Free Republic

In 1965, Mary Jane McGuire, her husband Cyril and their three children received a letter from the Michigan State Highway Department. It informed them that their Lansing home, where the family had lived for the past decade, would be demolished to make way for construction of Interstate 496. The letter was followed by an offer of federal dollars to purchase their property, a number the McGuires felt was far below its actual value. The couple’s initial refusal to accept the offer meant they were one of the final families of their African-American neighborhood to be displaced for construction of the...

For many years, quantum computers have been within only the confines of the research lab. On Tuesday, though, IBM unveiled the IBM Q System One, billed as the first-ever quantum computer designed for businesses to put to their own use — though the company is clear that this is only the first step toward a broader revolution. Quantum computing is considered one of the most promising early-stage technologies out there today. That's because quantum computers can process exponentially more data and have the potential to completely transform entire industries. For example, they could streamline aerospace and military systems, calculate risk...

Despite President Trump's tit-for-tat trade barbs, America’s CEOs are not wasting anytime in taking advantage of his tax reform plan. Over $300 billion was repatriated to the U.S. in the first quarter, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) -- the most on record. “U.S. firms that used to build their factories overseas in order to avoid U.S. taxes, they stopped in their tracks because of the tax bill, they are bringing all the money home,” said Kevin Hassett, chair of the president's Council of Economic Advisers, during an interview on FOX Business’ Varney & Co. in June.

GATE CITY — As construction on the Route 23 bridges in Weber City continues, one small business owner has voiced concerns about the effect it’s having on her profits. Mary Murphy, owner of Gold & Guns in Weber City, told the Scott County Board of Supervisors on Wednesday that her business has declined noticeably over the past year or so. Though she attributes some of that decline to the lingering effects of the last recession, she believes the construction — and its estimated completion time of summer 2019 — is the main problem. “I do believe that summer of 2019...

The Los Angeles chapter of Black Lives Matter is calling for people to resist “white capitalism” and President Trump by only buying from black businesses during the holiday season. On Sunday, the allegedly official Black Lives Matter-LA Twitter account posted that they are “dreaming of a #BlackXmas” that involves people withholding their “dollars from White capitalism” and, instead, spending that money in the black community: We’re dreaming of a #BlackXmas...where folks withhold dollars from White capitalism and use resources to #BuildBlackCommunity. Instead of spending, DONATE to a Black organization as a holiday gift for your loved ones or #BuyBlack. Go...

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan’s proposal to add toll lanes to three of the most congested highways in the Washington suburbs reaches beyond similar proposals that stalled over the years after being deemed too expensive or disruptive to adjacent communities. Hogan’s $9 billion plan would add four toll lanes each to Maryland’s portion of the Capital Beltway (I-495) and to I-270 from the Beltway to Frederick. It would also widen the Baltimore-Washington Parkway by four toll lanes. The project would be built using a public-private partnership in what Hogan (R) has said would be the largest such deal for highways in...

In mid-October, Upwork, a global freelancing platform where businesses and individual freelance workers connect and collaborate online, released the results of a new study on the gig economy, in conjunction with Freelancers Union, titled “Freelancing in America: 2017” — the most comprehensive measure of the U.S. independent workforce. This is the fourth annual study of the 57.3 million American freelance workers, which amounts to 36 percent of the U.S. workforce. This chunk of the world’s top economy contributes around $1.4 trillion per year, an almost 30 percent increase year-over-year, per Upwork’s report. The amazing takeaway from the world’s largest freelancing...

Gov. Larry Hogan never met a highway project he didn’t like. He’s a 1950s type of politician – solve all the state’s transportation gridlock and congestion by paving the countryside with lanes of new concrete.He’s got a $9 billion plan that is a lollapalooza: Let construction giants build and pay for toll lanes on the Capital Beltway and the busy I-270 corridor from the beltway to Frederick – 70 miles of exclusive Lexus lanes – and let those companies reap the toll rewards so they can recoup a staggering $7.6 billion investment (the actual cost is likely to be substantially...

'These laws are telling people to either toe the line or get out of the marketplace' The lawyers for the Christian owners of a Minnesota video-services company are firing back after a federal judge there called the couple’s efforts to limit their wedding work to heterosexual couples “akin to a ‘White Applicants Only’ sign.” Carl and Angel Larsen operate Telescope Media, a video business that the Larsens want to include wedding videos. But they have a problem in the recently amended Minnesota Human Rights Act, which forbids businesses to treat people differently based upon “race, color, national origin, sex, disability...

People in New Orleans, Louisiana, have been voicing their discontent about the intrusion of the Interstate 10, or I-10, Freeway in their lives ever since it was completed in 1990. After years of debating and studying, they are ready to repair the damage it has caused with what they are calling a Cultural Innovation District. The community will not remove the Interstate since the city cannot afford it, and in the end, the cost of removing it wouldn’t measure up to its value, according to studies conducted. As a result, the city and designers decided to meet halfway and resurrect...

MOLINE -- Building the new Interstate 74 bridge will take years, but certification to bid on the jobs building it should only take about 90 days. The Illinois Department of Transportation held a Disadvantaged Business Enterprise certification and supportive services workshop Monday evening at the Moline Public Library, 3210 41st St. At the workshop, officials from IDOT shared information on how those who are in presumed disadvantaged groups can bid on contracts associated with the project. To qualify for DBE certification, the business owner must have a personal net worth of less than $1.32 million. Engineering consulting businesses must average...

Boulder City is planning a beautification project for Nevada Highway, and several local merchants are concerned with how it could affect their businesses. As part of the Boulder City Parkway complete street project, the plan is to widen the sidewalks, create bike lanes, improve pedestrian and bike crossings, improve the median, and create bus turnouts from Gingerwood Street to Buchanan Boulevard. All these additions will take away space from the businesses along that portion of the roadway. Chris Gatlin, owner of Woodchuck’s, is concerned about the lack of space he’ll have once the sidewalk and road are widened. Woodchuck’s, at...

In yet another sign of impending Statism/Corporatism, businesses are appealing to national governments to relax immigration rules in an effort to increase their profits. Corporations don’t have children who need a school place, they don’t have elderly relatives waiting for a hospital bed; they don’t live in communities that are slowly being segregated and destroyed. They are concerned with profits, and as such care not for the adverse effects of mass immigration. Prêt a Manger is a designer sandwich shop that is a worldwide chain that made £676 million in 2015, and profits were up 14.5% to £84 million. This...

On Monday, Bret Stephens wrote an article in the Wall Street Journal called “Doomed to Stagnate.” The article was predicated on a little-known annual survey by the World Bank known as “Doing Business,” a document that ranks the business climate of nearly every nation around the world. Most Americans might expect the largest capitalist economy in the world, the United States, to lead the pack — but they’d be wrong. In fact, most Americans might be surprised to learn that not only are we not on top, but we have become less economically competitive in the world since Obama took...

Americans from all corners of the economy seem to be enjoying the conditions a lot more since the election of Donald Trump. Nearly every measure of consumer, business, or executive confidence has gained in the month since the election according to Michelle Meyer, chief US economist at Bank of America Merrill Lynch. "The data clearly show that consumers, investors, and business CEOs have all become more optimistic since the election," wrote Meyer in a note to clients on Thursday. Everything from regional manufacturing indexes to consumer confidence surveys to investor sentiment have ticked up since November 8. The only survey...

A spreadsheet circulating on social media encourages people to boycott a list of Pittsburgh businesses with ownership, which may support President-elect Donald Trump. The list was created by Liana Maneese who said she was inspired after seeing a list of national businesses to boycott. "It's not just Trump supporters. It's rather what they stand for. Deeply seated fear that fuels the oppression and hatred of any group different than themselves," said Maneese.

Home Depot Co-Founder Bernie Marcus on the current business climate and Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton's potential impact on business.

Possibly the defining business trend coming out of the financial crisis has been a "startup boom." Everyone is building an app or starting their own business it seems. This image, however, may be just an illusion, according to Michelle Meyer, US economist at Bank of America Merrill Lynch. Both the formation of firms (for example, McDonald's as a whole) and establishments (an individual McDonald's restaurant), have dropped off precipitously since the financial crisis and remained low. This is important, according to Meyer, because new businesses typically hire faster and produce higher levels of productivity than firms that have been around...

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel has disclosed that his record property tax hike plan entails significant cuts for nearly 300,000 homeowners, leaving Chicago businesses predicting they will face hikes of up to 50 percent. The second-term mayor last week proposed a $544 million property tax increase, the city's biggest ever, to help fix one of the worst-funded city pension systems in America ... Emanuel's office, which has said one in four dollars of the tax hike would come from the city's central business district, did not contest the 50-percent figure. But a mayoral aide insisted Emanuel's plan is his best effort...

A federal judge on Friday declined to halt the Obama administration's controversial water rule nationwide, rebuffing the request of 13 states that are battling with the Environmental Protection Agency.Judge Ralph Erickson of the North Dakota U.S. District Court ruled that there are “significant prudential reasons to limit the scope” of the injunction he already gave the 13 states last week. Other courts have denied injunctions, he said, and some states want to implement the “Waters of the United States” rule. “On the one hand, there is a desirability for uniformity regarding a national rule with national application,” Erickson wrote. “On...