Immigration continues to be a tense but important subject for policy makers and citizens alike, especially immigration over the Mexican American border. Border apprehensions are the lowest they’ve been in years. Twenty years ago, each Border Patrol agent was apprehending about 261 crossers. But in 2017, each agent apprehended only about 16. This is largely because those immigrants seeking to …
Minimum Wage Hikes Mean Smaller Paychecks for Seattle Workers
Demands for minimum wage increases are growing around the country. Several cities around the nation have raised their minimum wage, claiming the hikes will help low-income workers. Seattle, WA, raised their minimum wage to $13 an hour last year as part of their plan to increase it to $15 over the next few years. But despite their good intentions, Seattle’s …
“Free the Wage” Report Released by The LIBRE Institute
“Free the Wage” Report Released by The LIBRE Institute Today The LIBRE Institute announced the release of a new scholarly study titled Free the Wage: How the minimum wage hurts employment for Hispanics and low-skilled workers. This report uses data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics to examine the effects of the minimum wage on Hispanic employment. It considers trends …
Free the Wage
In recent years, the minimum wage has been a charged, polarizing, hot-button issue in American politics. It has also attracted significant attention in economic research, as advocates and opponents alike attempt to measure its effects on employment, prices, and poverty. The effect of the minimum wage on employment is especially significant, and it stands out in public polling on the …
Just how much red tape is there, anyway?
Some things are easier to visualize than others. Visualizing the portion of our income that is taken in taxes, for example, is relatively straightforward. First the money was there, and then it went somewhere else. But what about money that was never there in the first place? As a result of the burden of overregulation, hundreds of billions of dollars …
American Participation in the Workforce is Dwindling
The latest jobs numbers are in, and the Obama administration is hardly ending on a high note.
Back to Work: Freeing Puerto Rico’s Labor Market from Stifling Federal Intervention
Check out The Libre Institute’s new report on the Puerto Rican financial crisis, “Back to Work: Freeing Puerto Rico’s Labor Market from Stifling Federal Intervention”.
Avoiding the Bankruptcy of America: Why Should Hispanics Care About the National Debt?
The federal budget – and related debt and deficit — is rarely framed as a uniquely “Hispanic” or “minority” issue. But while immigration and education often come to mind when we think of which policies touch the lives of U.S. Hispanics most deeply, issues relating to the federal budget should rank among the top.
How Much Wealth is Earned?
Rent-seeking, corporate welfare, and cronyism have all taken their toll on the free market. In fact, while many critics are quick to decry the economic inequality in this country as the inevitable result of laissez-faire capitalism, the United States is hardly a free market at all.
Ready to Enter the Job Market? Not So Fast, Thanks to Obama’s New Overtime Rule
Hispanics also are more likely to start a business than the general US population. This new regulation will increase the cost of doing business, adding yet another barrier to opportunity for Hispanic entrepreneurs.