A new report from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) found that the nation's nine largest national banks maintained policies that restricted financial services based on political or religious beliefs and lawful business activities. The findings provide new evidence of how debanking became a problem for Americans whose views or businesses fell out of favor with federal regulators. Much of the criticism surrounding debanking has focused on the banks themselves.

Artificial intelligence is emerging as a major driver of American economic growth, attracting billions of dollars in private investment, creating demand for skilled workers, and opening new opportunities for businesses across the economy. While much of the public discussion has focused on the potential for automation to eliminate jobs, recent economic data and employment projections suggest that AI could produce substantial gains in investment, productivity, and employment. T

The Working Families Tax Cuts expanded a federal tax deduction for state and local taxes, but the way Congress structured the benefit has created a financial disadvantage for some married couples. That outcome was a deliberate part of the negotiations, as lawmakers from high-tax states sought to extend the deduction to as many of their constituents as possible. The state and local tax (SALT) deduction allows taxpayers who itemize their federal income tax returns to deduct cer

The Center for a Free Economy (CFE) is leading a coalition of more than 40 organizations opposing California's Medicaid ambulance reimbursement practices. The coalition is urging the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to reject proposed changes sought by Governor Gavin Newsom's administration that would favor government-owned providers at the expense of private companies and federal taxpayers. The letter to CMS Administrator Mehmet Oz includes signatures from Amer

Robert Hall’s 2026 Nobel Prize in Economics brings renewed attention to the Hall-Rabushka flat tax, one of the most influential proposals in the history of federal tax reform. Developed with economist Alvin Rabushka, the flat tax helped establish the intellectual foundation for consumption-based taxation, including several major business tax provisions now incorporated into the Working Families Tax Cuts. Although Hall received the Nobel Prize for his contributions to macroeco

A bipartisan Senate proposal would allow families to transfer more unused education savings into retirement accounts by eliminating the $35,000 lifetime limit on rollovers from 529 plans to Roth IRAs. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Sen. Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-DE) introduced S. 5550, the "529 Retirement Enhancement Act of 2026," to give families more options when money saved for education is no longer needed for that purpose. The legislation would remove the lifetime rollover cap w

The bottom half of American households has posted the fastest percentage growth in wealth since 2020, an economic gain that has received far less attention than the widening gap between millionaires and billionaires. The Wall Street Journal recently focused on the growing divide at the very top of the wealth distribution. The wealth held by the top 0.1% has more than doubled since the end of 2019, while the threshold for reaching the top 1% has climbed substantially. The Comm

Employers have long helped workers pay for health insurance while retaining considerable control over which plans those workers can choose. CHOICE Arrangements offer a different model: employers provide the money, but employees choose the insurance. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is promoting the approach as an alternative to traditional employer-sponsored group coverage. At a recent event in Texas, federal officials joined employers already using CHOICE A

The Treasury Department is proposing tighter eligibility rules for refundable tax credits, drawing opposition from critics who warn that the change could affect some legal immigrants and families with U.S. citizen children. The criticism comes despite a long record of improper payments and eligibility errors in refundable tax credit programs. Treasury's proposal would classify the refundable portions of the Earned Income Tax Credit, Child Tax Credit, American Opportunity Tax

New federal rules have clarified how taxpayers will be able to use a school choice provision created by the Working Families Tax Cuts, including a tax credit worth up to $3,400 for married couples filing jointly. The Education Freedom Tax Credit allows taxpayers to receive a dollar-for-dollar federal income tax credit for contributions to eligible scholarship granting organizations, or SGOs. The credit is capped at $1,700 for individual taxpayers, while the new Treasury and

The Treasury Department is opening a new path for private investment in Trump Accounts by allowing qualifying donors to contribute publicly traded stock directly to children's accounts. Combined with Treasury's decision to automatically establish accounts for more than 60 million eligible children, the change could make stock ownership a much larger part of the program. The new rules are especially important for companies, founders, and other large shareholders interested in

High-tax states have spent years losing residents and income to lower-tax competitors. If those trends continue, the next loss could be political power in Washington. A new 2030 congressional apportionment forecast projects California losing four U.S. House seats after the next census. Texas would gain four seats and Florida would gain two, while Arizona, Georgia, Idaho, North Carolina, and Utah would each gain one. The forecast is not a guarantee of what the 2030 census will

Washington spends enormous sums trying to lower health care costs while its own programs sometimes pay far more than the private market for the same care. New Medicare data and California's Medicaid ambulance payments show how expensive that disconnect can become. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) found that Medicare pays about 16 percent more than private insurers for laboratory services. Bringing those rates closer to private-sector prices could save taxpay

The federal government has steadily taken a larger role in American health care, and that expansion has helped drive a system in which health care spending grows faster than the economy. More federal spending and subsidies have put more money into the health care system while weakening the market pressures that would otherwise force providers and insurers to compete more aggressively on price. In 1962, federal health programs accounted for just 7.2% of national health spendin

The federal government ran a $2 trillion deficit through the first 11 months of the fiscal year, according to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO). With one month remaining, Washington is on track to close another fiscal year with a deficit measured in the trillions. The source of the imbalance is clear in the federal budget data. Tax collections remain close to their historical share of the economy, while federal spending is well above its historical average. CBO projects f

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has canceled roughly 315,000 unauthorized Obamacare enrollments covering more than 760,000 people, with approximately $2.2 billion in taxpayer-funded premium subsidies expected to be returned. The size of the recovery is notable, but so is the process CMS used before canceling the enrollments. The agency worked with insurers to identify accounts showing multiple signs of unauthorized enrollment and provided opportunities for

More than 1.4 million Americans have already claimed the new car-loan-interest deduction created by the Working Families Tax Cuts, and the IRS has now finalized regulations governing the tax break. The final rules provide taxpayers and lenders with clearer guidance on a provision that has quickly become a source of tax relief for working and middle-income households. The average deduction claimed so far exceeds $1,800, according to Treasury data released by the U.S. House Way

American household incomes reached a record high in 2025 as the poverty rate declined, providing an encouraging sign for household finances after years of pressure from high inflation. New data from the U.S. Census Bureau show real median household income rose 2.6 percent to $87,460, up from $85,210 in 2024. That is the highest level recorded since the Census Bureau began tracking the measure in 1967. Median post-tax household income rose even faster, increasing 3.1 percent t

President Donald Trump is proposing a $5,000 payment to every adult U.S. citizen if Republicans retain control of Congress. The idea would put thousands of dollars into Americans’ hands, but early polling shows that voters are not embracing it. A Reuters/Ipsos poll found that 63 percent of Americans disapprove of the proposal, compared with 17 percent who approve. Opposition extends beyond Democrats. Reuters reported that 40 percent of Republicans disapprove, while the more d

Some states have found a lucrative way to make federal taxpayers pick up more of their Medicaid costs: tax health care providers, use the tax revenue to claim additional federal Medicaid matching funds, and then direct higher Medicaid payments back toward the providers being taxed. It amounts to a kickback-style financing arrangement. The providers supply money that helps the state qualify for more federal Medicaid dollars, while Medicaid payments can send money back to the s