Free Republic

Michigan residents are making more money, meaning more money for state government. But its financial health is still enduring the effects of corporate welfare deals cut during the administration of former Gov. Jennifer Granholm. The state is projecting it will take in $9.2 billion in net income tax by the end of the 2015-16 fiscal year, which would be a net 2.5 percent increase from the previous year. But the state also projects that it will have to pay out $1 billion in corporate welfare in the form of Michigan Business Tax credits by the end of the year. Overall,...

Private job creation slowed even further last month as firms added just 156,000 jobs in April, ADP said in a Wednesday report. "The job market appears to have stumbled in April. Job growth noticeably slowed, with some weakness across most sectors. One month does not make a trend, but this bears close watching as the financial market turmoil earlier in the year may have done some damage to business hiring," Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Analytics, said in a statement. Economists polled by Reuters expected the number to come in at 195,000. In March, private payrolls were revised down...

It was a double whammy for Brooklyn and New York City manufacturing this week with news that 3D printer company MakerBot Industries would be laying off local workers as it shifts its production work, although not its headquarters, to China. It is doing so through St. Petersburg, Florida-based Jabil Circuit (NYSE: JBL), one of the largest contract manufacturers in the world, which has facilities in China. The reasons behind this decision are myriad. Chief among them are the competitive headwinds in the 3D consumer printer business itself, and the high cost of doing business in New York City, ..... <...

Almost all counterarguments against allowing transgender individuals into sex-segregated spaces focus on the high likelihood of what harm will be caused to girls and women. However, to my knowledge there have been very few if any well-developed cases regarding the ramifications of allowing female transgender individuals into male sex-segregated spaces and what could happen to boys and men. Furthermore, the vast majority of rebuttals to allowing transgenders into sex-segregated spaces have focused almost solely on private areas such as restrooms and locker-rooms without further emphasis on incidents of privately owned, male-only businesses that have been coerced into accepting transgender individuals....

The issue of nuisance lawsuits against gun manufacturers has moved well beyond the courtroom drama playing out with the Sandy Hook families. Bernie Sanders has managed to drive Hillary Clinton further to the left as she seeks lines of attack against the Vermont Senator, coaxing her into calling for the repeal of the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (PLCAA) in recent campaign stops. That may serve her purposes in the primary, but how well does such a position play nationally as we look forward to the general election in November? A new survey conducted by Harper Polling indicates...

RIYADH—Saudi Arabia, crimped by low crude prices, approved Monday a long-term blueprint for the kingdom’s economic transformation aimed at reducing its dependence on oil. The multiyear plan, dubbed “Saudi Vision 2030,” was approved by the cabinet, according to Saudi Arabia’s monarch, King Salman. The Saudi cabinet, in a statement carried by the official Saudi Press Agency, said the government’s economic council would be in charge of overseeing the vision’s implementation. Saudi officials later Monday were to present a broad overview of the country’s most extensive economic shake-up in decades. The steep drop in oil prices has given new urgency to...

Dear College Students, I remember the stress of college. The anxiety of papers due. The uncertainty of relationships. The concerns about what I was going to do after graduation. I get it. It’s tough. I also remember professors who challenged our perceived notions of “right” and “wrong.” I recall being exposed to movies, books and papers that I massively disagreed with. Looking back, I can visualize the heated debates between people with different perspectives. I can almost hear the yelling, the screaming, the passion and the CHALLENGES. You’re studying and learning during the Industrial Revolution of our generation. It’s exciting....

The unveiling of Tesla’s Model 3 electric car was no less than the lifting of the final curtain on a game-changing energy revolution. And if we follow that revolution to its core, we arrive at lithium—our new gasoline for which the feeding frenzy has only just begun. Unveiled just on 31 March and already with 325,000 orders, it seems that the market, too, understands that the Model 3 is more than just another electric vehicle. In one week alone, Tesla has racked up around $14 billion in implied future sales, making it the “biggest one-week launch of any product ever.”...

The New Yorker‘s James Surowiecki writes this week about how Big Business has been a massively effective force for gay rights. He writes that progressives are used to seeing Big Business as the bad guy, but the pro-LGBT activist role corporations have taken on complicates matters. More:

Growth: Suddenly, all of the talk on Wall Street and Main Street is about whether the American economy is sinking into another recession. Who’s to blame? Try the White House and the political class. The warning signs of a sharp slowdown abound. Industrial production fell 0.6% in March and has now fallen 2% over the past 12 months. Corporate profits, real median wages, and business investment are basically flat.... ...U.S. growth has slowed down over the past six months. ... ...We keep asking: Where is the growth supposed to come from? Consider the battering that business and investors have been...

<p>The move ups the political tension between the city and Uber and Lyft. When faced with class-action lawsuits from drivers seeking status as employees, the companies have vigorously maintained that the drivers are independent contractors. [City Treasurer Jose] Cisneros is in essence turning that argument back on them and saying: If that’s the case, the drivers have to register as independent contractors for a business license.</p>

President Obama came into office railing against “fat cat bankers” and “corporate jet owners.” He’s going out much the same way... ...first target: Set-top boxes cable companies typically rent... ...cable industry, clearly surprised by Obama’s latest move, fought back, faulting the president for “inflammatory rhetoric” and for politicizing a matter that ought to be handled by independent regulators. No matter. Obama says his administration plans to take more such actions... ...With the exception of his support for free trade, Obama is center-left on most economic issues, favoring higher taxes on the wealthy... ...more rules and regulations to rein in business...

If a fierce political campaign can be likened to war, then the war we are watching played out in both the Republican and Democratic presidential primaries proves the ancient saying, “In war, truth is the first casualty.” The leading candidates for the presidential nominations of their parties – the Republican's Donald Trump and Democrat's Hillary Clinton – have taken great liberty with the truth, or have badly missed the point, on issues important to Latino voters. With more than 66,000 Latinos turning 18 each month, it’s critically important that presidential candidates recognize that Hispanics, and particularly the Hispanic community’s business...

More than 60 businesses including some of Missouri's biggest corporate names joined a coalition opposed to state legislation that would protect businesses objecting on religious grounds to same-sex marriages, the latest sign of a backlash against such proposals across the country. Agricultural giant Monsanto, prescription drug benefits manager Express Scripts, and pet food maker Nestle Purina are among employers to join the recently formed Missouri Competes, according to gay rights advocacy group PROMO, which released the list just hours before a House committee heard testimony from business, sports and religious groups. Dozens crammed in the Capitol basement for the late-night...

When was the last time you talked to a woman who had suffered, with regret, through the abortion process? As you listened to her tell her story, what did you learn? Did you hear her regret, frustration, embarrassment, and confusion? Any time abortion becomes part of the public debate, many people run to their corner with their predetermined position. Their mind is made up, and they have their position on the issue. I, like many women, return to one simple question that has served as a trustworthy guide over the years: “Who is being harmed?” Learning about harm comes from...

Everyone is familiar with oil giant Exxon Mobil, so it should be no surprise that investors have kept XOM shares under pressure as oil prices hover near lows that would have been unthinkable a few years ago. What many investors do not realize though is that Exxon is more than just an oil company – the firm also owns the fourth largest chemical company in the world, Exxon Mobil Chemical.

The Odds Rise of a Democratic Victory William A. Galston While all eyes have been turned toward the dramatic nominating contests in both political parties, the fundamentals that will shape the general-election contest have been shifting toward the Democrats. Candidates seeking to succeed a two-term incumbent of their own party face an uphill battle. All other things being equal, political scientists find, such candidates can expect to fall short of the incumbents’ re-election vote share by at least 4 percentage points. Applied to the 2012 results, this metric would yield a 47% share for this year’s Democratic nominee. On the...

Gov. Jerry Brown, casting a living wage as a moral imperative while questioning its economic rationale, signed legislation Monday raising California’s mandatory minimum to $15 an hour by 2022, acting within hours of a similar bill signing in New York. The bill’s enactment comes one week after Brown, Democratic lawmakers and labor leaders announced an agreement on the wage increase, averting a brawl on the November ballot. [snip] California political leaders and labor have struck a deal to raise the minimum wage to $15 per hour over the next seven years. One excited fast food worker hugged Gov. Jerry Brown...

The onslaught of criticism, economic sanctions and a lawsuit being leveled at Gov. Pat McCrory of North Carolina grew on Tuesday, as the largest corporation in his state joined the fight against a new law that eliminated anti-discrimination protections for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people. Bank of America, which has its headquarters in Charlotte, N.C., announced late Tuesday on Twitter that its leadership was joining over 80 chief executives, including Timothy D. Cook of Apple and Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook, in objecting to the new law. Earlier in the day, the chief executives published a letter, addressed to Mr....

What the heck is wrong with us? On Wednesday, Washington, D.C.’s entire Metro subway system shut down with almost no notice to perform emergency inspections, just days after a cable fire “crippled” three lines. The nation’s second-busiest rail system has been plagued by safety problems in recent years, including a 2015 incident where smoke from an electrical malfunction killed one person and a deadly 2009 crash on the system’s Red Line that killed nine people. And with a new Metro chief that has been vocal about returning to a culture that puts safety first, many say that Wednesday’s move is...