Free Republic

The state of Indiana has committed $475 million for what it calls “transformational” road infrastructure projects throughout the state. Gov. Eric Holcomb announced the state would commit $75 million for improvements to 48 miles of U.S. 231, $200 million for a 25-mile extension of State Road 101 and $200 million to the Indiana approach to the Interstate 69 Ohio River Crossing. “Indiana’s location and extensive transportation network make our state one of the most attractive places in the country to do business and create jobs,” Holcomb said in a press release. “These projects will better connect our communities, enhance commerce...

Obama's Treasury Department is blaming TARP payments and other accounting quirks to explain the jump in the US deficit. But actually, it's more. AFP: "The Treasury reported a deficit of $829 billion for the October-March period, compared with $717 billion a year earlier, as revenue rose a sluggish 6.9 percent as the economic recovery slowly gained pace. The Treasury argued that the pace of increase in the deficit was deceptive because of large one-off reductions in expenditures made during the first half of fiscal 2010, compared with previous and subsequent periods. "Those included a $115 billion reduction in funds spent...

Some highlights: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) spent $2,993 in taxpayer money on flowers between June and October. House Majority Whip James Clyburn has a thing for Chantilly Donuts, spending about $265 at the Virginia shop in the past quarter. And Rep. Tim Walz (D-Minn.), a fiscal conservative, decided to give about $2,000 in unused office funds back to the government to help reduce the deficit. Entire source doc embedded.

It seems like California’s official campaign finance watchdog is barking a little louder these days about the role of money in politics. And its top target: the murky world of interest groups who ostensibly operate independently of the campaigns run by candidates for office. The Fair Political Practices Commission recently began a new effort to shine light on the millions of dollars in “independent expenditures” spent in support or opposition of various candidates. IEs, as they’re known to politicos, gained special prominence after the passage of Proposition 34 in 2000. The ballot measure was marketed as a way to dampen...

DC Watson on reality and dhimmi wishful thinking: The warnings came for decades. The threats of Islamic terrorism in the West, once thought to be empty, have become all too real for everyone living in the civilized world. While it is absolutely appropriate for Westerners to practice tolerance of immigrants, Islamic migrants, not all but many, bring with them a duty to participate in Muhammad’s fantasy of an Islamic planet earth. There is no sense in wasting time trying to “change the mindset” of this culture. They are a driven people. Driven by a backward, racist, sexist ideology, directed by...

Almost all great powers dedicate a considerable proportion of their finances on defence and China is no exception. However, while the defence budget of other nations are relatively more transparent, China's remains a mystery. Though China has been declaring its official defence budget for a long time, it is dismissed as a sham and a cover-up. There have been several attempts to estimate China's actual defence expenditure, but a unanimous conclusion is yet to be reached. In this context, the publication of a recent RAND study (Modernising China's Military: Opportunities and Constraints, 2005) is worthy of note. Using new methodological...

The national defense budget could be cut by nearly a quarter and still leave the United States military in shape to take on all likely threats and fulfill its role in the war on terrorism, says Charles Pena, director of defense policy studies at the Cato Institute. Furthermore, the United States is outspending the rest of the world at an astounding rate. According to the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), in 2003: Total U.S. defense expenditures were $404.9 billion, an amount exceeding the combined defense expenditures of the next 13 countries and more than double the combined defense spending...

new Government Accountability report shows that private airport screeners do a better job at detecting dangerous object than the bureaucrats at the Transportation Security Administration (TSA). This report is the last in a long series, all of which demonstrate the poor performances of the 45,000-employee bureaucracy. So isn't it time for Congress to acknowledge its mistake and abolish TSA? After the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks, Congress ordered all but five commercial airports to switch from privately employed screeners to a government workforce. Three years after the federal takeover, TSA is inundated with complaints. The GAO reported several times on...

Tax Day is a good time to take a hard look at the way government spends your tax dollars - if you have the stomach for it. Since Sept. 11, 2001, Congress has poured nearly $6 billion into homeland security, and this year's $1.7 billion appropriation represents a 306 percent increase over last year's. But Congress has also ignored the 9/11 Commission's recommendation to use this colossal sum primarily to protect the nation's most vulnerable and strategic targets - including Washington. Instead, hundreds of millions of dollars have been squandered on political pork, according to House Homeland Security Committee Chairman...

By far the most dramatic menace to this nation’s future and safety emanates from the cauldrons of Islamist extremism. But Americans are also in danger of losing their country on another front. A far larger incursion into the American homeland is being carried out via its southern border. Though an ongoing problem for many years, its instigators now apparently believe they are ready to take their attack to the next level. During a January 28 radio interview, Mexican Foreign Secretary Luis Ernesto Derbez has threatened the State of Arizona with legal action through the international courts in order to overturn...

I have heard much discussion as of late regarding Defense and Education spending as percentages of the Federal budget. Many on the Right have argued that defense spending is a fraction of the Federal expenditures on Education. But, as I look at the issue, just in terms of raw numbers, this argument does not make enough sense to me to even attempt its use. Could someone help me understand just this argument as it breaks down?... or point me to a thread or article that engages this discussion? On the surface, it seems to me to be a bogus argument...

The purpose of FreeRepublic.com's multiple message boards is to limit the topics for each board to particular topics. Posting the same message on all the boards defeats the purpose of multiple-boards for special topics. It is very annoying to see the same message on every bulletin board. PLEASE! DO THE READERS A FAVOR. STOP CROSS-POSTING YOUR MESSAGES!

Alan Greenspan is making a spirited call for restraint in expenditures as the KEY focus in addressing the budget deficit. He has clearly called for addressing the spending side before considering reversing the tax-cuts. He is also calling for reforms to Social Security and Medicare to ensure that promised benefits will be there.

<p>Another bad mark for Louisiana But, is state as bad as ranking might indicate?</p> <p>Eugene Sutherland / Staff Reporter Posted on November 3, 2003 A recent national ranking of the educational prowess of each state shows Louisiana 47th in terms of the overall education level of its residents.</p>

Antismoking activists once had high hopes that the landmark $246 billion tobacco settlement would have a major impact on smoking, but a new study from Yale shows that almost none of the money spent so far has been used for prevention and cessation programs. Approximately $32 billion has been paid out since the settlement was reached in 1998, with much of the money being used to pay the bills in a growing number of states with budget shortfalls. "This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for governors and state legislators to address the leading cause of preventable death in the United States,"...