Free Republic

Cash-strapped counties to fund election costs MADISON — Wisconsin's political parties may be trying every trick possible, from spoiler candidates to lawsuits, to manipulate the recall elections scheduled this summer. But the people on the ground, who have little opportunity to affect the process, will be facing the consequences. For the officials running the elections, it's a nasty and expensive headache that comes at the height of summer when employees typically take vacation, and voters' attention is anywhere but on elections. “For this time of year, it’s very hectic,” Fond du Lac County Clerk Lisa Freiberg said. Still, candidates and...

NEW YORK (AP) -- President Barack Obama turned to the bright lights of Broadway and celebrity backers Thursday night to raise money for his re-election bid. The presidential motorcade crisscrossed Manhattan as Obama worked his way through three events that raised money for the Democratic Party and his 2012 campaign. Key Obama fundraisers have been asked to raise $60 million for that effort by the end of June. The fundraisers included an event on a Broadway stage, where Obama spoke to supporters who bought tickets, starting at $100, to watch a performance of the musical "Sister Act." The fundraisers were...

Report: $6B missing in Iraq may have been stolenBy Tucker Reals June 14, 2011 7:35 AM The man Congress put in charge of auditing the billions of dollars dumped on Iraq after Saddam Hussein was toppled has told the Los Angels Times he can't rule out the possibility that $6.6 billion in cash sent from the U.S. was stolen. Special inspector general for Iraq reconstruction Stuart Bowen told the Times the missing money may represent "the largest theft of funds in national history." It was not, it is crucial to note here, U.S. tax-payer dollars which have gone missing in...

Pacific Investment Management Company co-founder Bill Gross is starting to talk about what "financial repression" means for the bond markets, which America has not seen since the darkest days of the 1930's when the term was first used. I'm starting to talk about what financial repression means for Americans. ~snip~ There would be no cash left in the vaults and no cash left in the drawers. Without cash reserves, banks would not be able to fund credit card purchases, debit card purchases, or supply ATM machines with dollar bills. They would not be able to underwrite small business loans either....

Daley Can Take $1.1 Million With Him Unlike his brothers, lawyer Michael and banker Bill, Mayor Richard M. Daley didn’t use the family name to amass wealth. He used it to amass power. But now, the mayor has a chance to convert his power into wealth. Which is what being a Chicago politician is all about, after all. Because he chose not to run for re-election, Daley still has $1.1 million in his campaign fund. In 1998, the General Assembly banned politicians from converting leftover campaign money for personal use. But, of course, the law included a grandfather clause, so...

Republican legislators think they have a way to keep Minnesotans on welfare from spending their benefits on booze, smokes and lottery tickets: They'd keep them from taking more than $20 in benefits in cash. Right now, welfare recipients can use their electronic benefits cards to withdraw much of their monthly allotment in cash. The proposed legislation would require more people on welfare to get a second card to use for cash withdrawal, and would limit that to no more than $20 a month.

The U.S. Treasury is depleting its cash at an accelerating pace, drawing down its cash balance by $81.6 billion in the just the first four days of March, leaving the federal government with only $108.9 billion on hand, according to the Daily Treasury Statement released Monday afternoon. At the beginning of February, the Treasury had $349.1 billion in cash on hand, but spent that down by $158.5 billion during the month, ending February with only $190.6 billion on hand. Were the government to continue to draw down its cash balance

HOENIG The president is insisting on getting people to drive electric cars literally no matter how many tax payer dollars it takes in the process. $2.5 billion in grants for electric cars, $2 billion in grants for batteries, $250,000 to rectify the plug in stations, the $7,500 rebate you talked about, $10 million for towns to promote electric use of those vehicles, and for what? GM sold like 321 volts last month. This is ethanol 2.0. It's a waste of tax payer dollars and it just shows how incredibly depraved the green movement is in this country. BYRNES 0.1 percent...

Establish smart spending habits. Live like you're poor. How do you do that? Drive your cars into the ground, don't eat out very much, avoid expensive and potentially unhealthy processed foods, buy food in bulk, buy just enough clothes to fit your needs, and use public transportation. ... Use credit cards only as a convenience to avoid carrying cash; limit your credit card spending so that you can easily pay off the balance each month. Make every dollar count with your spending, so you can free up money to invest in the future. Get healthy. One of the best things...

Earlier this month, Microsoft borrowed $2.25 billion in unsecured debt. What in the world possesses a company with $40 billion in cash and short-term securities to go out and borrow money? Rock-bottom interest rates are one reason. But the bizarre, byzantine U.S. tax code seems to be another. Microsoft declined to comment on whether its recent borrowing was partly driven by tax considerations. But, like many purportedly cash-rich companies, Microsoft can't bring home much of its cash without writing a fat check to the Internal Revenue Service. Politicians have been carping about the more than $2 trillion in cash sitting...

This week, state Sen. Michael Rubio will introduce legislation that would prohibit food stamps from being used to purchase "junk food" or prepared meals at fast-food restaurants. "The question is what should we be using taxpayer funds to purchase," the Bakersfield Democrat said Tuesday. "In my opinion, we should be focusing on what people need, not what they want." Those needs include foods found in the traditional food pyramid, he said, including breads and cereals, meats, beans, nuts, dairy products and other protein sources, and lots of fruits and vegetables. Rubio's idea is not yet an official Senate bill. But...

I am selling a piece of real estate and purchasing one for a lesser price. I need to put the balance into something that will not degrade in value while I fix up the new digs. Any suggestions? How does one manage precious metals? I figure it would be close to 100 lbs of silver. ?

DISCOVERY BAY, Calif. -Officials in a California town voted to ban cash transactions for services including water bills, park reservations and public records requests. The Discovery Bay Community Services District board voted to ban cash transactions for all town services to save the town money and ensure the safety of town clerks who will no longer have to handle cash, the Contra Costa Times reported Friday. Directors Mark Simon, Chris Steele and Kevin Graves said the policy, which takes effect in May, is also aimed at saving staff time spent taking cash payments to the bank. Don Flint, a city...

Republicans may starve financial reform of cashBy Dave Clarke and Roberta Rampton WASHINGTON | Mon Jan 3, 2011 11:44am EST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republicans in the new Congress could put the budget squeeze on two powerful regulatory agencies to slow President Barack Obama's crackdown on Wall Street. A Democratic-controlled Congress pushed through the Dodd-Frank bank reform laws last year and regulators were counting on a big budget boost to police the $600 trillion over-the-counter derivatives market -- blamed for much of the excess behind the 2007-2009 financial crisis. But the last Congress failed to deliver on the funding, and that...

David Rosenberg Explains Why Corporations Are Rolling In Dough, And You're Not Joe Weisenthal Nov. 2, 2010, 9:59 AM David Rosenberg of Gluskin-Sheff explains why corporations are sitting pretty right now, and you're not. WHERE’S THE INCOME? Well, it is concentrated at the corporate level. Here is the story. Companies have no reason to hire or pay their workers more because they are sitting on so much idle capacity. So, cost-cutting and productivity gains manage to propel corporate bottom-line performance, hence acting as a critical antidote to lagging revenue growth. Remember, even at the business level, this has been a...

She was there to promote a book about angels, but the hosts of US chat show The View probably never expected Jane Seymour to reveal that her family is being watched over by a very famous one. The former Bond girl says that she believes her teenage son is channelling the spirit of late country music star Johnny Cash. The actress, who was close friends with the legendary musician and his wife June Carter made the head-scratching admission during an appearance on US chat show The View. The Ring of Fire singer was godfather to her 14-year-old son Johnny, who...

The most persuasive argument for legalizing pot might just be a dollar sign. California's pot crop is worth $14 billion, according to a state report. The Press Democrat points out that crushes the wine crop which comes in at $2 billion. Legalization would be a huge shot in the arm for plenty of ancillary industries, such as banking and construction.

It doesn't pay to be a Democratic incumbent in 2010. House and Senate Democrats — all the way up to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid — are being outraised by GOP rivals as the cash follows the momentum. Fundraising by outside groups also heavily favors Republicans, suggesting that Democrats can't count on a last-minute cash surge to keep a tough midterm cycle from getting even tougher.

With cash lead, GOP adds to its targetsBy Dan Eggen and T.W. Farnam Saturday, October 9, 2010 The Republican Party and its allies are using a clear financial advantage to pursue a rare opportunity this year, spreading resources across an unusually large number of races, including many considered safe for Democrats just weeks ago. The conservative push further endangers Democratic control of the House and Senate in a political environment already highly favorable for the GOP. Rather than pursuing the usual political strategy of focusing on close races, Republicans and conservative groups have spent money on longshots as well -...

YORK – At least $1 million in cash was discovered inside a tractor-trailer Friday afternoon during a routine inspection along the turnpike. Maine State Police said they found the stash of cash after detaining the driver and a passenger while they examined driver logs. The driver, 35-year-old Jhon Rivera-Ramirez, was ultimately arrested for falsifying logs. He was later released on bail. State police said Ramirez was traveling with a passenger, Jose Javier Perez, 46, who was not charged in the stop. Police did not say where the men were coming from or where they were going. State Police Lt. Thomas...