Free Republic

Money Paul Frees

Most people, perhaps even the super-wealthy, who are usually accountable to auditors, want to know where their money goes. This is especially true when they detect money for which they can't account. Not so with the federal government. Some recent headlines reflect a disturbing pattern that has contributed to our $17 trillion debt and to a growing cynicism among the public, which increasingly regards government in a negative light. Here are just a few recent gems gleaned from reading newspaper stories and wire service reports: "Pentagon to destroy $1 billion in ammunition." This USA Today story says, "It is impossible...

White House adviser John Podesta told reporters Monday afternoon that Congress could not derail the Obama administration’s efforts to unilaterally enact policies to fight global warming. Podesta said that the president was committed to using executive orders to pass regulations under the Clean Air Act to limit carbon dioxide emissions that they say cause global warming.

SPRINGFIELD — Described by the prosecution as a “scourge” on Chicago, ex-Country Clubs Hills Police Chief Regina Evans was sentenced late Thursday to five years in prison for stealing more than $900,000 in state grant money. Opting against the 10-year, one-month sentence that federal prosecutors sought, U.S. District Judge Sue Myerscough nonetheless told Evans that she “broke the law in magnificent fashion with a magnificent fraud.” The heart of the government’s fraud case against Evans centered on her misuse of a $1.25 million state work-training grant that was part of her effort to revive the Regal Theater on the South...

...the Obama administration Tuesday opened the door for states to collect tolls on interstate highways to raise revenue for roadway repairs. The proposal, contained in a four-year, $302 billion White House transportation bill, would reverse a long-standing federal prohibition on most interstate tolling.

**SNIP** In a statement, the Democratic senator said her 2006 GOMESA legislation has already secured millions for the state, and she noted her committee already has held a hearing on her revenue sharing legislation. "I am sure the people of Louisiana are happy that Bill Cassidy has finally joined the fight for revenue sharing for the Gulf Coast," Landrieu said. She added: "Unfortunately, Rep. Cassidy voted for a bill that makes Louisiana wait to share in this revenue, and that is inconceivable and unacceptable." Over the years, state officials have argued Louisiana was owed a greater share of the offshore...

What defines low socioeconomic status? Objectively, it means fewer economic resources and educational opportunities, less access to elite schools and clubs, more subordinate positions in the workplace, and increased levels of stress. For the upper-class, it’s just the inverse: more resources, more leisure, less stress. ......................................................... From the realities facing each group, you might assume that members of the lower-class would be more focused on meeting their own survival needs and, thereby, prioritize their needs over those of others. As a result, you might also expect them to be less trustworthy as compared to members of the upper-class who, given...

As the statewide debate over school funding continues, an Oakland County superintendent whose district receives about $515 more per student today than it did in 2010 says the district is getting less money from the state. West Bloomfield School District Superintendent Gerald Hill made his claim on April 11 in MIRS, a Lansing-based news site. The district is receiving less in the "state foundation allowance," which has dropped from $9,116 per student in 2009-10 to $8,676 per student in 2013-14. But the state foundation allowance is only a part of the state funding a school district receives. West Bloomfield received...

Cliven Bundy, can a cowboy defeat the Marxists? In the end, there is only one reason why the Bundy ranch was besieged. President Obama had to have taken the lead. He knew it was going on and he sanctioned it. Beyond oil, solar, and Chinese Communists with money, lurks Obama’s Agenda. InfoWars has found a smoking gun in the case of embattled rancher Cliven Bundy. A lucrative contract – which will benefit Harry Reid and his son Rory Reid – specifically mentions the need to rid the land of Cliven Bundy. In addition, Natural News pointed out that the BLM...

Friday, April 11, 2014 The Truth About Buying Gold And Silver Every day, the radio airways and cable news broadcasts are filled with advertising from "gold bug" companies who are trying to convince you to buy both gold and silver. There are dozens of them: Goldline, Lear Capital, Rosland, Merit, and so on. All of whom claim that, by holding these precious metals, you are being protected against inflation as a result of massive government spending and the devaluation of the dollar, or, protected against another recession, depression, or stock market crash. The problem is that all of those claims...

The Kalamazoo Public Schools get about $53 more per student in state funding this year than the district received in 2010-2011. Yet Michael Rice, the district's superintendent, said in a recent column in Bridge Magazine that the Kalamazoo schools and others across the state were better off three years ago. Rice, like others asking for more money from the state, makes the case in his column that funding has decreased because some schools receive less money today from the state's foundation allowance. The foundation allowance is a base per-pupil dollar amount that schools receive, but is just part of the...

It's tax time. I'm too scared to do my taxes. I'm sure I'll get something wrong and my enemies in government will persecute -- no, I mean prosecute -- me. So I hired Bob. Bob's my accountant. I like Bob, but I don't like that I have to have an accountant. I don't want to spend time keeping records and talking to Bob about boring things I don't understand, and I really don't want to pay Bob. But I have to. What a waste. Once, I calculated what I could do with the money I give Bob. I could have...

Paper currency is dirty and is a major transmitter of disease as it goes from unwashed hand to unwashed hand. It is easily lost and stolen, and can be easily destroyed by getting wet or burned. It physically wears out in a short time and is costly and troublesome to replace. So why do we still use the filthy stuff in the electronic age? When given a choice, people find credit cards, debit cards and bank account electronic payments more convenient than cash. In many parts of the world, payments can be made from cellphone to cellphone, with the phone...

Actor Rob Lowe identified himself as an “independent moderate” this weekend in an interview with the New York Times. Lowe, a former Democrat, spoke about his views on government, saying: “My thing is personal freedoms, freedoms for the individual to love whom they want, do with what they want. In fact, I want the government out of almost everything.” The former teen heartthrob and current Parks and Recreation actor spoke negatively of political party loyalty as well: “Belonging to one party is acceptable. But my days of just ticking the party box are long over. I judge the candidates for...

Add Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D., Nev.) to the list of Senate Democrats who have benefitted from Koch money. In fact, he might as well pay one of his grandchildren to stitch Koch insignias onto his suit to denote their sponsorship: According to campaign finance records, former Koch Industries lobbyist Robert P. Hall III donated $500 to Reid’s campaign in 2003. Hall worked for Koch Industries from 1998 to 2004, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. He was previously a lobbyist for INVISTA, the Koch Industries subsidiary that Democrats are targeting in their latest campaign to “other” the...

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Bitcoin is making news again. Angry investors in the virtual currency are joining a class action to recover nearly US$500 million “lost” when Mt. Gox, a Tokyo-based Bitcoin exchange, crashed at the end of February 2014. The collapse of the exchange is reported to be the result of theft by hackers. In another recent story, US magazine Newsweek claims to have tracked down the mysterious founder of the “crypto-currency”, a Mr Nakamoto in California. Bitcoin’s website names “Satoshi Nakamoto” as the currency’s founder but many believe that is a pseudonym. Bitcoin is associated with some high profile criminal investigations, including...

The state of Michigan is expected to pay $860 million for economic development credits and programs in fiscal year 2014 and most of that money is slated for politically favored business such as Hollywood's movie industry, according to the Michigan Department of Treasury. "The spending we are doing on economic development is large," said James Hohman, assistant director of fiscal policy at the Mackinac Center for Public Policy. "And the majority of these expenses are for decisions made years ago. The state shouldn't be in the business of awarding tax money to favored industries." Michigan could certainly use that money....

On Wednesday evening, President Obama was being kept up to date on the developments from the mass shooting at Fort Hood while reportedly attending fundraisers for the 2014 election cycle. According to White House spokesman Josh Earnest, Obama is in the loop while at the fundraisers. Obama will be in Chicago for four and a half hours, and the events have largely been closed to the media, with radio and TV reporters banned from attendance. Only one print reporter will be allowed to provide press pool notes

Shepherd Smith on Fox News Channel ... NOW