Free Republic

The media has hyper-obsessed over the Kansas tax hike this year and has sold this as a repudiation of "supply side economics." But the real story in the states has been the catastrophic effects of "tax and spend" fiscal policy in Illinois. Last week Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner continued his three-year standoff with House Speaker for Life Mike Madigan's liberal Democratic machine over a $5 billion annual income-tax hike. The Democrats have dug in their heels. Anyone who thinks this soak-the-rich scheme will solve Illinois' long-term budget crisis should have their head examined. Illinois already ranks in the top three...

President Trump on Friday signed Veterans Affairs reform legislation meant to protect whistleblowers while making it easier to fire problematic employees at the department. The Department of Veterans Affairs Accountability and Whistleblower Protection Act passed by Congress earlier this month streamlines the process to remove, demote, or suspend VA employees for poor performance or misconduct. In addition, it authorizes the VA secretary to recoup any bonuses awarded to employees who have acted improperly. “Veterans have fulfilled their duty to this nation and now, we must fulfill our duty to them,” Trump said. “So to every veteran who is here with...

A good deal of analysis has gone into James Hodgkinson, the Friend of Bernie and neosocialist wacko who tried to murder the Republicans in Congress by an act of terrorism. Yes, he hated Trump and all Republicans. Yes, he waxed poetic over high taxes and MSNBC. Yes, he was abusive to his foster children (one committed suicide by immolating herself with gasoline while the other ran away -- after Jimmy knocked her around -- and eventually died of a heroin overdose as a young adult.) Yes, he was estranged from his wife (gone since March to live in his van...

llinois is like Venezuela now, a fiscally broken state that has lost its will to live, although for the moment, we still have enough toilet paper. But before we run out of the essentials, let's finally admit that after decade upon decade of taxing and spending and borrowing, Illinois has finally run out of other people's money. Those "other people" include taxpayers who've abandoned the state. And now Illinois faces doomsday. So as the politicians meet in Springfield this week for another round of posturing and gesturing and blaming, we need a plan. And here it is:

Seriously, what will Illinois Pension Recipients Do when their "Checks" quit coming ? Really ! Read these news articles: Barron's on June 20, 2017 Illinois Financial Crisis Looks Ever More Dire June 20,2017 COMPTROLLER MENDOZA REACHES OUT TO STATE LEADERSHIP Fox News Politics June 20, 2017 Illinois careens into financial meltdown – and not even the lottery is safe The Fiscal Times on June 12, 2017 Could Illinois Be the First State to Go Bankrupt? Business Insider on Jun. 13, 2017 Illinois is facing bankruptcy and a junk-bond level credit rating crisis Glenn "Think Tank" on Wednesday, Jun 21,...

There are few things quite as expensive as “free health care.” And the nation’s most populous state may be about to find out the hard way. On June 1, the California Senate voted 23-14 in favor of a bill, the Healthy California Act (SB 562), to authorize the state to act as a “single payer” in place of insurance carriers in negotiating prices with doctors, hospitals and other providers. The measure covers all residents regardless of financial ability or immigration status. Annual costs may reach $400 billion – and that’s just for starters. As existing Medicare and Medicare funds will...

President Donald Trump’s push to expand apprenticeship opportunities is being met with support from business leaders who are now pledging to take part. Trump has put working class issues at the forefront of his agenda. He signed an executive order Thursday aimed at increasing the number apprenticeship programs. The president hopes to address the skills gap by ensuring people are being trained for jobs that exist. While there are plenty of jobs available, the challenge has been a significant divide between the skills companies need and the training and experience workers have. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported last week...

Hodgkinson campaigned for Sanders in Iowa while the Vermont lawmaker was running for the Democratic presidential nomination last year, the Washington Post reports. Charles Orear, 50, of St. Louis, who worked alongside him, called Hodgkinson a passionate progressive who showed no signs of violence or malice toward others. “You’ve got to be kidding me,” Orear told the newspaper. “I met him on the Bernie trail in Iowa, worked with him in the Quad Cities area.” He said Hodgkinson is a “quiet guy,” “very mellow, very reserved,” who stayed with him at a fellow Sanders’s supporters home in Illinois. “He was...

George Webb Day 234.11. Hillary's Leakers Hackers and Henchmen SEIU Senate Offices - There Are a Ton of Them (ff 0:15 for partial rough transcript) I realize everyone comes to Washington with their own particular issue and it's hard for legislators to juggle all that at once. So, that's why in my strategy coming up to The Hill I only kind of go three at a time. Then I think about what I'm doing and kind of reassess. It's kind of one of those little loops. You know, observe and then decide and then act. Then kind of wait...

Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin said Wednesday the civil service appeals process prevents the agency from firing "terrible managers," and that the Senate must act to reduce the impact of the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) and excessive government employee union-backed due process requirements"Just last week we were forced to take back an employee after they were convicted no more than three times for DWI and had served a 60 day jail sentence … Our accountability processes are clearly broken," Shulkin said at the White House. Shulkin was promoted to VA’s top job by President Donald Trump after...

Zero proficiency in math, English in probe of 6 inner-city schools. In an astonishing outcome, an investigation of six Baltimore schools found not a single student passed the state’s proficiency test in the subjects of math and English. ... In February, columnist Thomas Sowell, noting “most public schools in most low-income, inner-city neighborhoods produce educational outcomes that are far below the outcomes in other neighborhoods,” observed that many teachers who use unorthodox methods to reverse that trend encounter opposition from the education establishment. He said that in his 40 years of observing successful minority schools, he was struck “by how...

Security guards on Chicago’s iconic Navy Pier agreed to a set of restrictions as they continue to protest plans by a new security contractor to replace them with cheaper labor. Teamsters Local 727, which represents 43 security, fire and safety officers that work on Navy Pier, filed an unfair labor practice charge against Navy Pier’s management company May 11 and went on strike May 18. The union said that Navy Pier, Inc. (NPI) intimidated the union in its efforts to protect the jobs of its members. Allied Universal, which took over from a previous contractor in mid-May, refused to recognize...

Wherever you live in this country you will be impacted by these devastating cuts.These are billions and billions of dollars.

Westinghouse Electric Co, a unit of Japan's Toshiba Corp (6502.T), said on Sunday it issued a lockout notice to 172 union members at its nuclear components manufacturing plant in Newington, New Hampshire, declaring that the sides had reached a stalemate in contract negotiations.

<p>The rift within the Democratic Party was on full display at the California Democratic Party Convention on May 19 in Sacramento, California. Progressives joined members of National Nurses United, protesting the Democratic Party establishment’s refusal to support single payer healthcare system. Rather than follow through with Democratic rhetoric that healthcare is a human right, establishment Democrats have responded to voters by scolding and attacking them.</p>

More employers should follow government’s model to grow middle class, AFGE union president says WASHINGTON – Criticizing the pay and benefits earned by federal government employees detracts from the real crisis facing tens of millions of private-sector workers who don’t earn enough to live on and lack basic benefits like health insurance and retirement, says the head of the largest federal employee union.“Federal employees earn a living wage and benefits – and that’s nothing to apologize for,” said J. David Cox Sr., national president of the American Federation of Government Employees.“I’m proud that the federal government provides affordable health care...

During the 2016 election, then-presidential candidate Donald Trump made it clear that his administration would be more aggressive in pursuing immigration enforcement. This likely means more aggressive workplace actions, including raids that result in the immediate arrest of working people. Our new We Will Defend and Resist toolkit explains the processes and players involved in worksite enforcement and provides resources and guidance on how to prepare for and respond to a raid or audit. Check out the toolkit and be prepared.

Norway’s biggest trade union voted Friday in favor of a boycott against Israel, a decision immediately condemned by Israeli diplomats who judged it “immoral”. The Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions (LO) went against a recommendation from its leadership and voted 197 to 117 in favor of an international economic, cultural and academic boycott against Israel because of the current impasse over the Palestine issue. LO, which also called for Norway to recognize a Palestinian state according to the 1967 borders, was criticized by the government. ”Norwegian government strongly opposes Norw Labor Union’s decision: #boycott of #Israel. We need more cooperation...

It's going to take much more money to keep Chicago's schools open through June than previously revealed, top Emanuel budget aide Carole Brown says. The Chicago Public Schools actually need $596 million to keep schools open the rest of the school year, and not just the $129 million officials have publicly discussed, a top aide to Mayor Rahm Emanuel said Tuesday. ... Brown said all options are on the table to find the cash needed to stave off an early closing of schools that CPS CEO Forrest Claypool has warned might be needed but that Emanuel has ruled out to...

The age-old problem of government is that the people in power (monarchs or elected representatives, it makes no difference) will try to use some of the money they collect in taxes to benefit their friends and supporters. One of the tactics used widely in the U.S. is for politicians to dictate that on a construction project, the winning bidder will have to sign on to a union-favoring Project Labor Agreement (PLA). Instead of just having to complete the work according to plans, schedule, and other requirements in the contract specifications however, a PLA compels the contractors to agree to a...