Economy News
The Daily Signal reports on economy news with analysis and commentary on growth, recession risks, employment, and financial trends.
-
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… -
news
This Single Labor Rule Hurts Business Owners, Colleges, and Habitat for Humanity
Rodney Kloha feels like he has been backed into a corner by the federal government. Kloha, of Midland, Michigan, prides himself on running a clean and honest business, Circle K Service Corp., that has grown for nearly 30 years. But after the Obama administration issued a regulation last month raising the salary threshold for employees… -
news
Koch Group Pushes 2-Year ‘Stop, Cut, and Fix’ Spending Plan on Congress
To put Washington’s fiscal house in order, an organization inside the conservative Koch network is pushing Congress to skip a budget and move straight to a two-year spending bill instead. Dubbed “Stop, Cut, and Fix,” the plan calls for a continuing resolution that would fund government in fiscal years 2017 and 2018 at current spending… -
opinion
New Peruvian President Pledges to Fight Populism and Expand Economic Freedom
It was the latest encouraging sign that Latin Americans are abandoning populist leftism in favor of market-based democracy. Last week Pedro Pablo Kuczynski, a conservative 77-year old former World Bank economist and investment banker better known by his initials, “PPK,” narrowly defeated right-wing populist Keiko Fujimori, daughter of autocratic former Peruvian president Alberto Fujimori. Peru’s… -
opinion
US Postal Service’s Problems Go All the Way to the Top
It’s no secret that the postal business is shrinking. First-class mail volume is melting away like a popsicle in the sun—down 40 percent since 2000. Less well-known is the shrinkage of the U.S. Postal Service’s board of governors. It is supposed to have nine members (not counting the postmaster general and deputy postmaster general). At… -
news
Business Owners ‘Nervous and Unhappy’ After San Diego Raises Minimum Wage to $11.50
San Diego residents on Tuesday voted to raise the city’s minimum wage to $11.50 an hour beginning Jan. 1, producing an outcome that left few surprised but small business owners feeling resigned and disappointed as they now work to address increased labor costs. More than 60 percent of San Diego voters supported Proposition I, a… -
opinion
Congress Should Not Use Defense Budget as Piggy Bank for Personal Priorities
The defense budget should be used to pay for things that make our country more secure and help the men and women in uniform accomplish their mission. Unfortunately, some in Congress use this funding as a piggy bank for their own unrelated priorities. In fact, for the current fiscal year, Congress took almost $500 million… -
opinion
Jobs Report Numbers at Odds With Obama’s Economic Spin
On Wednesday, President Barack Obama took an economic victory lap in Elkhart, Indiana. The Bureau of Labor Statistics’ employment report, which came out Friday, shows he was far too optimistic. Both the household and payroll surveys showed employment growth slowing to a crawl in May, while hundreds of thousands of Americans stopped looking for work. Seven… -
opinion
Venezuela’s Crisis Is the Latest Example of Why Socialism Doesn’t Work
It seems the “Socialism of the 21th Century” is really no different from socialism from the past. Venezuela’s current tragedy, simultaneously culminating in food shortages, a crime epidemic, and an energy collapse, is the latest example of why centralized planning economy does not work—and how it is indistinguishable from tyranny. In the South American country,… -
opinion
The Problem With the Government’s New Small-Dollar Loan Regulation
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has issued its long-awaited rule proposal to regulate small-dollar lenders such as those who provide payday loans. Formally, the CFPB’s proposal applies to payday, vehicle title, and certain high-cost installment loans. While it’s impossible to analyze all the details in this piece—because the proposed rule is more than 1,300 pages—it… -
news
House Bill Would Strengthen Welfare Work Requirement
Rep. Jim Jordan introduced a bill Thursday that would reform food stamps. “Welfare programs are meant to be a temporary safety net, but they have become a permanent way of life for millions of Americans,” Jordan, R-Ohio, said in a statement. “Instead of giving impoverished families and individuals a helping hand, the current system penalizes positive… -
opinion
Congress Should Think Twice Before Creating Another Mandatory Spending Program
The latest development in Congress’s ambition to achieve “regular order” is the push to reauthorize the water resources development programs last authorized in 2014. But one provision in the House’s bill would actually work against Congress’s ambition for order by moving a large portion of spending out of the regular appropriations process. Both the House… -
news
Is It Time to Increase Defense Spending? McCain Proposal Sparks Debate
At a time when the U.S. is in combat in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Syria, while facing the constraints of sequestration, Sen. John McCain is setting up a dramatic debate on defense spending as he and his colleagues consider the annual defense policy bill. On Wednesday, citing what he calls a “dangerous mismatch” between worldwide threats,… -
opinion
As Government Regulations Grow, Business Opportunities Shrink
A recent study by The Heritage Foundation revealed that President Barack Obama has created a whopping total of 20,642 regulations during his presidency. Now that he’s in his final year in office, we face an additional 2,000 proposed rules he intends to push through to complete his tarnished legacy. Businesses cannot be expected to thrive and… -
news
Congress Examines Welfare Reform: ‘The Most Effective Anti-Poverty Program Is a Job’
For the first time in a decade, the House Ways and Means Committee held a full committee hearing on welfare reform, addressing how to get low-income Americans out of poverty. “Today’s hearing is about people, and right now there are more than 46 million people in our nation who are living in poverty,” Committee Chairman… -
opinion
A Skeptical Look at Regulatory Budgeting
The burden of federal regulation on the U.S. economy has often been compared to a tax. Unlike ordinary taxation, however, these regulatory burdens are not accounted for in the federal budget. Unfortunately, the vision is as unattainable as it is tempting. Some members of Congress would like to create a “regulatory budget” specifically to limit… -
opinion
Thanks to GOP, Washington’s Summer Spending Spree Has Started
Washington’s summer spending spree is off to a very bad start for taxpayers. Congress couldn’t agree on a budget deal earlier this spring, but that isn’t stopping them from passing spending bills at historic levels. And President Barack Obama is fully engaged in budget gimmickry as well. The good news is that the majority of… -
opinion
The Case for a Regulatory Budget
The federal regulatory state is out of control. It is out of control economically, costing Americans between $1 trillion and $2 trillion per year in artificially inflated prices. And it is out of control politically, as federal bureaucrats now write upwards of 95 percent of all new federal “laws” without winning a single vote in Congress or… -
news
House Conservatives Mull Budget ‘Trigger’ That Could Reduce Federal Spending
Conservatives are considering a budget compromise that would reduce spending by $30 billion unless the House is able to pass at least 10 appropriations bills. The “trigger” proposal, first reported by Roll Call, is the latest spending suggestion designed to break a stalemate in the ongoing budget battle. A long shot and a bit of… -
news
How Maine’s Time Limit on Welfare Pushed One Woman to Pull Herself Out of Poverty
Jill Rothrock knows the moment she hit rock bottom. It was 2007, and Rothrock went into the pharmacy in Bucksport, Maine, to pick up a prescription for Vicodin that she had called in herself. Her two daughters were in the car, and after she had picked up the pills, Rothrock got back into a car…