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Joint Economic Committee Democrats

Publications

Jun 14 2018

GOP Tax Scam Undermines Local Investments

It was inevitable that there would be unintended consequences from the GOP tax law. Debate and input were limited and the plan changed rapidly, barely giving nonpartisan experts any time to think through its impact. Now that the law has taken effect we are starting to see more and more of those unintended harms. Just this week, the Wall Street Journal reported how bank holdings of municipal bonds dropped for the first time since the recession, due to the new tax law leading to less demand.

Jun 12 2018

The Economic State of Women in the United States

This fact sheet provides a snapshot of the current economic state of women in the United States. It includes measures of economic well-being, such as income and poverty rates, as well as data on educational attainment, labor force participation, and health insurance rates. Together, these measures help paint a portrait of women’s economic health in 2018.

Jun 11 2018

Unemployment Has Been Declining Since Oct. '09 Peak

President Trump is right to praise the health of the labor market, but the current low level of unemployment is the result of an expansion spanning nearly a decade, not policy changes made six months ago. After the worst recession since the Great Depression, the United States has consistently added jobs every month since September 2010. The pace of job creation has slowed since President Trump took office though. In his first 16 full months in office, the economy has added an average of 185,000 jobs per month, compared with 205,000 per month in the last 16 full months of President Obama’s tenure.

Jun 07 2018

Consumer Corner: A Hike in Federal Interest Rates Has Downstream Consumer Impacts

Over the last few years, the Federal Reserve (Fed) has steadily increased the federal funds rate, usually by 25 basis points. These increases ultimately lead to higher interest rates on a variety of financial products, from student loans to home mortgages. With the Fed poised to raise interest rates another two or three times this year, consumers are starting to see the impacts of higher rates materialize.

Jun 05 2018

Older Americans Have Been Able to Rebuild Income While Young Americans Are Far Behind

Many families are still suffering from the large financial setbacks of the Great Recession. New research from the Federal Reserve of St. Louis highlights the ongoing financial struggle families headed by different age cohorts face as they attempt to regain wealth and income lost during this period. Families headed by those born after the 1960s, for example, have been unable to fully regain income lost during the Great Recession by the end of 2016. The youngest families studied, headed by those born during the 1980s, have fallen furthest behind in the typical wealth-accumulation life cycle, leaving them with limited income growth compared to other families. In spite of suffering losses during the Great Recession, though, families headed by someone born in the 1930s through the 1950s were able to rebuild wealth and regain income by 2016.

May 24 2018

Who’s Benefiting From Growth? GDP Tells Only Part of the Story

On Wednesday, the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) will release its second estimate of how much the economy grew in the first quarter. While Gross Domestic Product (GDP) numbers are an important and closely-watched measure of the economy’s strength, they don’t tell you whose incomes rose and who saw their incomes fall. GDP tells an incomplete story.

May 21 2018

National Spending on Prescription Drugs Is Growing Rapidly

National spending on prescription drugs is rapidly growing in the United States, faster than any other type of health care spending. And on an international level, U.S. per capita drug spending far outpaces other countries. In 2015, the U.S. spent $1,011 per person on drugs, more than double what the U.K. spent. The Trump administration continues to make empty promises when it comes to reducing drug prices, recently proposing that the U.S. persuade other countries to raise their drug prices. But higher prices abroad will not result in lower prices here at home. Instead, Americans need a stronger approach that will crack down on excessive drug prices.

May 21 2018

May Economic Snapshot of the States

Although the U.S. economy overall continues its expansion following the Great Recession and associated financial crisis, the recovery can look very different from state to state. The lion’s share of economic gains are not only concentrated at the top of the income and wealth distribution, but also in a small share of regions. While some parts of the country have surged ahead, millions of Americans in urban and rural communities are still waiting for their wages to start rising again and struggling to make ends meet.

May 16 2018

GOP Efforts to Undermine SNAP will Harm Future Generations

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) helps struggling families get through tough times. But it does more than that, SNAP also sets children up for future success, leading to better health and economic outcomes and ultimately putting children into a position where they are less likely to need assistance as adults. House Republicans are currently working on a plan that erodes this investment in children, though. If passed, more than a million recipients will lose SNAP benefits, with most of them living in households with children.