Free Republic

Despite tax collection increasing by 50 percent in the last 9 years, California’s public pension insolvency is forcing Gov. Jerry Brown to propose a dangerously unpopular 42 percent increase in gasoline taxes and a 141 percent increase in vehicle registration fees. Breitbart News reported on January 9 that Gov. Brown announced that for the first time since 2012, California’s $122.8 billion General Fund Budget is in deficit by $1.6 billion. Despite a near bankruptcy during the financial crisis, California’s tax revenues have increased by about $43 billion in the last 9 years. Brown on Monday only suggested relatively painless spending...

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) on Thursday defended the Obama administration’s move to solicit private donations to implement ObamaCare, arguing that the government has a responsibility to help beneficiaries enroll under the law. Kathleen Sebelius, secretary of the Health and Human Services Department, has come under fire from Republicans for asking some prominent healthcare groups for financial help in executing the central elements of President Obama's healthcare reform law, which are slated to take effect within the next year. But Pelosi, who shepherded the proposal through the House, said educating the public on the intricacies of the complex law...

There aren’t many American-owned companies more iconic than Anheuser-Busch, the famous producer of Budweiser beer based in St. Louis, Missouri. That was true up until 2008, when the Brazilian-Belgian company InBev executed a hostile takeover of the historic brewer, leading to layoffs of more than 1,800 workers. Unfortunately, conditions in the United States are growing ripe for even more takeovers like these to occur, especially now that the nation’s corporate tax rate is officially the highest in the world. As of yesterday, the U.S. corporate tax rate of 39.2 percent claimed the world’s top spot, edging out Japan which recently...

It's the economy stupid. And Laird..aka Lard is NOT the guy who will hold the line on spending in the State Senate Race (Maldonado's old seat) in District 15. While previously in office Laird voted for: $23 BILLION in tax increases - Like the gas tax? $53 BILLION in Payroll tax increases Why did Obama take the unusual step and ENDORSE Laird? Because they want the spending to continue, because they want to continue the ownership of the UNIONS of our great State. It takes more than blogging folks....get out there and physically do something for your freedom. http://montereycoteaparty.blogspot.com/

In last week's column I highlighted comments made to the Financial Times of London by U.S. Comptroller General David Walker in which he compared the current political, social, and economic situation in the United States to that of the Roman Empire shortly before its collapse. I heard from a number of readers in response to the column… Democrats, Republicans, and Libertarians. While a couple of folks used the opportunity to plug a particular presidential candidate or legislative issue, almost all were in agreement that things in our nation must change drastically and quickly. Despite a booming economy, low unemployment, and...

Thank GOD we have a conservative in the White House!

The City Council is considering whether to use the property to build affordable housing, a condominium complex called Los Portales for families earning up to $160,000 a year. Now, "it's hard to get sympathy for people making $160,000 a year if you're down in Texas or something," said Bill Watkins, head of the UC Santa Barbara Economic Forecast Project. Any household with that kind of money is in the nosebleed section of American earners, and "most of the country would think, 'You're going to subsidize that person's house? You're kidding me.' " But in this city — where the median...

While the latest performance of Albany lawmakers was breathtakingly destructive on its face, the damage is even worse when compared to fiscal policies in other states. Rarely inclined to remember - or even to care - that the Empire State must compete economically with 49 other states, New York lawmakers have once again failed to improve the state's attractiveness for taxpaying individuals and businesses. Little wonder why New York is losing more residents than any other state - and why businesses are fleeing, upstate especially. Other states are only too happy to woo New Yorkers and New York businesses... Albany...

Boston, as well as the state, has been losing population in the past few years. If those numbers are confirmed by the 2010 federal census, Massachusetts could lose up to two congressional seats, as well as federal money for highway, education, and development programs that are tied to population. Responding to concerns raised by the state's congressional delegation, local mayors, and Secretary of State William F. Galvin, lawmakers included $100,000 in the $25.7 billion state budget last week to pay a University of Massachusetts think tank to start researching the numbers to make sure that as many residents as possible...

Looks like the VEEP just came in from the Mideast soon enough to BREAK the budget tie in the Senate. The budget has passed the Senate.

"I'll take a split decision," said Jon Caldara, leader of the opponents to Referendums C and D. "I'd rather take the whole match, but more importantly our kids and grandkids are not going to be straddled with billions in debt." ... Caldara said Referendum C passed because of the proponents' superior resources. "I walked into this with my eyes open. They had the money, they had the politicians, they had the media," he said. Opponents have threatened to challenge the ballot measures in court.

Rep. Mike Pence (R-Ind.) had the look of a hunted man as he walked from the Capitol to the Longworth House Office Building yesterday for a speech to young conservatives. Pence, chairman of a group of House conservatives called the Republican Study Committee, was complaining to his companions about a Robert Novak column in yesterday's Washington Post saying Pence was subjected to a "closed-door auto-da-fe" from Speaker Dennis Hastert and Majority Leader Tom DeLay for daring to suggest that the profligate House leadership should reconsider its big-spending ways. But Pence got the leadership's message, loud and clear. Pence's speech was...

Small government conservatives and Republican leaning libertarians face a difficult choice going into the polls this year. President Bush and Vice President Cheney occasionally pay lip service to restraining government growth, but they don't mean it. When Bush came to power, the federal government spent just shy of $1.8 trillion a year, and that was considered extravagant by many. The proposed budget for next year is $2.4 trillion, and that figure understates the total because supplemental legislation will be submitted to cover the bill for Iraq. This year Uncle Sam will spend over $500 billion more than he takes in...

The Washington Times, June 9, 1996 June 9, 1996, Sunday, Final EditionPart B; COMMENTARY; EDITORIALS; Pg. B2   According to the non-partisan National Taxpayers Union, Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry is one of the chamber's biggest spenders. On a scale of 0 (meaning a lawmaker opposes controls on taxing and spending) to 100 (meaning a lawmaker is a friend of taxpayers), Mr. Kerry tallied just 21, based on an NTU survey of his roll call votes in 1995. His profligate ways earned him an "F" from the group and a new title, "Big Spender." The NTU findings are hardly the only measure...

The Republican Study Committee's Money Monitor keeps track of how Washington spends your money. And is Washington ever on a spending spree this year compared with last.     Here's year-to-date totals of net one-year costs of House-passed appropriations:     Fiscal year 2003: $476,378,900,000.00     Fiscal year 2004: $873,990,730,000. from: Inside the Beltway

Rush was just talking about the RNC Chairman who was interviewed in the Baltimore paper and he has said that the Republican party is no longer for limited government. Now the party will take a poll of what the people want and then will throw money at that special interest. Let's give this guy a poll!!!

WASHINGTON - We have finally stopped paying for government this year, but just barely. And if the Bush administration has its way, Americans will pay a lot more next year. Never mind his rhetoric: President Bush is an enthusiastic advocate of big government. The advocacy group Americans for Tax Reform figures the Cost of Government Day was July 11. That's when U.S. citizens finally finished subsidizing government at all levels: taxes, deficits and regulations. Americans spent more than half the year, 193 days, working for politicians rather than themselves and their families. Republicans blame the Democrats. It's not true. The...

The White House is gearing up for a major push to convince Congress to enact new tax cuts, but a review of recent polling data confirms that, while tax cuts sound good in principle, they are not a high priority for Americans. The public's support for tax cuts drops well below the majority level when poll respondents are reminded of alternative uses of the money. Polling conducted after the Bush tax cuts enacted in the summer of 2001 suggests that many Americans didn't think the cuts made a highly significant difference in their daily lives.

Are you in Tom Davis's district? Then check this out: http://www.frankcreel.org Elect a Congressman who will NEVER: Vote for a tax increase Vote for bigger, more intrusive government Violate his oath to defend the Constitution …and who will ALWAYS: Defend U.S. sovereignty Insist upon Congressional declaration of war before hostilities begin Defend the Second Amendment and seek the repeal of laws that violate it Protect our treasured liberties AND Fiercely defend the right to life of all American citizens, including those in their mothers' wombs. Frank Creel is not a career politician. He is a former Peace Corps volunteer, combat...