Free Republic

Boston Mayor Michelle Wu is handing out $500 vouchers to migrants so they can enjoy haircuts, massages and other self-care benefits, despite the city's budget plunging nearly $50 million short. Applicants who are 'low-income, isolated queer and trans migrants, asylum seekers and refugees' are prioritized for the 'wellness allowance.' The initiative, called 'Boston Matters', was created by OUTnewcomers, a nonprofit that advocates for LGBTQ+ migrants in Boston alongside the Mayor's Office for Immigrant Advancement, Mass Daily News reported. Applicants get $250 to $500 toward 'non-clinical care' completely funded by the city agency, which is run by the Democrat's administration. They...

Illegal immigrants in California could soon have their lawyers paid for by taxpayers if a new bill proposed by Sacramento politicians goes through. Starting next year, California would begin to fund legal representation for all unauthorized adults to fight their deportations under new legislation set to clear its first hurdle on Tuesday. “Legal representation saves lives, protects civil liberties and keeps families together,” said bill author Assemblymember Mia Bonta (D). “This is a due process issue in California. People can lose their freedom, their family, their job and home through immigration proceedings.” Last year, Bonta helped pass a law that...

The Boston Globe ran a poll last December which found that a full third of respondents were thinking about leaving the state because of the high cost of living.The Globe/Suffolk survey found that about one-third of Massachusetts voters have seriously considered leaving the state in the past year because of affordability pressures, even as a majority still believe the state is generally moving in the right direction. Inflation, health care costs, housing, taxes, and soaring utility bills topped the list of financial stressors.Boston.com asked their readers how they felt and and even higher percentage said they were looking to move....

A new state bill aims to shield certain information about California’s High-Speed Rail project from the public. Supporters say it’s about protecting sensitive records, but critics think it puts the brakes on transparency. ... [O]pponents...say the project is too costly. They note the state has already spent about $15 billion on it over the last decade and a half, while the total cost projections for the full project have ballooned from the original $45 billion estimate presented to voters in 2008 to anywhere between $88 billion-$128 billion today. Inside California Politics Correspondent Eytan Wallace reports a new state bill would...

It refers to the circle of self-enrichment through which political donors and special interests bag cash from government spending — then kick some of that cash back to politicians’ campaigns. That’s the only way to explain why the high-speed rail project persists in the Central Valley, even though almost nobody wants it and nobody is even pretending the state can afford it. Fraud is also the only way to explain how California spends nearly half a billion dollars on an overhaul of the 911 emergency system, only to find that the project doesn’t work. And when you double state spending...

California is committed to funding reproductive health care, pledging money to Planned Parenthood after federal funds were stripped from its clinics. On Wednesday, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed legislation to provide $90 million in one-time emergency funds for Planned Parenthood and other women's health providers. President Trump's tax bill cut off Medicaid funding to abortion providers across the U.S. in July. Last week, Planned Parenthood said at least 23 of its health clinics have been forced to close, including one location in Madera. …

Secretary of Housing Scott Turner CONFIRMS Democrats were using American taxpayer dollars to pay for homes for illegals - $5 billion dollars in “overpayment errors” - Taxpayers are paying for housing for 30,000 dead people -Government-backed home loans given to non-citizens “We eliminated non-permanent residents' eligibility for FHA insured mortgages. And we are auditing public housing authorities to ensure taxpayer dollars don't support illegal aliens. American dollars should benefit American citizens and American citizens only.” Our Office of the Chief Financial Officer uncovered more than $5 billion in potential payment errors, over 50 billion in total rental assistance for the...

California’s move to abandon a plan revamping the state’s antiquated 911 system, after spending hundreds of millions on the project, has critics fuming.... But after spending around $450 million to build out the system, Cal OES halted the project last year due to “operational difficulties,” citing issues with the regional approach and stating it would pivot back toward the statewide approach.... Several of the four technology companies the state originally contracted with to develop the regional 911 system have accused officials of failing to effectively manage taxpayer dollars. Redesigning and installing the new statewide technology cost “hundreds of millions ......

Let’s say you paid top dollar to go to a fancy, five-star restaurant, and the waiter served you warmed-over McDonald’s. Would you ever go back? Maybe, if you didn’t know any better. I started thinking about that after I recently changed my residency from Virginia to California (for reasons I won’t go into) and noticed that my state income taxes had gone up by more than 33%. Over the course of the year, I will pay California $2,115 more than I’d been paying in Virginia, which is hardly a low-tax state (Virginia has the 14th highest income tax burden in...

A new study from a pair of think tanks has found that massive amounts of money, taxpayer dollars that are meant to combat the ongoing homelessness crisis, are in fact being used to further the left’s political goals. This might explain why the homeless problem seems to get worse each year despite the fact that we throw billions of dollars at efforts to solve it. FOX News reports: A new study just exposed the corruption behind America’s homelessness crisisFor years, Americans have been told that “compassion” for the homeless meant writing ever-larger checks – more money, more programs and far...

California Governor Gavin Newsom is giving Planned Parenthood another $140 million in taxpayer money, to show support for the abortion corporation and keep its doors open. But even this amount of money may not guarantee that. Key Takeaways: * Gov. Gavin Newsom announced he will funnel another $140 million in taxpayer funding to Planned Parenthood. * The promise of further financial support is in response to the Congressional defunding of abortion providers that qualify as "prohibited entities" of federal Medicaid dollars for one year. * Planned Parenthood is asking supporters for more donations as it announces more facility closures; however,...

The Democrats are pretending this shutdown is about your health care. It’s not—it’s about fraud. They want you to believe the sky is falling—your health care is going to double in cost (or go away completely, depending on the day), and low-income ObamaCare enrollees are going to get left out in the rain. These are scare tactics, designed to cover up for the proposal they’re really pushing: an extension of temporary COVID-era subsidies, riddled with fraud they’d rather not admit exists. As many Americans know, ObamaCare operates by households purchasing health insurance through the exchange. Based on the enrollee’s income,...

Wall Street Apes @WallStreetApes White House confirms Democrats have been lying, Illegals are on Medicaid Dr. Oz, Administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, CONFIRMS “We have proven that there's been over a billion dollars — paid by U.S. taxpayers for illegal immigrants in about half a dozen states.” “We're just getting started. So it's going to be significantly more money than that.”

One guy used $2.1 MILLION to pay his American Express Credit Card

The Obama library is a massive money laundering operation designed to funnel tax free funds to the worst terrorist elements here and abroad. Tides has also handled donations for Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation, which sued the group in California Superior Court last year. It alleged “egregious mismanagement” of more than $33 million in their funds, according to court documents. That lawsuit is ongoing. And what a money laundering operation it is. Obama’s ‘presidential’ library is almost a billion over budget and three years late. It has been in the works for eight years and only half done. Originally,...

Existing law establishes the Transgender, Gender Nonconforming, and Intersex Wellness and Equity Fund under the administration of the State Department of Public Healths Office of Health Equity, Health, for purposes of funding grants, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to create programs, or funding existing programs, focused on coordinating trans-inclusive health care for individuals who identify as transgender, gender nonconforming, or intersex (TGI). Existing law makes the grants available to TGI-serving organizations, as specified. Existing law defines terms, including health care and gender nonconforming, for purposes of these provisions.

Despite the ongoing budget concerns, commissioners voted 4–1 this week to allocate funding for the 2025 Gay Softball World Series. The measure, sponsored by Garcia, dedicates $468,610 to the tournament, with Ramsey casting the lone “no” vote. Garcia said the money would come in part from a tourism fund designed to attract events that bring visitors to the county. However, while part of the funding does come from that tourism fund, the other part comes from Precinct 2’s General Fund—largely supported by property taxes. In effect, at least 50 percent of the $468,610 will come from local property tax revenue...

HOLY CRAP! President Trump's decision to fire the Democrat Puerto Rico financial oversight board members has just been totally vindicated. The attorneys and consultants overseeing the Puerto Rico bankruptcy have spent millions on luxurious properties while everyday residents are dealing with dilapidating buildings. This comes after the board spent over 5 TIMES as much as estimated - over $2 billion on these "consultants," when $370M was expected. The waste, fraud and abuse has gone too far. It has to be cleaned up. 📽️ @street_gonzo

EPA Director Lee Zeldin told Miranda Devine, her podcast, that $20 billion was laundered through a network of "pass-through" NGOs from the "Inflation Reduction Act" to groups controlled by former Obama and Biden administration officials. EPA DIRECTOR LEE ZELDIN: When I was going through the confirmation process, this video comes out—it was done through Project Veritas. It was of a Biden EPA employee who was talking about how the agency was “tossing gold bars off the Titanic,” rushing to get billions of dollars out the door before Inauguration Day. He was also talking about the desire to get themselves jobs...

Paul Sperry @paulsperry_ DEVELOPING: Trump HUD is proposing a two-year cap on fraud-infested Section 8 housing subsidies, which currently have no time limits or work requirements. Studies show at least 1.4 million have been freeloading off tax-supported Sec. 8, which brings more crime to neighborhoods... 12:11 PM · Aug 19, 2025