Free Republic

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) projects that recent U.S. tariff increases will reduce federal deficits by $2.8 trillion over the next decade, primarily through increased customs revenue and lower interest payments on federal debt—more than enough to offset the projected cost of President Donald Trump’s proposed tax cut bill. In a separate analysis, the CBO recently estimated that extending the 2017 tax cuts, as proposed in the administration’s new tax and spending bill, would increase the deficit by roughly $2.4 trillion over the same period. That legislation would reduce federal revenues by $3.67 trillion while cutting spending by $1.25 trillion,...

Kamala Harris was left aghast when President Joe Biden donned a “Trump 2024” cap at a Pennsylvania firehouse in a bizarre scene at the height of last year’s presidential race, a bombshell new book has revealed. During a visit to a Shanksville firehouse while commemorating the 23rd anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, Biden, now 82, posed with more than a dozen youngsters clad in pro-Trump attire — then briefly put on the cap after being egged on by a member of the crowd. “What is he doing?” Harris — by that point the Democratic nominee after Biden ended his re-election...

Trump has been in office for only a few months and has already managed to cut national debt growth by 92 percent. This is definitely one of the things that would cause people to say, ‘I voted for this.’While the left rants and raves over cuts to various government programs, Trump is securing the nation’s financial future by getting spending under control.And remember, while Trump and Republicans are taking care of this serious business, Democrats are obsessing over and defending illegal immigrant criminals. The contrast could not be sharper.The Washington Examiner reports:Trump has slowed national debt growth by 92%For all...

On Wednesday’s “PBS NewsHour,” Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) said that her disagreement with Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) over his rhetoric about oligarchy was just over the word and “It’s not that I disagree on the concepts or on the principles, and he’s right.” She also stated that the debate in the Democratic Party isn’t “about moderate versus progressive and whatever all of that means.” Co-host Geoff Bennett played a clip of Sanders saying, “I think the American people are not quite as dumb as Ms. Slotkin thinks they are. I think they understand very well, when the top 1% owns...

Director Chris Columbus is obviously desperate for attention and a job. Why else would go full-Orwell and disgrace himself by calling for President Donald Trump’s cameo in Home Alone 2: Lost in New York to be memory-holed? “Years later, [Trump’s cameo has] become this curse. It’s become this thing that I wish it was not there,” the Home Alone 2 director told the far-left San Francisco Chronicle. “But it’s there,” he added. “It’s become an albatross for me. I just wish it was gone.” “I can’t cut it,” he lamented. “If I cut it, I’ll probably be sent out of...

The U.S. House Delivering on Government Efficiency subcommittee held a hearing where leaders from NPR and PBS defended their work, which is partially federally funded. DOGE Subcommittee Chair Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., argued that abundance of news offered by the internet has made federal support for radio and television obsolete. “I know this because I represent a rural district where farmers listen to podcasts and internet based news while they drive their tractors. At the same time, NPR and PBS have increasingly become radical, left-wing echo chambers for a narrow audience of mostly wealthy, white, urban liberals and progressives...

Ontario Premier Doug Ford said Monday he is prepared to cut off electricity exports to the U.S. if President Trump’s 25 percent tariffs on Canadian goods go through. “If they want to try to annihilate Ontario, I will do everything — including cut off their energy with a smile on my face,” Ford told reporters at a mining convention in downtown Toronto, the Toronto Sun reported. Ford doubled down on his pledge to retaliate by matching tariffs, noting the U.S. is a major customer of Canada’s electricity. “They rely on our energy. They need to feel the pain. They want...

On Tuesday’s broadcast of CNBC’s “Squawk Box,” Rep. Frank Pallone (D-NJ) said that he doesn’t believe spending cuts are necessarily needed and “we’d be better off” if the current tax cuts expired, but he wants to see tax cuts for the middle class. Co-host Becky Quick asked, “How would you go about cutting spending?” Pallone answered, “Well, first of all, this is all being done, these Medicaid cuts are being proposed in order to pay for the Republican tax plan, which, basically, just helps the very wealthy and large corporate interests.”

The Senate rejected an amendment proposed by Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) that would have cut spending by $1.5 trillion as the chamber considered legislation to secure the border and fulfill other parts of President Donald Trump’s agenda. The Senate on Friday morning advanced its reconciliation bill which aims to advance Trump’s priorities to secure the southern border, unleash domestic energy production, among other priorities, while leaving Trump’s proposed tax plan for the next bill. The 47th president had endorsed passing one “big beautiful” bill to pass his legislative agenda. Republicans plan to use budgetary reconciliation, an arcane legislative procedure, to...

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass (D), who was on a trip to Ghana when fire engulfed large portions of the city, cut nearly $20 million from the city’s budget for fire services for the current fiscal year — and proposed even higher cuts. As the Westside Current reported in April 2024, Bass proposed about $23 million in cuts to the fire department: Significantly, the proposal — described by Bass a “reset” — includes $65 million in cuts to her signature Inside Safe homelessness] program; an increase of more than $138 million for the Los Angeles Police Department; and a decrease...

The State Department said Tuesday that the Biden-Harris administration would not cut off weapons supplies to Israel in reaction to what it said was a declining humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip, due to Israeli mitigation efforts. As Breitbart News noted in October, the Biden-Harris administration threatened a partial arms embargo if Israel did not take steps to comply with its demands on humanitarian aid to Gaza, and referred to U.S. human rights laws. The Times of Israel noted:US State Department spokesperson Vedant Patel appears to confirm a report that Joe Biden’s administration will not, for now, withhold weapons shipments...

For a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage, the average rate you’ll pay is 6.27% today, a decrease of -0.17% since one week ago. The average rate for a 15-year fixed mortgage is 5.53%, which is a decrease of -0.25% from the same time last week. For a closer look at mortgage predictions this week, see here. With inflation at its lowest level since spring 2021 and a weakening labor market, the Federal Reserve is set to make its first interest rate cut in September, which should help mortgage rates fall in the coming months. Generally speaking, bad news for the economy means...

It has come to light that the Secret Service’s handling of urgent security information on the day of the attack on President Donald Trump was disastrously inadequate.According to The Washington Post, crucial messages about the imminent threat posed by Crooks were not properly relayed to the Secret Service, leading to a deadly game of telephone tag that ultimately failed to prevent the attack.On her show, Laura Ingraham highlighted the chaotic communication breakdowns that occurred in Butler, Pennsylvania. Local commanders were forced to use cell phones to call state troopers, who then relayed messages to the Secret Service, resulting in critical...

Too hard and too costly. That sums up the reason Air New Zealand has abandoned a goal to cut its carbon emissions by 2030, blaming a range of difficulties Tuesday for the decision. Delivery delays of fuel-efficient aircraft and the affordability of alternative jet fuels were the two key factors in the surprise move. The move makes it the first major carrier to back away from such a climate target, the BBC reports. The airline added it is working on a new short-term target and it remains committed to an industry-wide goal of achieving net zero emissions by 2050 as...

Approximately 10,000 jobs have reportedly been slashed at California fast food eateries after the minimum wage was hiked to $20. Gov. Gavin Newsom’s (D) law to pay workers $20 an hour went into effect on April 1 and has apparently taken a devastating toll on the industry, Fox Business reported Wednesday. The outlet continued: The California Business and Industrial Alliance (CABIA) said nearly 10,000 jobs have been cut across fast food restaurants since Newsom signed California Assembly Bill 1228 into law last year. To highlight what it says are the unintended consequences of the law, CABIA has taken out an...

The majority of New York City public libraries will be forced to cut their hours yet again and open just five days a week if Mayor Eric Adams’ proposed $58.3 million budget cuts go ahead, the presidents of the Big Apple’s three library systems warned Tuesday. Since November, the city’s more than 200 public library branches have already been shut every Sunday to offset the surging cost of the local migrant crisis. On Tuesday, the presidents of the New York, Brooklyn and Queens Public Library systems laid bare the possible further reduction in services as they testified during a City...

Nike is laying off 2% of its corporate workforce as it contends with weaker consumer spending. 'The actions that we’re taking put us in the position to right-size our organization to get after our biggest growth opportunities as interest in sport, health and wellness have never been stronger," Nike said in a statement to FOX Business. Starting Friday, more than 1,600 positions will be cut as the company tries to increase its investment in high-priority areas such as running, women's clothing and its Jordan brand, CEO John Donahoe told employees, according to a memo seen by The Wall Street Journal.

The debt-ceiling deal negotiated by President Biden and Speaker Kevin McCarthy will reduce the U.S. government’s debt by $1.5 trillion over the next decade, the Congressional Budget Office estimated Tuesday. In a letter to Rep. McCarthy (R-CA), CBO director Phillip Schwagel said the agency projected the deal’s caps on discretionary spending in 2024 and 2025 would reduce outlays by $1.3 trillion over the next 1o years. Mandatory spending would fall by $10 billion. Revenues are projected to fall by $2 billion due to cuts to funding for enforcement by the Internal Revenue Service. Interest on the public debt would decline...

DETROIT (AP) — Tesla says it will cut the cost of its next generation of vehicles in half, largely by using innovative manufacturing techniques and smaller factories. CEO Elon Musk and other executives outlined the goals during a 3 1/2-hour investor day presentation at Tesla’s Austin, Texas, headquarters Wednesday as they presented the company’s third master plan. The changes could bring the cost of a new generation of vehicles to around $25,000. Many investors were hoping to catch a glimpse of the next-generation vehicles, but Musk said they wouldn’t be shown until a proper product unveiling. “We’d be jumping the...

National Public Radio is cutting around 10 percent of its workforce amid falling ad revenue and economic uncertainty, its CEO John Lansing announced Wednesday. The nonprofit media organization’s financial outlook “has darkened considerably” in recent weeks, Lansing wrote in a memo to staff, shared with The Hill, as it faces a “sharp decline” in revenues from corporate sponsors in a weakened ad industry. “We had created a plan to address a $20M sponsorship revenue falloff for FY23 but we are now projecting at least a $30M shortfall. The cuts we have already made to our budget will not be enough,”...