Free Republic

It's one of the wealthiest states in America, with residents of its fanciest zip code luxuriating in $3 million red-brick apartments. But the writing is on the wall for Massachusett, says an alarming new study. The 50,000 non-legal migrants who've entered the state since Joe Biden became president are putting a costly strain on schools, healthcare, and other services. Jessica Vaughan, author of the report for the Center for Immigration Studies , says the state is destined for bankruptcy. That's because migrants will drain state coffers of a staggering $1.8 trillion over the next two years. Even though some non-legal...

Farm equipment maker John Deere says it will no longer sponsor “social or cultural awareness” events, becoming the latest major U.S. company to distance itself from diversity and inclusion measures after being targeted by conservative backlash... John Deere also said it would audit all training materials “to ensure the absence of socially-motivated messages” in compliance with federal and local laws. It did not specify what those messages would include... John Deere added “the existence of diversity quotas and pronoun identification have never been and are not company policy.” But it noted that it would still continue to “track and advance”...

University hired 6 new DEI deans in 1 year The Massachusetts Institute of Technology added more than 1,200 new administrative/support staff positions in less than a decade – including six “diversity, equity, and inclusion” assistant deans in one year, a College Fix analysis found. Meanwhile, between 2013 and 2022, undergraduate student enrollment remained basically flat. The administrative hiring increase coincides with concerted efforts by the research university to “advanc[e] diversity, equity, and inclusion” throughout its programs. During the 2022-23 school year, the most recent data available, the university employed 6,693 full-time administrators and support staff, according to information the school...

Unless you are living under a bridge or you are eagerly drinking the kool-aid that the mainstream media is dishing out, you probably understand that the economy has been struggling. Survey after survey has found that the American people are deeply dissatisfied with how the economy has been performing, and as a result it has become the number one issue this election season. But even though a large portion of the population is not happy about how things have been going, the truth is that the situation is far more dire than most people realize. Just this week we have...

Schools in the progressive haven of San Francisco are facing a major budget crunch. Things are so dire that the district may have to actually close some schools. It’s amazing that these schools are having cash flow problems when you consider the taxes people pay to live there. Officials from the school district recently met with some financial experts who gave them some tough love. ... Late last week, two fiscal experts — appointed a few years ago to give guidance to the district — were authorized to suspend or reverse financial decisions made by the superintendent or school board....

Unrealized losses in the US banking system are once again on the rise, according to new numbers from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). In its Quarterly Banking Profile report, the FDIC says banks are now saddled with more than half a trillion dollars in paper losses on their balance sheets, due largely to exposure to the residential real estate market. Unrealized losses represent the difference between the price banks paid for securities and the current market value of those assets. Although banks can hold securities until they mature without marking them to market on their balance sheets, unrealized losses...

President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden are carrying a personal debt of up to $815,000, their financial records show, and no one is buying the president's books. Most of the couple's debt is the mortgage on their Delaware home and an equity loan on that home. In total, the Bidens reported assets between roughly $1 million and $2.6 million and liabilities between roughly $350,000 and $850,000, according to an Office of Government Ethics form that lists ranges rather than precise figures. The Bidens' financial records, along with those of Vice President Kamala Harris and her husband Doug Emhoff,...

Top aides to Biden secretly hatched a plan this past fall to replace White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre by recruiting outside allies to nudge her out the door ... Jean-Pierre, who made history in May 2022 by becoming the first black and first openly gay person to hold the position, had developed the exasperating habit of reading canned answers directly from a binder to reporters at her regular briefings — offering what her superiors viewed as a less-than-compelling pitch for the 81-year-old Biden as he readied his re-election campaign. De facto White House communications chief Anita Dunn, 66, the...

Program will address ‘insidious problem’ with racism in medicine: nurses association Nursing students at the University of Illinois soon will receive “diversity, equity, and inclusion” training via virtual reality courtesy of a $20,000 grant to address racism. The American Nurses Association, which awarded the grant through its National Commission to Address Racism in Nursing, says the funds will address an “insidious problem” with racism in nursing. But other medical professionals and scholars say the project is a waste of money. The university’s College of Nursing plans to use the grant to hire a software engineer to create virtual reality training...

The cost to afford a median-priced home has increased at twice the rate that the average household income has risen as inflation and high interest rates inflame housing expenses, according to Redfin. The median monthly home payment in February was $2,838, up 12% year-over-year, while the median household income was just $84,072, an increase of 6% over the last year, according to Redfin. Over the past decade, the income needed to afford a home has tracked closely with the median household income until around the start of 2022, when the amount of household income needed skyrocketed to its current median...

The new head of Boeing’s troubled commercial airplane unit said the planemaker faces a “pivotal moment” as it works to boost quality and address significant concerns from regulators and airline customers after a panel flew off a 737 MAX 9 jet in January. “This is a pivotal moment for us, and we have serious work ahead to build trust and improve our operations,” said Stephanie Pope, who was named president and CEO of Boeing Commercial Airplanes ... Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun announced he would leave by the end of the year, while the company’s long-time head of commercial airplanes, Stan...

Police have warned Canada's leaders they will struggle to contain the fury at its deteriorating economy and a generational revolt by young people unable to ever buy a home. The secret report by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police paints an apocalyptical picture of the future for America's northern neighbor, predicting it will be riven by economic crisis, ecological meltdown and territorial disintegration. The report has caused a sensation in the Great White North after a heavily redacted version was released following a long-running access to information request by a Canadian academic. Described by its authors as a 'scanning exercise', the...

Mayor John Whitmire proposing a 5% cut across the board, except for fire and police departments.. Tax hikes and increased fees for parking and city services are likely .. The Mayor of Houston says the city is 'broke' after overspending for decades. Experts say the problem has existed for years, but COVID handouts from the federal government helped mask them. ... A tax hike through a bond is expected in November. ... The city has been struggling to make firefighters whole, from meeting its contractual obligation to their pension, to paying backpay and wage hikes that have been promised years...

In a recent earnings call, Best Buy, a woke retail giant, announced the closure of 24 stores in 2024, with an additional 10-15 stores expected to shut down in the fiscal year 2025. While the specific locations of the impending closures have not been disclosed, this decision is part of Best Buy’s broader efforts to adapt its retail footprint to the changing consumer shopping habits in an increasingly digital marketplace. As of now, Best Buy operates over 1,000 stores across the United States. “In fiscal ’24, we closed 24 stores. And in fiscal ’25, we expect to close 10 to...

President Biden’s reelection campaign has dubbed former President Trump “Broke Don,” taking a strategy out of Trump’s playbook that his political rivals know all too well. Trump has used nicknames — from “Little Marco” to “Crooked Hillary” to “Lyin’ Ted” — to put down a variety of opponents. For much of 2020, Biden’s moniker, courtesy of Trump, was “Sleepy Joe.” Now, the Biden team is seeking to turn the tables in attempting to make one stick to Trump while it worked this week to highlight the former president’s lagging fundraising numbers in the 2024 race.

California just filed its 2021-2022 audited financial statement, 350 days past the filing deadline. In its filing, the state admits that COVID-era unemployment fraud cost the state $29 billion that must be paid back to the federal government, and that in 2022, the state had $256 billion more in liabilities than it had in unrestricted resources. After accounting for restricted resources, such as purpose-specific state trust funds and bonds, the state still owed $55 billion more than it had. With massive stock market gains and unprecedented job growth in the high-earning tech field amid a post-pandemic recovery, 2022 was a...

A majority of America's largest cities are broke and unable to meet their liabilities, according to a new analysis. In its eighth annual Financial State of the Cities report, the right-leaning think tank Truth in Account determined that as of 2022, 53 of the country's 75 largest cities have fewer assets than liabilities. The report notes:At the end of the fiscal year 2022, 53 cities did not have enough money to pay all of their bills. This means that to claim their budgets were balanced—as is required by law in the 75 cities—elected officials have not included the actual costs...

Paradis Books & Bread, a book café located in North Miami, has closed down following a controversial decision to ask Fox News political analyst Gianno Caldwell to leave the establishment due to his conservative political beliefs. Gianno Caldwell recounted the event during an interview with Fox News host Maria Bartiromo, expressing his disbelief and disappointment over being ostracized for his political stance. Caldwell explained, “I never thought I would make international news for being a Florida man kicked out of a restaurant because of my conservative values.” He detailed how the conversation turned uncomfortable when the café’s owner directly asked...

Blackstone defaulted on the $308 million mortgage on a Manhattan office tower more than a year ago — and the debt is now up for sale at a discount of more than 50%. ... The skyscraper has been losing value since 2014, when the mortgage was originated and 1740 Broadway was appraised at $605 million, ... Blackstone ceased funding operating shortfalls at the building and stopped paying the mortgage as of March 2022,.. Midland, however, has yet to foreclose on the tower, though it’s unclear why. ... As of September 2023, the occupancy at 1740 Broadway was a mere 7.4%,...

Look, I am not automatically inclined to tell a business owner how to run their operation. It is their money, their venture— run things as you see fit. If anything, I have encouraged this brand of self-reliance. Often, when leftist activists command that a business cater to a particular group or forcibly demand particular levels of inclusion, I have stated that if they feel that strongly about this being a viable plan, then they should back their thoughts with their own cash and sweat equity and go for it. ... Such is the case with the rather Bohemian-themed business in...