Free Republic

Facebook (FB) claims to have more than 800 million monthly users. The postulate seems to be that imposing a subscription fee would spell destruction for Facebook, driving away an enormous number of users. I agree. Getting that degree of "critical mass" is catching lighting in a bottle. If Facebook should blow it now, they will never get it back. Look at Classmates.com. For all intents and purposes... (continued)

Connecticut --(Ammoland.com)- Since October 1, 2009 the Department of Public Safety (now DESPP) has been collecting an unlawful tax on the right to bear arms in Connecticut. The DESPP has utilized the local issuing authorities in towns across Connecticut as agents of the state to collect a $50 state background check fee. Local police departments are authorized by law to request and receive state background checks at no cost and do so on a regular basis. Prior to October 1, 2009 this fee exemption was exercised in the investigation into the background of permit applicants. DESPP changed the permit process...

"Unintended Consequence Fee" intended to chide Transportation Department Spirit Airlines is angry over a new Department of Transportation rule—and it's making sure customers know it, by slapping a $2 "Department of Transportation Unintended Consequence Fee" on all tickets. The new rule, which went into effect last week, requires airlines to give customers a full refund, without additional fees, if the customer requests one within 24 hours of booking a flight, USA Today explains. That may sound innocent, but Spirit insists that it's "costing customers millions," arguing that it will lead to unfilled seats on flights, forcing the airline to spread...

Hawaii -–(Ammoland.com)-Fellow gun owners, Councilman Berg is at it again, and needs our help. In response to the $15 per hour fee now being charged at Koko Head Shooting Complex, he has introduced two new bills, Bills 1 and 60. These two bills will be heard by the council on the 25th of January, so as in competitive shooting, speed is of the essence! Both bills pertain to the charging of fees at Koko Head Shooting Complex, a topic which is near and dear to all our hearts. Bill 1 would change the wording of the fees to exclude non-profit...

Verizon Wireless to charge $2 for one-time payments by credit card, online or by phone. NEW YORK (AP) -- Verizon Wireless, the country's largest cellphone company, said Thursday that it will start charging $2 for every payment subscribers make over the phone or online with their credit cards. The company said this "convenience fee" will be introduced Jan. 15.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Starting in 2012, the government will charge a new fee to your health insurance plan for research to find out which drugs, medical procedures, tests and treatments work best. But what will Americans do with the answers? The goal of the research, part of a little-known provision of President Barack Obama’s health care law, is to answer such basic questions as whether that new prescription drug advertised on TV really works better than an old generic costing much less. But in the politically charged environment surrounding health care, the idea of medical effectiveness research is eyed with...

An appellate court has ruled that the state must pay the attorney's fees of a Longview man acquitted last year of four counts of assault after he pointed a gun at bouncers and staff outside a downtown Longview nightclub. "I'm free to waltz into court and say, ‘God damn it, give me my money,' " Longview attorney Duane Crandall, who represented defendant Brian Barnd-Spjut in the matter, said this week. A Cowlitz County jury ruled last year that Barnd-Spjut was acting in self defense when he pointed his gun at staff outside the now-defunct Kesler's Bar and Grill. The bouncers...

California State University trustees are proposing a 9 percent hike in undergraduate tuition beginning with the fall 2012 semester, unless the state gives the system more money. It would be the ninth basic fee increase in nine years for the nation's largest university system, which says higher tuition is the only way to keep up with rising enrollment and declining state support. "Our options are severely limited," CSU Chancellor Charles B. Reed said in a Monday morning news conference. "The state needs to step up and assume its historic role as the primary funder of the university." The $498 increase...

With the uproar over Bank of America introducing $5 monthly fees for the privilege of using their debit cards, there is an angle to this that everyone is missing - the law of unintended consequences. Wizbang's Jay Tea blogged about this very point over the weekend, and I want to take his point a bit further. The law of unintended consequences is going to be one of the chapters in my ongoing (which will end up being nine or ten parts) Economics for Politicians series, but this particular incident warranted its own post. First let's step back a minute...

As I detailed here in February in "Dick Durbin Is Stealing Your Free Checking," thanks to price controls on debit card transactions from the Durbin Amendment of the 2010 Dodd-Frank "financial reform" law, free checking is going the way of the dodo bird. The Durbin price controls on interchange fees -- the so-called "swipe fees" that retailers pay to bank and credit unions that process debit card transactions, go into effect this Saturday, October 1, and are already showing more dire effects than originally predicted. Not only is free checking disappearing at a rapid pace -- a new Bankrate.com survey...

WASHINGTON — It's not just millionaires who'd pay more under President Barack Obama's latest plan to combat the deficit. Air travelers, federal workers, military retirees, wealthier Medicare beneficiaries and people taking out new mortgages are among those who would pay more than $130 billion in new government revenues raised through new or increased fees. These fees are advertised as "savings" in administration budget documents.

(Reuters) - Bank of New York Mellon Corp told some of its biggest depositors this week it does not want their money. BNY Mellon said it is charging a fee to big corporate and asset management clients that deposit more money than average, because it has been overwhelmed by deposits. Global economic turmoil -- including the Greek debt crisis and the U.S. debt ceiling debate -- has driven BNY Mellon's large clients to sell riskier assets and move the proceeds to deposit accounts. The flood of cash is likely to raise BNY Mellon's U.S. deposit insurance fees and could weaken...

Board Member Resigns Amid School Bus Fee FlapAaron Sullivan: ‘I Will Pray For You’ UPDATED: 11:20 am EDT July 28, 2011 INDIANAPOLIS -- A Franklin Township school board member has resigned amid controversy over school bus fees. Aaron Sullivan, the only school board member to attend a town hall meeting on the topic Tuesday night, stepped down in an email to fellow board members and Superintendent Walter Bourke, 6News' Kara Kenney reported. **SNIP** Hundreds of people came to the meeting, many of whom directed their anger toward Sullivan over a $475-per-child bus fee charged by a third party, the nonprofit...

Neil Cavuto today..looks like user fees are in..billions of dollars..what ever fees there are... raise as many as possible..Air Lines...Food Inspection ect.. Can they fool us with user fees???? Time to e-mail

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9155J1V8XaM&feature=fvstTalk about ironic - Philadelphia to ban free speech - unless you got cash! Another attempt to take out the middle class by making it too expensive to participate. In Philadelphia if you don't have the cash you also get denied your first amendment rights. Hmmmmm Make this viral folks because the bull always starts small and keeps gaining momentum UNTIL it is stopped

Banks, in an attempt to wring more revenue out of customer accounts, are conjuring up new ways to raise fees on basic products like debit cards, cash machines and checking accounts. As regulation curtailing the financial institutions from levying certain charges on consumers has mounted over the past year, banks have had to dream up new fees to replace those now trimmed by laws. Banks are considering additional fees on credit cards and checking accounts. But they also are looking at new ways to make money on cash machines and especially debit cards as regulators pinch the cards' conventional revenue...

It may seem like airlines have thought of every possible way to squeeze more money out of air travelers, charging extra for everything from early boarding to checking bags. But hold on to your wallet: There's probably room for more fees. Might you eventually pay for holding your baby on your lap during a flight? Or talking to an airline employee during check in? The trend of a la carte pricing -- charging rock bottom prices for base fares, then adding fees for anything extra -- helped domestic airlines deliver the biggest profits in a decade last year. The industry...

San Francisco lawmakers have approved a fee on alcohol distribution to help the city recover the cost of dealing with problem drinkers, but the measure faces a likely mayoral veto.

Last year, Huntington Indiana's Mayor Steve Updike started laying off workers and this year changed trash pick up to bi weekly because of a budget shortfall. He then went on to propose a service fee for the citizens of Huntington. He has since brought some emergency workers back and started weekly trash pick up. That leaves the service fee.....

At the Tuesday night meeting of the Huntington City Council, over a hundred citizens voiced their outrage at a proposed city service fee.