127. This Week's Economy Ep. 5: LATEST On Debt Ceiling, Rich/Poor States, Inflation Recession Act & More
In "This Week's Economy" episode 5, I discuss the latest news on the federal debt ceiling, findings from ALEC's "Rich States, Poor States" report, and exciting personal updates from this past week.
Hello Friends,
Thank you for listening to the fifth episode of "This Week's Economy,” where I briefly share my insights every Friday morning on key economic and policy news at the U.S. and state levels.
Today, I cover:
States: The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) just released the 16th edition of its insightful “Rich States, Poor States” index, which shows key findings on state economies based on indicators including tax burden, regulatory burdens, and state spending. I discuss some notable news from the report as well as suggestions for some of the states on how to improve their economies for increased freedom and prosperity. One of these is a local preemption bill for regulations in Texas in House Bill 2127.
Country: On April 19th, the House Republican’s new debt ceiling bill was released, containing spending caps and rules. I discuss why this bill is a step in the right direction, but to turn around this suffering economy more is required. Additionally, the bill will reinstate work requirements that were not mandated throughout the pandemic, and I explain why this is important on an individual and economic level.
Personal News: This past week, I had the privilege of giving invited testimony by Chairman Jason Smith (R-MO) at the U.S. House Ways and Means Committee hearing on Capitol Hill. I discussed the hefty cost of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), which is now estimated to be as much as 3x higher than was originally projected by the CBO, and the EV Tax Credits contained therein. You can read my written testimony here or view the hearing in the video below (my statement starts at time 27:30 and I have other comments throughout the 4-hour-long hearing). I also had the opportunity to publish an op-ed with The Daily Caller on School Choice, as the battle for more School Choice continues across the states and more freedom is required to help students, families, and teachers.
You can watch this episode on YouTube or listen to it on Apple Podcast, Spotify, Google Podcast, or Anchor (please share, subscribe, like, and leave a 5-star rating).
For show notes, thoughtful economic insights, media interviews, speeches, blog posts, research, and more at my website.