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
Grim Budget Projections Highlight Serious Need for Conservative Budget
The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) recently released its updated budget estimates for 2016 to 2026. As expected, the report reiterates the grim projections reported by Congressional Budget Office in January. The message is clear: Spending, deficits, and debt are rising at an unsustainable rate that is leading the nation down a path to fiscal disaster…. -
news
House Republicans Float Proposal to Fix Puerto Rico’s Budget Mess
House Republicans released draft legislation Tuesday designed to help Puerto Rico weather a fiscal storm through comprehensive audits of the protectorate’s finances and restructuring of its debts. Released as a “discussion draft” by Natural Resources Chairman Rob Bishop, R-Utah, the bill addresses Puerto Rico’s ballooning $70 billion debt. The bill “will change,” Bishop said in a… -
news
Welfare System Is ‘Anti-Work,’ Researchers Say
The war on poverty is a war on work, the authors of a new book that criticizes the nation’s welfare system assert. Phil Harvey, chief sponsor of the DKT Liberty Project, and Lisa Conyers, a policy analyst for the project, conducted a nationwide study of anti-poverty programs for their book, “The Human Cost of Welfare:… -
news
Here Is California’s Economic Future After Huge Minimum Wage Hike
California lawmakers and labor leaders are cheering a new deal that, if passed, raises the state’s minimum wage to $15 an hour, making the Golden State the first in the country to do so. But labor experts are already warning that such a wage hike could lead to higher prices for consumers, more automation, and… -
opinion
A New Car Will Cost You at Least $3,800 Extra Because of Government Regulation
When Congress and the Obama administration passed and implemented extremely strict fuel economy regulations, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) claimed that it would save consumers a few thousand dollars on gas and add only $948 to the price of a new car. The most modest of the independent estimates works out to $3,800 per vehicle,… -
opinion
Is This a Dead End for the Republican Budget?
Budgets identify priorities. Whether they are for an individual, a family, a business, or a government, a budget is a choice to spend money on certain things and not on others. Once a budget is done, its usefulness is that it ensures we have enough money for the things we really need and that we… -
opinion
Preventing America’s Looming Fiscal Crisis With a Balanced Budget Amendment
Nearly everyone in America understands what it means—and what is required—to live within a budget. Regardless of zip code or economic status, most people can spend only as much as they earn. One person’s paycheck may be twice the size as his neighbor’s, but neither may continually spend beyond their means. The one glaring exception… -
opinion
Gimmicks Are Preventing Congress From Honestly Balancing the Budget
This week the House Budget Committee presented its budget proposal for fiscal year 2017 to the American people. The proposal spends too much, cuts too little, and is riddled with gimmicks that thwart the goal of honestly balancing the budget. This is not what a conservative budget looks like. This budget’s primary relevance is how much… -
opinion
Minimum Wage Hike in DC Will Stifle Job Creation
Last summer, the District of Columbia increased its minimum wage to $10.50 an hour, which is currently the highest for any U.S. state or territory. This July, the District’s minimum wage will rise again to $11.50 an hour. Then, on Nov. 8, 2016 D.C. voters may consider an initiative to increase the minimum wage to… -
news
With Release of Budget Plan, House Conservatives Push For Steeper Cuts
As the House Budget Committee approved a $1.07 trillion budget plan on Wednesday night, a leading conservative group was set to propose its own fiscal blueprint that spends less money, in the hope it would inspire the Republican conference to move in the same direction. The Republican Study Committee’s budget, which will officially be unveiled… -
opinion
Why Ireland’s Economy Grew by 8% in 2015
March 17 is St. Patrick’s Day, when all things Irish get celebrated. Before we make another toast with a pint of smooth Guinness or whatever drinks you prefer, it’s worth taking a look at the state of the Irish economy to see how impressively the Celtic Tiger has made its roaring comeback. According to the… -
opinion
House Budget Goes in the Wrong Direction on Defense
The newly released House budget proposal would increase defense spending in future years, but for the 2017 fiscal year it goes in the wrong direction. First, the good: In the 2018 fiscal year and beyond, the budget proposal would increase defense above current levels (although still below the Heritage Blueprint for Balance). Congress must increase… -
news
Leadership Releases New Budget as Conservatives Gear Up Opposition to Spending Levels
Conservatives in the House of Representatives remain unsatisfied with the budget blueprint produced by Republican leadership. Now their vocal dissatisfaction places both the future of that document and the entire budget process in question for 2016. Monday night, the House Freedom Caucus, a group of conservative lawmakers, announced its official opposition to any proposal that… -
opinion
Republicans Are Addicted to Increasing Federal Spending
Three out of every four Americans say Congress should not increase spending. That’s not 73 percent of the Tea Party, or 73 percent of the Republican Party. That’s 73 percent of all Americans who say Congress should not increase federal spending. Republicans seem to have missed that message. Since 2013, the GOP has consistently proposed… -
opinion
How to Slash Spending Growth Rate From Projected 5% to 2%
Over the next decade, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) expects total spending (outlays) to rise by almost 5 percent annually, with spending totaling nearly $51.4 trillion over the entire period. At this rate, spending growth would significantly outpace revenue growth, resulting in more than $9 trillion in cumulative deficits, which would drive debt to devastating… -
opinion
Self-Sufficiency, Not Government Spending, Should Be the Measure of Antipoverty Progress
This week President Barack Obama’s Department of Health and Human Services reached the startling conclusion that if massive welfare programs such as food stamps and the refundable earned income credit are counted as income, poverty is reduced. Not even incompetent government bureaucracies can spend a trillion dollars per year and have no effect on living… -
opinion
Venezuelans Fighting for Economic Freedom
A broad coalition of anti-government parties in Venezuela announced a plan this month to oust President Nicolás Maduro. The plan includes constitutionally legal mechanisms to shorten the president’s term, a recall referendum, and public protests demanding Maduro’s resignation. Hand-picked by Hugo Chávez, Maduro is now the face of executive branch corruption in Venezuela. Now recent… -
opinion
Justin Fever Puts Canada’s Economic Freedom at Risk
Justin Trudeau, Canada’s new prime minister, is currently visiting Washington to deepen ties with President Barack Obama and make headway on an ambitious left-leaning agenda on a wider range of issues. From an economics perspective, the summit is basically like Trudeaunomics-meets-Obamanomics, which can double the risk of undermining Canada’s economic freedom and dynamism. Under the… -
opinion
Kanye West Isn’t the Only One With a Spending Problem
If Kanye West’s personal finances have you worried, take a closer look at the federal budget. When West announced in February that he was $53 million in personal debt, he took to Twitter to ask for help from his followers, specifically soliciting $1 billion from Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg. Unfortunately, the federal government seems to… -
opinion
House Budget Proposal Falls Short on Defense
House Republicans are trying to develop a budget that both is fiscally responsible and increases defense spending. Unfortunately, the latest proposal underfunds defense and overfunds wasteful domestic programs, and House Republicans are headed for a political buzz saw if they shortchange current military operations to pay for defense increases elsewhere. This gimmick will distract from vital policy…