State Could Lose With a $15 Minimum Wage
Following legislation in New York and California raising their statewide minimum wages to $15 an hour, a new study has found that such statewide mandates would lead to hundreds of thousands of job losses. According to a new study from The Heritage Foundation, proposals at the state and federal levels to raise the minimum wage… -
opinion
Did Welfare Reform Really Throw 3.5 Million Children Into Third World Poverty? The Facts May Surprise You
Today is the 20th anniversary of welfare reform. Two decades ago, President Bill Clinton signed the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act, known as welfare reform, into law. The highly popular reform cut welfare caseloads by over 50 percent, sharply boosted the employment of the least-skilled single mothers, and pushed the poverty rates of… -
opinion
Marriage Reduces Child Poverty, but Our Welfare System Penalizes Marriage
According to a recently released study from the American Enterprise Institute, 82 percent of lower-middle-class families with young children face “marriage penalties” in the welfare system. Couples who marry would lose all or some of their welfare benefits because their combined income is often greater than each of their independent incomes. The study found that… -
news
How These States Ensure Welfare Dollars Aren’t Used for Alcohol, Lottery Tickets
A new state law in Maine went into effect last month prohibiting welfare recipients from purchasing items like alcohol, lottery tickets, and tattoos with their welfare funds. Alongside Kansas, Maine has been one of the leading states reforming welfare, and nearly half of the states have already taken action. Maine Gov. Paul LePage, a Republican,… -
news
How DC Small Businesses Are Preparing for a $15 Minimum Wage
With the District of Columbia’s new $15 an hour minimum wage law slated to go into effect over the next four years, many local businesses are still figuring out how they can pay workers more and remain profitable. On the one hand, many local business owners think that an employee working full time should be… -
opinion
Encouraging News in July Jobs Report
The Bureau of Labor Statistics’ July jobs report contained little bad news. The bureau found that employers created a net 255,000 new jobs since June. Strong growth in the professional and business services (+70,000), health care (+49,000), leisure and hospitality (+45,000), and government (+30,000) sectors lead the way. (One exception was the mining sector, which… -
opinion
Trade Deals That Benefit Both US and Other Nations Are Possible
In an update to its Information Technology Agreement, the World Trade Organization began the process of eliminating tariffs on hundreds of technology products, resulting in the organization’s first tariff elimination agreement in almost 20 years. In this year of strong anti-trade sentiments, U.S. politicians and citizens should take note that good trade deals are possible…. -
opinion
Here’s How Americans Can Curtail ‘Autopilot’ Spending and Take Back the Federal Budget
The federal budget is out of control. Autopilot spending currently consumes 68 percent of all tax dollars and will devour an ever-larger share of the budget in the future. If the lack of a congressional budget resolution this year is any indicator, Congress isn’t jumping at the chance to make meaningful reforms. However, time is… -
opinion
What It Means to Have a Trade Deal That Puts America First
The new Republican Party platform suggests: “We need better-negotiated trade agreements that put America first.” Here are nine ways future trade agreements could really put America—or more specifically, Americans—first. Trade agreements should: Guarantee U.S. manufacturers have the freedom to buy low-priced inputs like steel and raw materials free of export duties imposed by foreign governments… -
opinion
Grim Budget Projections Show Need for More Congressional Action, Less Rhetoric
A recently released congressional report shows the depth of American fiscal problems and the need for lawmakers to tackle the nation’s dire financial situation. On Tuesday, the Congressional Budget Office released its 2016 Long-Term Budget Outlook. The annual publication projects the levels of U.S. spending, taxes, deficits, and the debt for the next 30 years…. -
opinion
How the Federal Government Can Get Its Spending Under Control
The federal government has a spending problem that threatens to swallow up the resources of the American taxpayer and crush the American economy. Congress can begin to solve this dilemma if it expands self-imposed restrictions to the part of the budget that is driving the country toward crisis. With Congress reneging on its promise to… -
opinion
The Postal Service Needs Transformational Reform to Survive, but Hope for Reform Is Fading
Like the Cheshire Cat in Alice in Wonderland, postal reform in Congress seems to be fading fast with each new iteration. The latest version—put together by a bipartisan group of House lawmakers led by Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah—is the faintest yet. The bill, set to be marked up by the House Oversight Committee today, falls… -
opinion
The Noise Behind the New Jobs Report
The new jobs report shows employers cranked up hiring in June, creating 287,000 net new jobs. But the last jobs report, for May, showed the economy slowing to a crawl, with employers adding only 11,000 net new jobs in the month. What explains these large gyrations? Probably statistical noise. Americans shouldn’t read too much into… -
opinion
These 3 Conservative Policies Have Allowed Indiana’s Economy to Flourish
Last month, America’s economy added just 38,000 jobs, the weakest growth in five years. We should expect more than the lackluster 2 percent growth we’ve grown accustomed to under President Barack Obama. Luckily, there is already a successful working model in my home state of Indiana to accomplish this. The recession hit Indiana harder than most states…. -
opinion
America’s Next President Must Fix Autopilot Entitlement Spending
A recent report by the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget raises concerns that proposals by this year’s presidential candidates would further increase the national debt. America’s major entitlement programs—Medicare, Medicaid, Obamacare, and Social Security—are driving the nation’s greatest fiscal challenge, and yet Americans have heard very little about how the candidates will address these… -
opinion
Why the Stock Market Shouldn’t Be Used to Judge Brexit
Last week, the United Kingdom decided to leave the European Union. The U.K.’s earlier decision to stay out of the euro currency (which most, but not all, EU member states use) contains an unexpected lesson about economics and humility. In 2003, British Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown announced that Britain’s economy had not met… -
news
Deli Owner Says $15 Minimum Wage in DC a ‘Mistake’ That Will Squeeze Business
The minimum wage increase in the nation’s capital to $15 an hour is going to clobber small businesses that don’t take in nearly $2 million a year, a Washington, D.C., business owner told The Daily Signal. Earlier this month, the D.C. Council unanimously passed a measure that will hike the minimum wage in the city… -
news
After Brexit, Paul Ryan Calls for ‘Special’ Trade Deal With Britain
House Speaker Paul Ryan is calling for the United States to engage in a free trade agreement with the United Kingdom once it completes the process of separating from the European Union. Seeking to preserve the “special relationship” between the two nations, Ryan, R-Wis., said the U.S. should pursue a unique trade partnership with the… -
opinion
What Does Brexit Mean for America’s Economy?
Last Thursday, British voters chose to leave the European Union, 52 percent to 48 percent. The vote will have significant political implications in the U.K. and may tilt the balance of influence in Brussels, but it is likely to have little lasting economic impact on Americans. The U.S. exported $56.4 billion worth of goods to the U.K. in…