Free Republic

Video SummaryMatt Walsh argues that chain restaurant food quality has sharply declined in recent years, with nearly identical, poor-tasting food across major brands (Domino’s, Pizza Hut, Papa John’s, etc.).Key points raised:Private equity is often blamed, but it’s not the primary or new culprit; PE has owned major chains for decades (e.g., Domino’s to Bain in 1998, Burger King in 2002) and typically buys either growing or failing companies with the goal of long-term profit, not deliberate destruction. Some PE turnarounds (e.g., Arby’s) have been successful.Cases like Red Lobster are more complex: it was already in steep decline before PE involvement,...

In the latest episode of Parsing Immigration Policy, Jessica Vaughan, Director of Policy Studies, sits down with Mahvash Siddiqui, a U.S. Foreign Service officer, to discuss systemic fraud in the H-1B visa program. Speaking in her private capacity, Ms. Siddiqui shares firsthand experiences from her time as a consular officer in Chennai (Madras), India – one of the world’s largest H-1B visa-processing posts – where U.S. officials adjudicated thousands of nonimmigrant visas, including 220,000 H-1Bs and 140,000 H-4 visas for their family members in 2024 alone. The episode highlights alarming patterns of fraud affecting the H-1B program, including forged degrees,...

The Week Jobs Were Better Than Expected and the Fed Was Worse Than We ThoughtWelcome to Friday! This is the Breitbart Business Digest weekly wrap, where we catch up on the economic and finance news of the seven days already lost to history.This week was one in which mysteries were uncovered. The government got around to unveiling the truth about jobs in September and the mysterious resignation of yet another Fed official. Hiring by restaurants appeared to put to rest fears of a restaurant recession. Anchors aweigh!Better Late Than Never: America’s Unexpected September Jobs SurpriseThe Department of Labor released its...

Jim Farley, the CEO of Ford, is claiming that he cannot fill 5,000 mechanic jobs – even though they pay $120,000 per year. This is a problem that TV personality Mike Rowe has been talking about for years. We don’t have enough young people in the country who are learning skills, such as working with tools, or how to do things like be an auto mechanic. Meanwhile, we have a surplus of people in college who are going into massive debt wasting their time on useless topics like gender studies, women’s studies, and various social justice topics. The New York...

Verizon's new CEO is planning to cut about 15,000 jobs in the U.S. telecommunications company's largest ever layoffs, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters on Thursday, outlining some of the executive's first efforts to restructure in the face of rising competition. The wireless carrier faces mounting market pressure amid concerns over a shrinking pool of new customers as older rivals offer cheaper plans and cable operators jump into the fray. A Verizon spokesperson declined to comment. The layoffs, affecting about 15% of Verizon's workforce, are set to take place as soon as next week, the person said, and...

Republican Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene has introduced a new bill to "END the mass replacement of American workers" by ultimately phasing out the H-1B visa program. The move by Greene to introduce legislation aimed at ending the H-1B visa program signifies an intensifying split within the Republican Party over immigration and U.S. labor policy. The debate puts a spotlight on differing visions for the future of America's workforce, U.S. competitiveness in global technology and research sectors, and the policies that shape immigration and employment. It also brings to the forefront the challenges President Donald Trump faces as he seeks to...

In a shifting labor landscape, small businesses are feeling the pulse of the economy as they navigate notably mixed job market signals. According to the latest NFIB Jobs Report for August 2025, 32% of small business owners report unfilled job openings, marking a slight decline from July. This trend reflects broader challenges in finding qualified candidates, a concern that continues to weigh heavily on the minds of business owners.Small businesses are often the cornerstone of the economy, yet they find themselves grappling with persistent staffing issues. While 32% indicates progress since pandemic lows, it continues to illustrate the labor market’s...

How do we call out freeloaders at work without causing drama?This colleague seemed like the perfect team member: Friendly. Easy to talk to. Always ready with an emoji reaction in the group chat or a cheerful: "Sure, I can help!" when tasks were assigned. Yet somehow, their work never quite got done. Reports arrived half-completed, tasks were quietly pushed aside, and when deadlines loomed, there was always an excuse – a miscommunication, a family commitment, a "just need your quick help to finalise this" message. When the project finally succeeded, they were the first to claim credit. I smiled along,...

Walmart paused corporate job offers to candidates that require H-1B visas to work in the U.S., Bloomberg reported citing people familiar with the change, as the Trump administration’s planned policy requiring companies to pay $100,000 fees for new applicants requiring the visas begins to impact American businesses.

"There is a lot of chatter these days about holding those evil companies that hire illegals to some type of legal retribution. Let me explain why this is the willful failure of government, not the actions of some greaseball company owners." ... "When the first unscrupulous contractors started working with illegal aliens, they generally paid cash under the table. No payroll taxes or anything like that were paid. When this percolated up to the powers that be, there was an outcry. About hiring illegal aliens and putting hard working American citizens out of work? Not a chance. They came down...

November morning in New Hampshire. Pat Buchanan is standing among the men and women of a footwear factory, listening to the assembly-line cobblers about the threats posed by cheap imported shoes to not only their jobs but their communities and their country. It’s an early winter evening in Wheeling. The guys at the pub [wonder] what they will do when the smelter shuts down, never to be re-opened. How could we lose? Surely America will see what’s coming? Surely conservatives and the Republican Party will embrace the cause of these Americans whose efforts defeated first fascism and then communism, only...

At over 7 percent, the unemployment rate in Canada is the highest it has been in a decade. For those under 25, it surpasses 14 percent. This is a real challenge for young people at the beginning of their working lives. The usual rules for getting started on a promising career no longer seem to apply.A welder works at a new condo building under construction in downtown Vancouver, in a file photo. The Canadian Press/Jonathan HaywardA university degree does not open doors the way it used to. There are many more university graduates than there are openings that require this...

The department, which has met its 8-percent overall reduction goal, is now going after “low performers.” The Defense Department is making another push to slim its civilian workforce, this time by directing managers to fire employees for “unacceptable performance” while continuing to encourage civilians to leave voluntarily. A 20-page memo signed by the Pentagon’s personnel boss late last month lays out several mechanisms for civilian employees to resign or be removed for cause, beyond the 60,000-plus employees who have already voluntarily bowed out this year through either the Deferred Resignation Program or Voluntary Early Retirement Authority. It also gives employees,...

The US Department of Labour released a new video highlighting the misuse of H-1B visas and how the American dream was “stolen" from American citizens at the hands of foreign workers. The video included a mention of India, which accounts for over 70% of H-1B visa workers. “For generations, we’ve told Americans that if they work hard enough, they can achieve the American dream. But many Americans have had this dream stolen from them. Their jobs were replaced by foreign workers as politicians and bureaucrats allowed companies to abuse the H-1B visa," says the voiceover in the video. The video...

-snip- Representative Jimmy Panetta, along with Congress members Ami Bera, Salud Carbajal, and Julie Johnson, wrote to the President expressing concern over the September 19 proclamation titled “Restriction on Entry of Certain Nonimmigrant Workers," as reported by PTI. -snip- “Indian nationals, who make up the largest share of H-1B recipients, are central to US leadership in information technology and artificial intelligence,” they noted, adding that many successful American companies were founded or led by former H-1B holders. -snip- The lawmakers also stressed that a robust visa framework strengthens national security and supports the US-India partnership. “Indian-Americans and other H-1B holders...

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The woman remembers when she first moved to the neighborhood more than 20 years ago, and the streets were full of empty storefronts and seemingly relentless poverty. Today, Minneapolis’ Lake Street corridor is jammed with businesses, many owned by Somali refugees. “Look at what we did around here,” said Nasra Hassan, a community health worker whose family came to Minneapolis fleeing Somalia’s civil war, speaking one day after the Trump administration slashed the number of refugees allowed into the United States. “Because of us this place is thriving.” Minnesota’s large Somali community was among the immigrant groups...

“PORTLAND, Ore. (KATU) — Oregon leaders and immigration advocates are holding a press conference after they say more than 30 people were arrested by ICE agents in Woodburn on Thursday. The presidents of the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) and Pineros Y Campesinos Unidos del Noroeste (PCUN) spoke at the event….”

The US Department of Homeland Security has announced an interim rule to stop the automatic extension of Employment Authorisation Documents (EAD) of migrant workers, a move that is likely to impact thousands of foreign employees, including Indians who make up a large portion of the expat workforce. In a statement on Wednesday, the Department said "Aliens who file to renew their EAD on or after Oct. 30, 2025 (Thursday), will no longer receive an automatic extension of their EAD." This means, EADs automatically extended before October 30 won't be affected. With the new rule, there will be more "vetting and...

There has been much wallowing over news that Amazon and UPS have each just cut 14,000 jobs. Some Amazon employees report of being fired with all the heartlessness you might expect in a world where tech has taken over: by automated email. Maybe it was even AI which handpicked them to be de-emphasized, to use that dreaded 1990s expression. This, then, seems to be the future: where an elite of AI entrepreneurs grow rich while the rest of us slop off into idleness and unemployment. So much for those who have been gleefully predicting the implosion of the AI boom....

I know many claim things are better but the there are 0.97 open jobs to every 1 unemployed...Businesses are closing right and left..Banks are in trouble, repos are at record levels, Credit Card defaults are at atmospheric levels. Beginning to look like 1929...the beginnings of it anyway...Let them eat cake I guess... October layoffs Amazon 30,000+ UPS 46,000 Target 1,800 Paramount 1,000 Applied Materials 1,400 Sika 1,800 And many more