The rate of inflation slowed more than anticipated in May, but the Fed’s response holds steady. Inflation numbers for the month of May were officially released today, with the Department of Labor announcing that the Consumer Price Index showed prices…

Highlights Figure 1: Real Average Weekly Earnings Remain Down 4.4% Since January 2021 Source: Fed FRED Labor Market The Bureau of Labor Statistics recently released its U.S. jobs report for January 2024, which was another mixed report with some strengths…

Inflation shot higher than expected in January. The latest Consumer Price Index (CPI) report has thrown a wrench into the expected timeline for Federal Reserve rate cuts, as inflation figures for January came in higher than anticipated.  The report revealed…

Social Media Shines a Spotlight on Joe Biden’s Economic Falsehoods In the nearly three years of his presidency, Joe Biden has left a trail of known failures and questionable (and often nonsensical) statements. That legacy continued recently when, not once,…

Highlights Figure 1: Real Average Weekly Earnings Declined Year-Over-Year for 26 Months Before Being Up in Four but Fell Again Last Month and Remain Down 5% Since January 2021 Overview Labor Market The Bureau of Labor Statistics recently released its…

The federal budget deficit has doubled from one year to the next a few times before. Usually, those occurrences happen in conjunction with economic bad news, something the current administration consistently says does not exist. The Numbers Game First off,…

Highlights Figure 1: Year-Over-Year Real Average Weekly Earnings Declined for 26 Months Before Increasing in the Last Three but Fell Again and Remain Down Nearly 5% Since January 2021 Overview Labor Market The Bureau of Labor Statistics recently released its…

The Federal Reserve holds interest rates at current levels, but the future outlook is more uncertain. At their September meeting held last week, The Federal Reserve’s “Federal Open Markets Committee” (FOMC) declined to increase Federal Funds Interest Rates further and…

This commentary was originally published at EconLib here. It is being republished with permission from the author. Americans say the economy is the most important problem facing the country. But major headlines covering the latest jobs report for August do their best…

Rate Hike Speculation and Recession Concerns for 2024 On Tuesday and Wednesday of this week, the Federal Reserve’s Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) will meet to discuss the state of the US economy, the ongoing threat of inflation, and possible interest…

Highlights Figure 1: Year-Over-Year Real Average Weekly Earnings Declined for 26 Months Before Increasing in the Last Three but Remains Down Nearly 5% Since January 2021 Overview Labor Market The Bureau of Labor Statistics recently released its U.S. jobs report…

What They Are and How They Affect You Last week, the U.S. Federal Reserve’s Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) increased the Federal Funds Interest Rates to 5.25-5.50%, for a 22-year high. This follows almost a year and a half of…

The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) met today to discuss the state of the U.S. economy and monetary policy. According to recent indicators, the U.S. economy is experiencing modest growth in spending and production, while job gains have picked up…

Only two days into the 88th Legislative Session, both legislative chambers made a mad dash to give their offices as much money as they could squeeze out of Texas taxpayers. Growing Government As expected, they used the usual excuses: to…

What is Festivus? Finding its origins in the hit ’90s sitcom Seinfeld from an episode entitled “The Strike”, the character George Costanza’s family celebrates a holiday called Festivus as an alternative to Christmas, and a tongue-in-cheek protest to the commercialism surrounding…