Free Republic

Many Indigent Refugees to Lose Federal Assistance

In a stunning reversal, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger announced Tuesday he would attempt to pull an $11.1 billion water bond off the November ballot and instead ask voters to approve it two years from now. The governor said the delay was needed to focus on the budget, but the economic climate and persistent criticism of the bond's cost was making the measure a tough sell.

Here is the reason fish/shrimp will be scarce. I witnessed it first hand. Read the link.

There is a smoking story making the rounds here in New York. Seems the New York State Legislature has cut funding thirty-percent to its anti-smoking program. These cuts were over a three-year period. Many other programs and agencies also saw their funding reduced: the State has a large budget deficit. Among other consequences, the tighter anti-smoking budget forced a scaling back of the free nicotine-patch program. That’s not my “free”, incidentally. It arose from the fruitful imagination of one Russ Sciandra, who bills himself director of the Center for a Tobacco Free New York, a mysterious not-for-profit. We must not...

WASHINGTON—After months of criticism that it hasn't done enough to prevent foreclosures, the Obama administration is announcing a plan to reduce the amount some troubled borrowers owe on their home loans. Discuss COMMENTS (86) The multifaceted effort will let people who owe more on their mortgages than their properties are worth get new loans backed by the Federal Housing Administration, a government agency that insures home loans against default. That would be funded by $14 billion from the administration's existing $75 billion foreclosure-prevention program. But it could spark criticism that the government is shouldering too much risk by taking on...

If you find yourself in a hole, the old adage advises, the first thing you should do is stop digging. California is buried in a deep economic and fiscal hole, but our politicians seem bent on burrowing even deeper. The state has tens of billions of dollars in unsold bonds, and Treasurer Bill Lockyer has warned that with the state's lowest-in-the-nation credit rating he may market new debt only sporadically. Lockyer warned against a big water bond issue last year, but Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and legislators ignored him. They approved an $11.2 billion bond issue, loaded with pork, that will...

Before the economy went bust, California voters authorized multibillion-dollar charges on the state's infrastructure credit card. They approved generational investments in roads, schools and levees, as well as hospitals and stem-cell research. At the time, fiscal experts projected that California at most would have to spend roughly 6 percent of its annual budget on payments. But after an economic collapse, estimates now show that debt service could consume as much as 10 percent of the annual general fund budget by 2014-15 – an "unprecedented" ratio, according to the Legislative Analyst's Office. The latest debt warning comes weeks after lawmakers and...

WASHINGTON -- The U.S. Senate late Wednesday unanimously passed legislation extending unemployment benefits and also significantly expanding a homebuyer tax credit that was championed by Republican U.S. Sen. Johnny Isakson of Georgia. The Senate voted 98-0 to extend unemployment benefits for the jobless by up to 20 weeks. In states with unemployment rates of 8.5 percent and above -- in Georgia the unemployment rate is 10.1 percent -- the jobless could receive up to 99 weeks of benefits, which average about $300 per week...

Listen and watch HERE Related thread: Chaos erupts at Cobo as thousands jockey for federal aid (Obama "Stimulus" Giveaway)

Detroit -- The lure of federal cash assistance for needy Detroit families sparked pandemonium Wednesday at Cobo Center, as hundreds of city residents pushed, jostled and trampled others in a rush to apply for the aid. In a scene that spoke volumes about the despair of one of the nation's poorest cities, about 50,000 Detroiters descended on downtown to pick up 5,000 applications in hopes of enrolling in a federal program that pays a few hundred to a few thousand dollars to low-income residents to help pay rent and utilities. In fact, some 60,000 residents applied for the aid over...

An organization that informs people of the Cash for Clunkers program has recently announced that several celebrities have showed their support in giving consumers the simple and easy summary of the program, that started just a few days ago.Though Americans have already shown great interest in program, which is officially known as CARS - Car Allowance Rebate System, the support Dancing With The Stars' Cristian de la Fuente and Ugly Betty star Angelica Vale does not hurt at all. "This government subsidy will make it easy for people to get a new car that is a lot less expensive to...

A battle is brewing among consumer groups, car dealers and the government over the use of contingency agreements in the Cash for Clunkers program.At issue is who is left holding the bag if a transaction goes awry.Under the Car Allowance Rebate System, a consumer turns in a qualified clunker and gets $3,500 or $4,500 off the price of a new car. The dealer must make sure the clunker and the new car meet program requirements and get the proper documentation - including proof of insurance and registration - from the owner. After the buyer drives off, the dealer must electronically...

But larger than that - my prediction is Fannie/Freddie and then above and beyond that, for people who do not have 20% down and won't pay for insurance, the FHA - will wage a war against current mortgages. We'll see interest rate buydowns, we'll see principal reductions, we'll see anything and everything that basically gives a big (bleep) you to people who have been honoring the system. In return we will tell those people, well if your neighbor's house goes into foreclosure we will all suffer, so it's a necessary evil.

Potholes? Faded road stripes? Downed signs or faulty traffic lights? Too bad; take a number, and drive carefully. Among Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's proposals for closing the state's $24 billion budget deficit is to redirect gas-tax away from cities and counties to pay debt service on state highway bonds — draining $744 million from local government coffers in the next fiscal year and $745 million in the year after that. "It'll have a devastating effect here," said Alameda County's Public Works Director Daniel Woldesenbet. "This isn't just a public works issue, but a public safety issue." Woldesenbet said his agency stands...

U.S. Rep. Paul E. Kanjorski reversed himself and voted for the final version of the $787 billion economic stimulus package approved Friday by Congress. As expected, Rep. Chris Carney and Sens. Arlen Specter and Bob Casey also voted for the package. Mr. Kanjorski, D-11, opposed the first version, which passed the House late last month. He cited Democratic leadersÂ’ failure to allow bipartisan input into the bill, CongressÂ’ failure to spend enough time preparing the bill, its lack of enough money for road, bridge and infrastructure repairs and construction, that it didnÂ’t provide enough help for retired or unemployed Americans...

SAO PAULO- General Motors plans to invest $1 billion in Brazil to avoid the kind of problems the U.S. automaker is facing in its home market, said the beleaguered car maker. According to the president of GM Brazil-Mercosur, Jaime Ardila, the funding will come from the package of financial aid that the manufacturer will receive from the U.S. government and will be used to “complete the renovation of the line of products up to 2012.” We're sending a Billion dollars to Brazil?

I suppose the Associated Press wants us all to feel sorry for Mexico. With so many illegals here either having trouble finding work or actually returning home, Mexico is finding that its citizens illegally in the US have fewer American dollars to send home. AP says the "situation is so serious" that the Mexican government is trying to create new programs to reinforce ties between illegals here and its citizens at home. Of course, no where in AP's story does it seem to occur to anyone that Mexico clean itself up and offer opportunities there as opposed to trying to...

You may have read that the Bush administration is seriously considering giving taxpayer dollars to the Big Three automakers. This would be an extension of the Great Bailout of 2008, which started with banks and brokerage houses and spread to at least one insurance company. The auto companies are arguing that they deserve money too because they all have financing subsidiaries that provide money for car loans, and these subsidiaries are being hurt by the credit crunch as much as other lending entities. Which is, of course, true, but: please. The auto companies are not in trouble because their auto...

If you want to see what is really going on with the "bail out" just look at the video link it will tell you everything you need to know about "free money" and what these "jokers" really have in mind. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Svf2aWr0hfI

Twelve Republicans used the excuse of an inflammatory speech by the House Speaker, Congressperson Nancy Pelosi, to vote "no" whereas previously they had indicated a "yes". We heard parts of the speech, and inflammatory it was; though all the facts were correct as to how President Bush had wrecked the US budget over 8 years. But if she sought to blame the mess on President Bush, that would definitely be a no-no: this nonsense started during President Clinton's time, and strange as it may seem, there are Democratic Wall Street people as much as Republican Wall Street people. The Democrats...