Barbie Girls Now Live in a Much Wealthier Barbie World
The average working woman in 2023 earns enough money to buy a Barbie doll every 33 minutes. In 1959, it took nearly two hours.
Wages
Biden's New 'Prevailing Wage' Rule Will Cost Taxpayers, Benefit Unions, and Hike Inflation
The Labor Department is officially undoing changes made to help combat inflation in the 1980s.
Bernie Sanders Introduces a Bill To Raise Minimum Wage to $17 by 2028
The proposal would raise the federal minimum wage by 134 percent.
Get Your Culture War Out of Our Pension Funds
Plus: Should libertarians consider employing noble lies when pitching themselves to new potential voters?
Conservatives Pushing 'Common Good Capitalism' Sound a Lot Like Progressives
The ideology champions the same tired policies that big government types predictably propose whenever they see something they don't like.
No, the Average College Grad Wasn't Making $100,000 in the 1980s
Not only is that claim factually incorrect, but it's also wrong to be so pessimistic about young people's economic future.
Fewer People Are Going to College. Here's Why That's a Good Thing.
The time and money spent on college can often be used more productively.
Biden's Nominee for Secretary of Labor Wants 'Wage Theft' Cops
California’s experience combatting wage theft has been a headache for employers without much in the way of restitution for workers.
Republicans' and Democrats' Refusal To Reform Social Security and Medicare Is Political Malpractice
In 10 years, the programs' funds will be insolvent. Over the next 30 years, they will run a $116 trillion shortfall.
Progressive Politicians Are Regulating Their Own Projects Into Oblivion
Excessive government interference in the market hurts consumers and thwarts policy goals. It also gets in the way of the government itself.
Biden's New Budget Would Hike Taxes and Wage Class Warfare
The higher taxes on small businesses and entrepreneurs could slow growth. Less opportunity means more tribalism and division.
Wages Are Rising for Low-Skill Workers, Driving Down Poverty and Inequality
Plus: "Flipping the proverbial bird is a God-given" right, administrative state abuses, and more...
The Answer to Population Decline Is More Immigration
Politicians' go-to fixes like child tax credits and federal paid leave are known for creating disincentives to work without much impact on fertility.
IRS Plans To Raid Workers' Tip Jars
A coming crackdown on $1.6 billion in unreported tips will continue the IRS' long and ugly history of targeting low-income Americans.
Subsidies To Help Workers Would Hurt Poor People
Some people would benefit. Others would lose money or be rendered unemployable.
A GOP-Led Congress May Focus on Owning the Libs. Instead, It Should Focus on Owning Inflation.
If the midterms favor Republicans, their top priority needs to be the fight against inflation—whether or not they feel like they created the problem.
What Would It Take for the Democrats To Really Be the Party of Opportunity?
Government should not penalize investment, thwart competition, discourage innovation and work, or obstruct production.
The Biden Administration Is Taking From the Poor and Giving to the Rich
From student debt cancellation to green subsidies, the White House is giving handouts paid for by hardworking lower-wage Americans.
A Global Tax Cartel Is Floundering. Good.
Just as you don't attract bees with vinegar, you don't attract corporations by promising to tax them heavily.
Social Security Is Running Toward Insolvency
Despite a few encouraging analyses, the numbers just don't add up.
Biden's Plan for Reducing Inflation Will Actually Make It Worse
The president's argument is amazing for its tone-deafness, inconsistent thinking, and sheer economic ignorance.
Don't Expect Unions To Make a Comeback
Despite the recent win against Amazon and Joe Biden's full backing, Big Labor is fading because workers are making progress without unions.
Two California Lawmakers Want To Mandate 32-Hour Workweeks
It’s great when innovations let us work less, but top-down, inflexible government demands are not the way to get there.
Price Controls Would Make a Dire Economic Situation Worse
Certain politicians would do well to learn that inflation is not caused by corporate "greed."
Blame Insane Government Spending for Inflation
Some want to solve the problem with subsidies for gas, housing, child care, and more. That only risks greater stagnation.
When 'Pro-Worker' Policies Hurt Workers
Both Republicans and Democrats want to address poverty with big government.
New York's Mayor Warned That COVID Shutdowns Hurt Low-Skill Workers. He's Absolutely Right. Twitter Got Mad Anyway.
Phony outrage is used to deflect from bad policy decisions.
Worry About Inflation, Not Immigration
High inflation can harm low-income families. Immigration, not so much.
When We Reject Immigrants, We Reject Trillions of Dollars in Wealth
Growing evidence confirms that barriers to immigration make us all worse off.
The U.S. Has Strayed Far From Its Founding Ideals
Governments at the state, local, and federal levels can obstruct our pursuit of happiness and at times even jeopardize our safety.
California, New York Have the Most To Gain From Ending Bonus Unemployment Benefits. They Probably Won't.
States that already had lower unemployment rates in May are more likely to have announced plans for ending the bonus unemployment payments.
Michael Strain Wants You To Believe in the American Dream
The economy is broadly healthy and that it's benefiting nearly everyone—including the lower-income households who need it most.
Target Employees Won The 'Fight For $15' but Weren't Ready for the Trade-Offs
Workers say they've had their hours cut and lost other benefits, such as health insurance. If only someone could have predicted that.
The Nationalist Right Is Wrong: More Immigration Doesn't Reduce Wages
The reason: Immigrants help increase labor demand as well as labor supply.
What Bernie Sanders Gets Wrong About the Minimum Wage
Politicians can’t repeal the laws of supply and demand.
Bernie Sanders Gets a Lesson in What a $15 Minimum Wage Would Mean
But the campaign workers complaining about their union-negotiated salaries are being hypocritical too.
Should Paul McCartney and Other Billionaires Be 'Abolished'?
Progressive populists have decided making a lot of money is prima facie evidence of criminality and that inequality is the cardinal sin of our age. Nope.
Zoning Laws in New York, San Francisco, and San Jose Cut Americans' Wages by $8,775
And they've made the U.S. economy 9 percent smaller than it would it otherwise be.
Welcoming Immigrants Means Higher Wages
'Immigration represents an opportunity rather than a threat to our economy and to American workers.'
Immigrant Diversity Boosts Native-Born Wages: New at Reason
New study finds that workers living in cities that welcome immigrants generally earn higher wages.
Instructor Tells Student She Must 'Look at Feminist Sources,' Shouldn't Debunk the Wage Gap
"The reality is patriarchy."
Judge: Obama Administration's New Overtime Rules an Overreach
Want to change the rules? Go ask Congress.
Ivanka Trump Suggests Her Father Favors Subsidized Child Care and Mandatory Paid Family Leave
But low-skilled workers are the ones who suffer when government makes it more expensive to employ people.