Latest news with #ChrisEdwards
Forbes
4 days ago
- Business
- Forbes
How Government Corruption Hurts Economic Growth
Young woman holding a poster against corruption. Human rights and democracy concept. Government corruption of any magnitude is a problem. It erodes citizens' trust in government, fosters animosity between voters and public officials, and hinders economic activity. One study that looks at country-level corruption finds that a 1% increase in the level of corruption reduces the rate of economic growth by 0.72%. The authors attribute most of the negative impact corruption has on growth to the political instability corruption causes, which generates uncertainty for businesses. Another study finds that countries with more corruption receive less foreign direct investment and experience higher inflation, both of which reduce growth. There is evidence that corruption reduces economic growth in America, too. One study finds that more state-level corruption reduces investment and the growth of output per worker. Another study finds that states with more corruption convictions from 1976 to 1980 experienced slower income growth over the next 20 years. This study also finds that states with more educated populations are less corrupt on average. To explain this finding, the authors suggest that educated voters are more inclined and better able to monitor public officials which reduces opportunities for corruption. In a recent analysis, Chris Edwards of the Cato Institute examines corruption in the United States by federal judicial district. To measure the level of government corruption in America, Edwards' examines Department of Justice data on public corruption convictions across the country's 94 federal judicial districts. He orders the districts by the average annual number of convictions per 100,000 people from 2004 to 2023. Washington, D.C. has the highest conviction rate, and three U.S. territories are in the top five. In the contiguous United States, districts in Louisiana, Montana, Oklahoma, Kentucky, South Dakota, and Tennessee have the highest conviction rates. The least corrupt areas according to this measure are the state of New Hampshire and the Middle District of North Carolina, where Greensboro is located. Both have annual conviction rates of only 0.05. Closer inspection of the economic data in places with the most convictions reveals the adverse economic effects corruption can have on local economies. Take Louisiana and Illinois: Both states have reputations for being corrupt that are supported by the convictions data and recent stories. In Louisiana, federal officials recently arrested and indicted several former Louisiana law enforcement officials and businessmen allegedly involved in a U-visa scam. In Illinois, the corruption case around former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan is still playing out. A former CEO of Illinois utility company ComEd was sentenced just this week. In addition to high levels of corruption, both Illinois and Louisiana had personal income growth below the national average over the last year according to the most recent data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA). Income growth was 5.4% in Illinois, 5.9% in Louisiana, and 6.7% for the entire country. In the two states with the least corruption, New Hampshire and Utah, income growth was 6.6% and 7.2%, respectively. These are just a few observations, of course, but they are consistent with the studies discussed earlier. While government corruption in the United States is far below the levels of autocratic countries, it is still a problem that needs to be addressed. There are plenty of ideas, including strengthening the Inspectors General who oversee audits and investigations in government agencies. One recent study that examines political corruption in Brazil finds that strengthening government audits can reduce corruption. Other policies include better enforcement of anti-corruption laws already on the books; more investigative journalism to uncover corruption; and greater protection and rewards for whistleblowers that reveal corruption. None of these are a silver bullet, but in combination they would help reduce corruption. Voters should also emphasize character when evaluating political candidates to reduce the number of dishonest people elected to office. Monitoring public corruption is important since we cannot address a problem we do not know about. The Cato Institute analysis is a reminder that government corruption is alive and well in America. Reducing it will improve local economies and cultivate more trust between voters and elected officials.
Forbes
4 days ago
- Business
- Forbes
This Is The Most Corrupt Place In America
Young woman holding a poster against corruption. Human rights and democracy concept. When people think about government corruption they often think of authoritarian countries like Russia, Venezuela, or North Korea. While these and other countries run by autocrats have high levels of corruption, democracies like the United States are not completely pure. In a recent analysis, Chris Edwards of the Cato Institute examines corruption in the United States by federal judicial district. He finds that Washington D.C. is the most corrupt place in the country, followed by the Eastern District of Louisiana, where New Orleans is located. Government corruption of any magnitude is a problem. It erodes citizens' trust in government and fosters animosity between voters and public officials. To measure the level of government corruption in America, Edwards' examines Department of Justice data on public corruption convictions across the country's 94 federal judicial districts. The top ten districts ranked by the average annual number of convictions from 2004 to 2023 are in the table below. As mentioned previously, the nation's capital tops the list, and three U.S. territories are in the top five. In the contiguous United States, districts in Montana, Oklahoma, Kentucky, South Dakota, and Tennessee share Eastern Louisiana's proclivity for corruption. The least corrupt areas, which are not shown in the table, are the state of New Hampshire and the Middle District of North Carolina, where Greensboro is located. Both have annual conviction rates of only 0.05. Top 10 federal judicial districts ranked by conviction rate. In addition to eroding trust in government, corruption has adverse effects on economic activity. One study that looks at country-level corruption finds that a 1% increase in the level of corruption reduces the rate of economic growth by 0.72%. The authors attribute most of the negative impact corruption has on growth to the political instability corruption causes, which generates uncertainty for businesses. Another study finds that countries with more corruption receive less foreign direct investment and experience higher inflation, both of which reduce growth. There is evidence that corruption reduces economic growth in America, too. One study finds that more state-level corruption reduces investment and the growth of output per worker. Another study finds that states with more corruption convictions from 1976 to 1980 experienced slower income growth over the next 20 years. This study also finds that states with more educated populations are less corrupt on average. To explain this finding, the authors suggest that educated voters are more inclined and better able to monitor public officials which reduces opportunities for corruption. Closer inspection of the economic data in places with the most corruption reveals these adverse economic effects. Take Louisiana and Illinois: Both states have reputations for being corrupt that are supported by the convictions data and recent stories. In Louisiana, federal officials recently arrested and indicted several former Louisiana law enforcement officials and businessmen allegedly involved in a U-visa scam. In Illinois, the corruption case around former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan is still playing out. A former CEO of Illinois utility company ComEd was sentenced just this week. In addition to high levels of corruption, both Illinois and Louisiana had personal income growth below the national average over the last year according to the most recent data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA). Income growth was 5.4% in Illinois, 5.9% in Louisiana, and 6.7% for the entire country. In the two states with the least corruption, New Hampshire and Utah, income growth was 6.6% and 7.2%, respectively. These are just a few observations, of course, but they are consistent with the studies discussed earlier. While government corruption in the United States is far below the levels of autocratic countries, it is still a problem that needs to be addressed. There are plenty of ideas, including strengthening the Inspectors General who oversee audits and investigations in government agencies; better enforcement of anti-corruption laws already on the books; more investigative journalism to uncover corruption; and greater protection and rewards for whistleblowers that reveal corruption. None of these are a silver bullet, but in combination they would help reduce corruption. Voters should also emphasize character when evaluating political candidates to reduce the number of dishonest people elected to office. Monitoring public corruption is important since we cannot address a problem we do not know about. The Cato Institute analysis is a reminder that public corruption is alive and well in America. Reducing it will improve local economies and cultivate more trust between voters and elected officials.
AU Financial Review
18-07-2025
- Automotive
- AU Financial Review
Fat e-bike craze out-running police and regulators
E-bikes as fast and as powerful as motorcycles are now so common in Australian cities that everyone seems to have a horror story, at least of a near-miss. Chris Edwards, the government relations manager at Vision Australia, is no different. 'Food delivery riders, the speed they come down our street is supposed to be limited to 25km/h ... I was down at St Kilda the other day getting out of a car, one passed me at least at 50km/h which was pretty terrifying,' Edwards says.
Yahoo
12-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Why everyone from Musk to Wall Street is worried about U.S. debt payments
The Republicans' "big beautiful" budget package is uniting everyone from Elon Musk to Wall Street over an issue that experts say could pose a threat to the nation's long-term fiscal stability: The rising cost of servicing the U.S. government's growing mountain of debt. The U.S. spent $1.1 trillion in interest on its debt in 2024 — almost double the amount it was paying five years ago, according to Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis data. The nation now spends more on interest payments than it does on defense, data from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute shows. Those costs could rise even more under the Republican tax and spending bill now being considered in the Senate, according to a June 5 analysis by the Congressional Budget Office. The version of the tax bill passed by the House last month is projected to increase the federal deficit — the gap between what the federal government spends each year and what it collects in revenue — by $2.4 trillion over the next decade, the nonpartisan agency found. That would require the government to raise additional debt, resulting in additional interest payments of about $550 billion over the next decade, the CBO forecasts. By 2035, interest on the nation's debt could reach $1.8 trillion, according to the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, a nonpartisan think tank focused on fiscal issues. "The interest costs now are bigger than defense spending, which is an extraordinary," Chris Edwards, an expert on federal tax issues at the Cato Institute, a libertarian-leaning think tank, told CBS MoneyWatch. "The budget threat here is that all of these increasing federal interest costs will crowd out all the other priorities in the federal budget that the policymakers want to spend on." In other words, the federal government could struggle to support vital programs like Social Security as a larger share of its budget is eaten up by interest payments on the nation's swelling debt. Federal interest payments as a share of the nation's gross domestic product stood at 3% last year, according to Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis data. If current trends holds, that could rise to 4.1% of GDP by 2035, the nonpartisan Peter G. Peterson Foundation estimates. This embedded content is not available in your region. !function(){"use strict"; 0!== e= t in r,i=0;r=e[i];i++)if( d= Democrats have pointed to analyses showing the bill's tax cuts will benefit wealthier Americans far more than low- and middle-income workers while also adding to the national debt. "No single piece of legislation in my time here in Congress will do more to add to the national debt than this one," Rep. Brendan Boyle, a Democrat from Pennsylvania who voted against the legislation, said last month on the House floor. Many Republicans, however, point to the bill's proposed tax cuts as providing an avenue for economic growth. "We are going to celebrate a new golden age in America," House Speaker Mike Johnson said last month after the bill passed in the House. Concerns from Elon Musk, Wall Street The cost of paying for the nation's debt has drawn concern from many corners, including Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who earlier this month posted about it on social media as he voiced his objections to the GOP bill. "Congress is spending America into bankruptcy!" Musk posted on June 5, pointing to data showing that interest payments have risen from $416 billion in 2014 to more than $1 trillion in 2024. Moody's Ratings downgraded U.S. credit last month, citing among its reasons the mounting concerns about the nation's increasing debt load and interest payments. "Successive U.S. administrations and Congress have failed to agree on measures to reverse the trend of large annual fiscal deficits and growing interest costs," the credit rating agency said. "Over the next decade, we expect larger deficits as entitlement spending rises while government revenue remains broadly flat." Moody's added, "In turn, persistent, large fiscal deficits will drive the government's debt and interest burden higher." On June 7, the White House said in a memo that the GOP tax bill "significantly improves our nation's fiscal trajectory by including $1.7 trillion in mandatory savings," while President Trump's tax cuts will spur economic growth. Some economic forecasters project that Mr. Trump's tariffs will drag down U.S. growth. The nation's growth could slide to 1.6% in 2025 and 1.5% next year partly because of those import levies, a sharp reduction from the 2.8% growth recorded last year, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development said last week. How did interest payments get so big? In recent years, interest payments on the federal debt have ballooned for two main reasons. First, a series of COVID-related spending bills provided $4.6 trillion to individuals and businesses to help them keep afloat during the pandemic, with much of that financed through new debt. Second, the Federal Reserve started hiking interest rates in March of 2022 to tame high inflation. But that also meant the Treasury Department needed to pay higher rates to bondholders, adding to the cost of servicing the nation's burgeoning debt. In 2020, the U.S. had about $27 trillion in outstanding debt, according to Treasury data. By 2024, that had jumped 32% to $35.5 trillion. Over that time, the Fed's benchmark interest rate rose from close to zero percent to a high of more than 5% in 2024. One reason the Republican budget bill is forecast to increase the deficit — and add to the nation's interest costs — is that it would extend President Trump's 2017 tax cuts, as well as add other breaks, such as eliminating taxes on worker tips and overtime pay. Altogether, those tax cuts will cost $3.75 trillion, the CBO estimates. The revenue loss would be partially offset by nearly $1.3 trillion in reduced federal spending elsewhere, namely through Medicaid and food assistance. But that still leaves a significant funding gap. In the meantime, the U.S. could face a financial strain in servicing its debt, especially in the face of an economic slowdown, experts have warned. "The most dangerous scenario is that the giant size of our debt precipitates a U.S., and even global, economic recession and financial crisis," Cato's Edwards told CBS MoneyWatch. "We saw this 15 or so years ago in Greece and some other European countries. That sort of crisis could be coming to the United States at some point, but no financial expert knows exactly when that's going to be." An accused woman skips her pedicure, kills her ex-husband Watch California Gov. Gavin Newsom's full speech on federal response to Los Angeles protests LAPD chief speaks out about deployment of military forces to anti-ICE protests
Yahoo
11-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Why everyone from Musk to Wall Street is worried about U.S. debt payments
The Republicans' "big beautiful" budget package is uniting everyone from Elon Musk to Wall Street over an issue that experts say could pose a threat to the nation's long-term fiscal stability: The rising cost of servicing the U.S. government's growing mountain of debt. The U.S. spent $1.1 trillion in interest on its debt in 2024 — almost double the amount it was paying five years ago, according to Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis data. The nation now spends more on interest payments than it does on defense, data from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute shows. Those costs could rise even more under the Republican tax and spending bill now being considered in the Senate, according to a June 5 analysis by the Congressional Budget Office. The version of the tax bill passed by the House last month is projected to increase the federal deficit — the gap between what the federal government spends each year and what it collects in revenue — by $2.4 trillion over the next decade, the nonpartisan agency found. That would require the government to raise additional debt, resulting in additional interest payments of about $550 billion over the next decade, the CBO forecasts. By 2035, interest on the nation's debt could reach $1.8 trillion, according to the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, a nonpartisan think tank focused on fiscal issues. "The interest costs now are bigger than defense spending, which is an extraordinary," Chris Edwards, an expert on federal tax issues at the Cato Institute, a libertarian-leaning think tank, told CBS MoneyWatch. "The budget threat here is that all of these increasing federal interest costs will crowd out all the other priorities in the federal budget that the policymakers want to spend on." In other words, the federal government could struggle to support vital programs like Social Security as a larger share of its budget is eaten up by interest payments on the nation's swelling debt. Federal interest payments as a share of the nation's gross domestic product stood at 3% last year, according to Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis data. If current trends holds, that could rise to 4.1% of GDP by 2035, the nonpartisan Peter G. Peterson Foundation estimates. !function(){"use strict"; 0!== e= t in r,i=0;r=e[i];i++)if( d= Democrats have pointed to analyses showing the bill's tax cuts will benefit wealthier Americans far more than low- and middle-income workers while also adding to the national debt. "No single piece of legislation in my time here in Congress will do more to add to the national debt than this one," Rep. Brendan Boyle, a Democrat from Pennsylvania who voted against the legislation, said last month on the House floor. Many Republicans, however, point to the bill's proposed tax cuts as providing an avenue for economic growth. "We are going to celebrate a new golden age in America," House Speaker Mike Johnson said last month after the bill passed in the House. Concerns from Elon Musk, Wall Street The cost of paying for the nation's debt has drawn concern from many corners, including Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who earlier this month posted about it on social media as he voiced his objections to the GOP bill. "Congress is spending America into bankruptcy!" Musk posted on June 5, pointing to data showing that interest payments have risen from $416 billion in 2014 to more than $1 trillion in 2024. Moody's Ratings downgraded U.S. credit last month, citing among its reasons the mounting concerns about the nation's increasing debt load and interest payments. "Successive U.S. administrations and Congress have failed to agree on measures to reverse the trend of large annual fiscal deficits and growing interest costs," the credit rating agency said. "Over the next decade, we expect larger deficits as entitlement spending rises while government revenue remains broadly flat." Moody's added, "In turn, persistent, large fiscal deficits will drive the government's debt and interest burden higher." On June 7, the White House said in a memo that the GOP tax bill "significantly improves our nation's fiscal trajectory by including $1.7 trillion in mandatory savings," while President Trump's tax cuts will spur economic growth. Some economic forecasters project that Mr. Trump's tariffs will drag down U.S. growth. The nation's growth could slide to 1.6% in 2025 and 1.5% next year partly because of those import levies, a sharp reduction from the 2.8% growth recorded last year, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development said last week. How did interest payments get so big? In recent years, interest payments on the federal debt have ballooned for two main reasons. First, a series of COVID-related spending bills provided $4.6 trillion to individuals and businesses to help them keep afloat during the pandemic, with much of that financed through new debt. Second, the Federal Reserve started hiking interest rates in March of 2022 to tame high inflation. But that also meant the Treasury Department needed to pay higher rates to bondholders, adding to the cost of servicing the nation's burgeoning debt. In 2020, the U.S. had about $27 trillion in outstanding debt, according to Treasury data. By 2024, that had jumped 32% to $35.5 trillion. Over that time, the Fed's benchmark interest rate rose from close to zero percent to a high of more than 5% in 2024. One reason the Republican budget bill is forecast to increase the deficit — and add to the nation's interest costs — is that it would extend President Trump's 2017 tax cuts, as well as add other breaks, such as eliminating taxes on worker tips and overtime pay. Altogether, those tax cuts will cost $3.75 trillion, the CBO estimates. The revenue loss would be partially offset by nearly $1.3 trillion in reduced federal spending elsewhere, namely through Medicaid and food assistance. But that still leaves a significant funding gap. In the meantime, the U.S. could face a financial strain in servicing its debt, especially in the face of an economic slowdown, experts have warned. "The most dangerous scenario is that the giant size of our debt precipitates a U.S., and even global, economic recession and financial crisis," Cato's Edwards told CBS MoneyWatch. "We saw this 15 or so years ago in Greece and some other European countries. That sort of crisis could be coming to the United States at some point, but no financial expert knows exactly when that's going to be." An accused woman skips her pedicure, kills her ex-husband LAPD chief speaks out about deployment of military forces to anti-ICE protests Sneak peek: The Day My Mother Vanished Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
