Free Republic

Disney is out and proud of its support of the LGBTQ+ community. The company even criticized the state of Florida — the home of Disney World — for its so-called “don’t say gay” bill. This year, Disney has teamed up with choirs for a Pride concert and Seattle’s Paramount Theater is one of the venues where you’ll see it performed. Disney music swelled to the rafters of a church, earlier this week, where the Seattle Men’s Chorus is practicing for their Pride performance. “I don’t think there’s a person in my general vicinity that didn’t grow up singing and loving...

Federal spending jumped from $4.45 trillion in 2019 to $6.21 trillion in 2023, according to the Congressional Budget Office. That is a 40 percent increase in four years. The pandemic supercharged the federal budget, and spending and deficits are expected to continue rising unless policymakers pursue major reforms.What is all the new spending since 2019? The answer is surprising, as shown in the two tables below. The main drivers of the recent increases have not been the largest three programs—Social Security, Medicare, and defense—but rather rapid growth in numerous other programs.Table 1 shows CBO spending for 2019 and baseline estimates...