Free Republic

Washington State’s unofficial state motto has long been “Al-ki” which means either “bye and bye” or “by and by” in Chinook. The former meaning now seems official as Gov. Jay Inslee pushes for a “wealth tax.” Wealthy citizens are already saying bye to the state in anticipation of what one Democratic billionaire recently called a “boneheaded” move. The problem is that rich people can move. Unlike fixed assets like a mansion, they can take their wealth and taxes to other states without such laws. The post from Senate Democrats supporting Senate Bill 5486 said, “The first $250 million of assessed...

It was a great year for billionaires. Especially these fortunate few, who together got more than $700 billion richer. It’s been an astounding year for billionaires, with more than half of the planet’s 2,800-plus members of the three-comma club getting richer in 2024 as markets soared—some by billions and even tens of billions of dollars. This year’s top ten billionaire gainers increased their collective wealth by $730 billion, through December 13, according to Forbes’ estimates. Elon Musk, the world’s richest person, got the richest: He became the first person to pass the $400 billion mark after his rocket company SpaceX...

One of the baleful dimensions of our times is the way that the conversation about what constitutes the good society is framed by the rich and their interests. A conception of the common good withers; instead it is replaced by the existential importance of private wealth, private interests and private ownership to societal health. Nowhere is this more exposed than in the debate over taxation, and in particular the taxation of inherited wealth – as the debate over the past fortnight has dramatised. Half a million people die every year. Under the reforms to inheritance tax relief on agricultural land...

Axios’ Alex Thompson framed Vice President Kamala Harris on Sunday as the “no comment” candidate she “doesn’t want voters to know.” Harris has refused to detail her policy positions on many important issues. This lack of answers appears to be a strategy to avoid irritating the radical left while trying to remain ambiguous in order to attract moderates. The latest example of Harris refusing to answer questions came Sunday when a reporter asked her about a California ballot measure on crime. “How did you vote on Prop 36?” a reporter in Detroit asked Harris. “So, I have — my ballot...

Kamala Harris worked to inject the themes of “equity” into every aspect of her work as vice president — from COVID-19 to hurricane relief, a new report says. And she started with intelligence briefings, according to the New York Times. Soon after taking office, Harris reportedly had a problem with how two female world leaders were allegedly being described in intelligence reports, which she groused “used adjectives … rarely used to describe male leaders.” The newly sworn-in veep sprang into action, ordering officials to scour years of intelligence agencies’ briefing reports for evidence of bias. They turned up nothing besides...

Short on the heels of another major refinery closure, Valero signaled it is considering closing its two California refineries that produce over 14% of the state’s gasoline. Refinery closures already have the state importing 8% of its gasoline supply, which means the state could soon have to significantly increase its imports of refined products such as gasoline, on top of its existing reliance on the Middle East and South America for the majority of its crude oil. Valero announced its profit is down significantly due to very low margins from its refinery business, prompting a question during its earning call...

During a town hall on CNN on Wednesday, 2024 Democratic presidential candidate Vice President Kamala Harris responded to a question on how her plan to combat “price gouging” on groceries “during emergencies or times of crisis” would help with the fact that grocery prices have just been high every day for years by stating that there should be accountability “when companies are taking advantage of the desperation and the need of the American people,” and stating that “most” companies don’t gouge. Host Anderson Cooper asked, “I looked at your plan. You talk about going after price gougers, and I’m quoting...

Meanwhile in the Democrat hellhole of California… California’s Democrat Governor Gavin Newsom signed a bill to hold Big Oil accountable – only it will lead to gas shortages and price hikes. Big Oil “has been screwing you for decades,” Newsom said. “Price spikes have cost Californians billions of dollars over the years, and we’re not waiting around for the industry to do the right thing,” Newsom said. “We’re taking action to prevent these price spikes and save consumers money at the pump,” he said. The bill passed the California Assembly last week with a 41-16 vote. Many Democrats did not...

Gov. Gavin Newsom had a dire warning for California this week: “Big oil companies are in cahoots with Donald Trump pushing prices even higher during election season.”

California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) signed another law Monday, claiming to be taking action against gas prices but without lowering taxes, removing the state’s onerous “cap-and-trade” system, or easing regulations on refineries. Those are the factors that the industry, and independent experts, say are the main contributors to the fact that the Golden State pays an average price of $4.677 per gallon, the highest in the nation, well above the average of $3.203. Instead, Newsom has again blamed the oil and gas industry, as in previous years. The new law, which he pushed through in a special legislative session, requires...

Vice President Kamala Harris has centered her anti-inflation agenda on combatting price gouging, saying corporations are greedy villains padding profits by jacking up prices.Yet economists and even Ms. Harris say there is scant evidence that price gouging is actually happening.In a plan largely lacking concrete details, Ms. Harris has called for a federal ban on price gouging and for giving the Federal Trade Commission the power to prosecute companies it deems to have excessively increased prices.Former President Donald Trump and Republicans slammed the plan as “communist,” warning that it would lead to the federal government telling businesses how to set...

Vice President Kamala Harris struggled in a friendly interview that airs this week to competently answer questions surrounding her economic agenda. Harris sat down for an interview with CBS News’ “60 Minutes” that was taped last week and is set to air on Monday night as part of a special election episode. “My plan is about saying that when you invest in small businesses, you invest in the middle class, and you strengthen America’s economy,” Harris told correspondent Bill Whitaker. “Small businesses are part of the backbone of America’s economy.” “But pardon me, Madam Vice President, the question was, how...

Harris and this article state that the rich don't pay their fair share? Really? First, who determines what a fair share is? Fact is, there is no objective measure of fair share. Perhaps the fairest measure is that everyone pays the same rate as a percentage of income. Friedman suggested 17%, so if you make $100000/yr, you pay $17,000. If you make a million dollars a year, you pay $170,000. But, that's not how it works.The top 1 percent paid a greater share of individual income taxes (38.8 percent) than the bottom 90 percent combined (29.2 percent).The top 50 percent...

None of this, however, is stopping Governor Gavin Newsom, who has dragged a handful of legislators back to the Capitol for a special session on alleged price gouging by California’s oil refineries. In a press release on September 3, the governor claimed that “Gas price spikes on consumers are profit spikes for oil companies, and they’re overwhelmingly caused by refiners not backfilling supplies when they go down for maintenance.” To prevent these alleged misdeeds, the governor proposes to require California’s refineries to stockpile reserves of gasoline to meet demand whenever refineries are not operating. In addition to mandatory storage, the...

LOS ANGELES, California — Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) traveled to Baldwin Hills to sign legislation restricting oil and gas facilities — and removing the pumpjacks behind him, ending a century of the oil and industry’s role in the area. AB 2716 will close the Baldwin Hills oil facilities, which existed prior to the surrounding area becoming developed for residential use, but which now sit inside what has become L.A.’s most prominent middle-class black neighborhood. AB 3233 will give local authorities more power to prohibit oil and gas drilling. AB 1866 will expand on existing law and increase and accelerate the...

Time stamps: 1:05 - First Policy 2:12 - Basics of Understanding the first policy 3:27 - Implications of the first policy 5:27 - Second Policy 7:50 - Third Policy sorry for the late upload, I've been fighting for my life out here for real ... so much work lately Tags: Kamala Harris, Donald Trump, Debate, CPA, Certified Public Accountant, Radical Financial Policies, Tax, Price Controls, Unrealized capital gains tax

Vice presidential candidate Sen. JD Vance (R-OH) said Thursday on CNBC’s “Squawk Box” that Vice President Kamala Harris’s main thrust of her economic policy is to “throw everybody on welfare.” Co-host Joe Kernen said, “Given that as we now know, people’s economic beliefs can evolve, as we’ve seen maybe from, you know, former President Trump’s opponent, but I’m wondering whether yours have evolved? Because then we’ll get into some of the things you said in the part and how much daylight right now is there between what you believe and what would I call you an economic populist? Is there...

Are greedy corporations to blame for inflation? Ariane Navarro thinks so. She recently pulled up her budgeting spreadsheets from 2021 and was shocked by how much her family's grocery bill has skyrocketed. She's not imagining it: From February 2020 to this July, grocery prices grew a cumulative 25.6%. That's higher than overall inflation, which was 21.6% during that same period. "We have no other choice — we have to buy groceries," says Navarro, who lives in Houston. "That's a basic need. And so [companies] use that to kind of take advantage and keep raising prices." It's a widespread sentiment —...

Guess who finally updated her campaign website? And with just a day before her first presidential debate ... and only second media appearance since her anointment as nominee?Having seen her momentum deflate like a Patriots football, Kamala Harris finally went public with her agenda, at least in general strokes. Team Kamala finally added an Issues page to her official campaign website, and it's filled mainly by the rehashed Bidenomics that Harris attempted to pass off last month. It even includes the absurd reference to price-gouging that economists across the spectrum laughed off when Harris first floated the argument, another leftover...

From taxes to spending, Kamala is the most left-wing major party candidate since George McGovern -- who proposed a Universal Basic Income in 1972 and went on to win a single state.But her most hare-brained scheme -- so far -- has been price controls, where she's to the left of McGovern, threatening to punish grocery stores for daring to charge more than their costs.In fact, grocery stores make 1 to 2 pennies on the dollar. Meaning they have to pass along costs that come straight from the Washington money printer.That means price controls would, in short, break food.Price Controls Always...