China’s Financial Quandary: Get Used to It
The finance media are discovering that China has trapped itself with bad monetary policy, joining a long list of countries in this situation. The media… Read More
Kansas Teachers Vote to Decertify Their Union
Teachers in Deerfield, Kansas, just did something unusual—they voted to decertify their union. The Kansas National Education Association (KNEA) no longer represents them. Teachers disliking… Read More
Will the Currency Zombie Eat the Trans-Pacific Partnership?
Currency manipulation is the issue that never dies. No matter how many times the link between exchange rates and American jobs is shown to be… Read More
G8 Summit: Fight Global Hunger with Economic Freedom
This week, President Obama is in Lough Erne, Northern Ireland, for the G8 summit, an annual meeting of the world’s wealthiest countries: the U.S., Canada,… Read More
Morning Bell: 17 Reasons the $17 Trillion Debt Is Still a Big Deal
Remember the debt? That $17 trillion problem? Some in Washington seem to think it’s gone away. The Washington Post reported that “the national debt is… Read More
For the Record: Tax Increases Are Harmful, but Europe Has Pursued Them Anyway
Heritage economist Salim Furth gave testimony last week to the Senate Budget Committee, reminding the Senators that economic research shows that deficit reduction should be… Read More
GDP: I Do Not Think It Means What You Think It Means
Many decision makers and commentators treat gross domestic product (GDP) as if it measures the whole of the economy. They even use “the economy” and… Read More
Backdoor Bailouts Begin
The Treasury Department’s release of $100 million from the Hardest Hit Fund last week amounts to a federal bailout of five Michigan cities without congressional… Read More
Brazil Turns Away from Capital Controls
Last week, Brazil announced that it is finally eliminating its most prominent tax on foreign portfolio investment. This reversal is the most recent reminder of… Read More
Bill Would Allow Families to Save More for Education
A bill introduced in the House of Representatives could have widespread benefits to parents saving for a child’s education. The Helping Families Save for Education… Read More
Consumer “Watchdog” Tailing Consumers
Many Americans are understandably unsettled by news reports about the National Security Agency’s widespread monitoring of telephone and Internet traffic. Attracting far less attention is… Read More
Equal Pay Act: No Need for a Next Generation
Today, the Equal Pay Act becomes middle aged. This law made it unlawful to pay women lower wages based on sex. It was passed in… Read More
Equal Pay Act at 50: The Myth of the Gender Wage Gap
Today marks the 50th anniversary of the Equal Pay Act. Signed into law by John F. Kennedy in 1963, the act ruled it unlawful to… Read More
Disability and Unemployment: Putting an End to Double-Dipping
The number of people on Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) reached a record high this year. But a large number of people are double-dipping from both… Read More
Austerity and Stimulus: A Response to The Washington Post
Journalists should check with both sides before committing pen to paper, especially those at respectable outlets like The Washington Post. It would have served Post… Read More
Treasury Employs Extraordinary Measures to Spend Beyond Debt Limit
After hitting the debt limit on March 19, the Treasury Department under Secretary Jack Lew is now employing its toolset of “extraordinary measures” to continue… Read More
Meretricious? Senator Whitehouse Is Projecting
Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) spent eight minutes berating me at a Senate Budget Committee hearing yesterday. He disliked the facts I presented on austerity, so… Read More
Trade Promotion Authority: Make the Case
Trade promotion authority (TPA) does several positive things. For one, it gives the President a window where Congress agrees to an up-or-down vote on trade… Read More
Social Security’s Unfunded Obligation Rises by $1 Trillion
Contrary to claims by cheerful news sources, Social Security’s deficit outlook is not “unchanged” or “no worse.” Social Security’s unfunded obligation rose by $1 trillion… Read More
The Internet Sales Tax Will Kill My Small Business
Hi, I’m Catesby Jones. I own a small business in Virginia called Peace Frogs. My three dozen employees and I make T-shirts and other cool… Read More
GDP Report: Government Shrinks, Private Economy Grows
Last Thursday’s revisions to the first-quarter growth estimates showed little change: Gross domestic product (GDP) had grown at a 2.4 percent rate, not 2.5 percent… Read More
Heritage Briefing: Internet Sales Tax
With talk heating up for Congress to create an Internet sales tax, Heritage pulled in leading telecommunication and tax experts yesterday for a Capitol Hill… Read More
The World Bank Must Defend “Doing Business” Report
Jim Yong Kim, president of the World Bank, faces perhaps the most critical decision in his presidency so far. He must defend the Bank’s annual… Read More
A Conservative Agenda for Trade: Eliminate the Threat of Tariffs
When it comes to trade, the ultimate objective for conservatives should be to eliminate tariffs—not just reduce some or all, but take them completely off… Read More
Pacific Alliance: Decreasing Trade Barriers and Increasing Economic Growth
The presidents of the “Pacific Alliance” (Chile, Colombia, México, and Perú) met last week in Cali, Colombia, to sign an agreement removing tariffs on 90… Read More
Morning Bell: Time to Shrink the Monster
Does the debt ceiling affect YOU? It does—in many ways. A new video by Bankrupting America uses humor to call attention to an issue that… Read More
VIDEO: The Shaky Debt Ceiling
Congress’s dance with the debt limit can be confusing and, frankly, the details can be a real snooze fest for many Americans. Sometimes a little… Read More
Rumsfeld on Economic Freedom
Concluding The Heritage Foundation’s fifth annual Protect America Month series, former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld shared his insights on why a free-market system that… Read More
EconomyNews
Social Security Benefits and Cost of Living: Protecting Against Inflation
Adopting the chained CPI (Consumer Price Index) in Social Security to more accurately account for changes in the cost of living is a small first… Read More
Cost of Illegal Immigration and Amnesty Could Be Higher
American taxpayers cannot afford the cost of amnesty. The cost of illegal immigration and amnesty could amount to $6.3 trillion, which would fall on American… Read More
