Jordan Billings

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Negotiating with Trump on Taxes (Tariffs) is a Fool’s Game

4 weeks ago | cepr.net | Data Bytes |Dean Baker |Jordan Billings

Trump seems set to go through with his plan to make April 2 “Tax Day,” when he hits working people with one of the largest tax increases ever. There is discussion in the media that the countries whose exports are being taxed still hope to negotiate an arrangement where the taxes may be reduced or delayed. This is not likely to be an effective strategy. It should be very clear at this point that Donald Trump is not a person who feels bound by either his commitments or reality.
Private Equity Titans Eye a New Tax Perk

4 weeks ago | cepr.net | Data Bytes |Eileen Appelbaum |Dean Baker |Jordan Billings

Courtesy of the so-called carried interest loophole, private equity partners pay lower taxes than their secretaries on a good chunk of their income. But greed is an addiction, and the wealthy are always looking for new ways to get even richer: The new plan they are backing, first reported by Bloomberg, would increase the amount of debt that they are allowed to deduct from their business income.
Donald Trump Declares April 2 “Tax Day”

1 month ago | cepr.net | Data Bytes |Dean Baker |Jordan Billings |Brandon Novick

Donald Trump seems pretty clear that he will go through with his huge tax hikes (tariffs) on April 2. We don’t know for sure what his cute tax package will be, but if it’s anything like what he’s promised: 25 percent taxes on imports from Mexico and Canada, 20 percent taxes on imports from China, and 25 percent taxes on imported aluminum, steel, and copper, and possibly perhaps some surprise taxes on imports from the European Union and Japan, we are talking $200 billion to $400 billion a year.
Slashing the Federal Workforce is Not About ‘Efficiency’

1 month ago | cepr.net | Data Bytes |Jordan Billings |Dean Baker |Algernon Austin

By the Trump administration’s haphazard design, the federal government is in chaos. Federal workers are being fired without cause or due process, most of them recent hires and many working jobs not easily found – if found at all – in the private sector. Those losing their jobs are being told that they have failed to show that their employment would be in the public interest. The effects are widespread.
Preview: What to Look for in the February 2025 CPI

1 month ago | cepr.net | Data Bytes |Dean Baker |Algernon Austin |Jordan Billings

The overall CPI rose 0.5 percent in January, while the core rose 0.4 percent. This put the year-over-year increases at 3.0 percent and 3.3 percent, respectively. The overall CPI outpaced the core because both food and energy inflation were faster than core inflation. The index for store-bought food rose 0.5 percent in January, a sharp increase from the rate of inflation in prior months. Over the year to January, food prices rose just 1.9 percent.
The Economy Adds 151,000 Jobs as Health Care Again Leads Employment Growth

1 month ago | cepr.net | Data Bytes |Dean Baker |Algernon Austin |Jordan Billings

The health care sector added 52,000 jobs in February, accounting for more than one-third of employment growth in the month. This figure was in line with most expectations and indicates that federal layoffs and contract cancellations have not yet had a substantial impact on overall employment growth. However, it is worth noting that a drop in hours in January, which was thought to be related to weather and the Los Angeles fires, was not reversed in the February data.
February 2025 Jobs Preview: What to Expect in the Jobs Report

1 month ago | cepr.net | Data Bytes |Dean Baker |Algernon Austin |Jordan Billings

The February employment report is the first of the Trump administration. While we are not likely to pick up much of the effect of the DOGE cuts, we should see some impact. Remember, the reference period is the week/pay period that includes the 12th. This is before most of the firings went into effect, and there was no noticeable uptick in the unemployment insurance claims at that point (although we did see an uptick later in the month). However, we are likely to see an effect on the hiring side.
The Federal Government is Too Small

2 months ago | cepr.net | Data Bytes |Algernon Austin |Jordan Billings |Dean Baker

When Donald Trump was born, the federal government workforce made up 4.5 percent of all nonfarm workers (Figure 1). Today, the federal workforce makes up only 1.5 percent. This is a massive two-thirds reduction from Trump’s birth year. Contrary to the claims of Trump, Elon Musk and others, the real problem with the federal government is that it is too small to properly secure the health, safety, and overall well-being of the people of the United States.