Free Republic

As President Joe Biden visited Scranton, Pennsylvania, on Tuesday, he called for an increase in taxes on the rich. “When I look at the economy, I don’t look at it through the eyes of Mar-a-Lago,” Biden said during his speech. “I look at it through the eyes of Scranton.” Biden explained that he wanted to make the tax code fair, in order to allow regular American citizens to keep more money in their pockets. In an attempt to make the tax code fairer, Biden suggested a 25% minimum tax rate for billionaires, while slamming former President Donald Trump for being...

On Aug. 14, 1935, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Social Security into law. Eighty-eight years later, our Social Security system is among the most successful and popular government programs in history. Nearly every worker pays premiums (Federal Insurance Contributions or FICA) for Social Security. In return, they receive insurance benefits when they retire, become disabled, or lose a family breadwinner. Social Security is secure, efficient, and the most important source of retirement income for the vast majority of Americans. Social Security does have one major flaw, though: Its benefits are too low. The average Social Security benefit is only $1,700...

House Republicans’ go-it-alone debt limit bill would pair a $1.5 trillion increase in the debt ceiling expected to last into next year with $4.5 trillion in savings, Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) said Wednesday. The bill unveiled Wednesday, dubbed the Limit, Save, Grow Act, proposes reverting discretionary spending for non-defense programs to fiscal year 2022 levels, while proposing limiting growth to 1 percent annually over the next decade. It will raise the debt limit by $1.5 trillion or through March 31, 2024, whichever comes first, McCarthy told reporters.

A Duke Energy Corp. subsidiary for North Carolina electric customers has asked state regulators to let them raise residential rates by 16.6% in the coming months largely to recover their fuel costs, which it said soared mainly from natural gas prices last year. Duke Energy Carolinas serves about 2 million households and businesses in western and central North Carolina. It said Wednesday that if the request is approved by the state Utilities Commission, the typical residential customer's monthly bill would increase from $115.01 to a little over $134.11. The Charlotte-based utility emphasized such approved requests don't widen anticipated profits, but...

(NEXSTAR) – Millions of America’s older adults will see a bump in the amount they receive in monthly Social Security benefits, starting in January. The increase in payments is the largest in decades at 8.7%, and is designed to help offset the soaring inflation that would otherwise limit recipients’ purchasing power. The bump in benefits is aptly titled a cost-of-living adjustment, or COLA. On average, Social Security benefits will increase in January by more than $140 per month, according to the Social Security Administration (SSA).

Driving up prices are supply troubles with natural gas, used in New England’s gas distribution and electric systems. November is here, and so are higher utility rates for Massachusetts customers. The Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities has approved suppliers’ new gas and electric rates, WCVB reported, with bills expected to rise after new rates went into effect Tuesday. National Grid previously warned residential heating customers that they could see their bills increase 22% or 24% from last winter, depending on whether they fall under Boston Gas or Colonial Gas. Massachusetts’ other major utility company, Eversource, similarly predicted that average residential...

Cancer begins when genetic changes interfere with the normal replication and replacement of cells in the body. Cells start to grow uncontrollably and may form a tumour. It is the No. 2 leading cause of death in the United States.Unfortunately, it appears the disease may be on the rise thanks to the experimental Covid-19 injections. Because official U.S. Government data confirms the risk of developing cancer following Covid-19 vaccination increases by a shocking 143,233%. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) hosts a Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) which contains historical data on adverse reactions reported against every vaccine that...

President Joe Biden called on U.S. oil refiners to produce more gasoline and diesel Wednesday, warning because they are not doing so their profits have tripled as Americans struggle with record high gas prices. But the federal government that Biden heads reported that refineries are already running at capacity and face other limits following the coronavirus pandemic.

Gas prices have increased by over 47 cents in the last month alone as the U.S. continues to smash gas price records day by day under President Joe Biden’s leadership. On Wednesday, May 25, the U.S. recorded yet another all-time high, as the average price of gas stands at $4.599 for regular gas. This reflects an over 47 cent rise in the last month alone. One month ago, the gas price average stood at $4.123. Some of the states experiencing the worst average gas prices include Alaska, Hawaii, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington, all of which have averages above $5.00 per...

The last thing consumers want to hear is an increase in power costs this summer following the news last week of rising threats of rolling blackouts across half of the US. Tight supplies of natural gas, crude, and coal have pushed up residential electricity rates this year. A nationwide weather outlook for this summer forecasts extreme heat — all of this will force households to crank up their air conditions, resulting in oversized power demand that could stress national grids. Bloomberg cites new data from Barclays Plc that says monthly power bills could be 40% more than last year’s. The...

U.S. crude oil production could reach a new high next year, according to the EIA’s latest STEO–and it could upset OPEC’s reign over the oil market. .....

For many Americans managing chronic conditions, taking medications and supplements is an important part of staying healthy. And if you're juggling multiple prescriptions, you may have a special way of storing your meds to keep track of which ones to take, and when. However, a new study published in the journal Health Technology Assessment found that one popular storage method can actually increase your risk of experiencing adverse effects from medications—something researchers found "counterintuitive" given the product's purpose. Read on to find out which storage method could raise the risk of side effects—and why you shouldn't stop using it if...

Climate change will result in thousands of new viruses spread among animal species by 2070 — and that’s likely to increase the risk of emerging infectious diseases jumping from animals to humans, according to a new study. This is especially true for Africa and Asia, continents that have been hot spots for deadly disease spread from humans to animals or vice versa over the last several decades, including the flu, HIV, Ebola and the coronavirus.

The United States Postal Service (USPS) announced Wednesday that it aims to raise postage prices by July 10 and has filed a notice of the desired changes with the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC). The Forever stamp will move from 58 cents to 60 cents, marking what would be its second price hike in a year, CBS noted. In August, it moved from 55 cents to 58 cents. Between August of last year and this upcoming July, the stamp’s cost would have gone up nine percent, or five cents, should the prices take effect. But the Forever stamp is not the...

Tesla co-founder and CEO Elon Musk called on the United States to increase its domestic oil output in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, while also acknowledging that his electric car company would be negatively affected by that move. "Hate to say it, but we need to increase oil & gas output immediately," Musk tweeted Friday. "Extraordinary times demand extraordinary measures."

Yet another funeral director is sounding the alarm over the massive spike in 'natural' deaths that are anything but natural. Funeral director John O’Looney of Milton Keynes family funeral services in Milton Keynes, England lays out the details in this 30+ minute video and explains that all of those he is referring to are fully or partially vaxxed!“So, what we’re seeing is an ever-growing number, particularly of thrombosis deaths, interestingly. So, that comes across as heart attack, aneurysm, or stroke, and they’re in unprecedented numbers. I’ve never seen as many deaths. And not in just the elderly. It’s all manner...

Coronavirus deaths have increased 40 percent in one week, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Rochelle Walensky told reporters Wednesday. While Joe Biden said Donald Trump was responsible for U.S. coronavirus deaths in 2020, the death rate in the past week has increased 40 percent, or per the CDC’s moving seven-day average, 1,633 deaths per day.

The prime minister says preliminary data on the fourth vaccine dose shows that it safely brings about a fivefold increase in antibodies that battle the coronavirus. Naftali Bennett speaks during a visit to Sheba Medical Center in Ramat Gan, where the government launched a trial of second boosters early last week. It is now offering fourth doses of the Pfizer vaccine to people over 60 years old alongside those with weakened immune systems. Bennett says initial results show the fourth dose is as safe as the the third dose, which has already been given to almost half of Israel’s population...

At least 20 states are beginning the new year by increasing their minimum wages, while Puerto Rico and several cities and counties are also bumping up pay for workers in 2022. A total of 26 states will have minimum wage increases go into effect in 2022, with wage hikes beginning in 22 states on Jan. 1, according to Wolters Kluwer Legal & Regulatory U.S., a company providing information on finance, regulatory compliance and the law. A wage increase in New York state began a day earli

At the start of 2021 there were 16 members of the Constitutional Carry club in the United States of America. They were:AlaskaArizonaArkansasIdahoKansasKentuckyMaineMississippiMissouriNew HampshireNorth DakotaOklahomaSouth DakotaVermontWest VirginiaWyoming2021 was a record year for Constitutional Carry. In 2021, five states joined the Constitutional Carry club, increasing membership from 16 to 21. The last and largest state to join the club was Texas. The four other states to join the club in 2021 were Tennessee, Iowa, Montana, and Utah.Several other states are working to pass Constitutional Carry bills. Here are states and possibilities for Constitutional Carry in 2022.The first in line, with bills that...