Free Republic

Not cheering yet? You should be. In all likelihood, you are Big Oil. Nearly half the population holds stock in oil and natural gas companies through pension funds—there are 145 million retirement accounts invested in oil and natural gas companies. The average value of these pension accounts is less than $55,000. 48.6 million American families hold IRAs that are invested in oil and natural gas companies—80 percent of these IRA holders earn $70,000 or less. All in all, corporate management owns 2.8 percent of oil companies; middle class Americans largely own the rest. But Americans looking to retire comfortably aren’t...

One year from today we will know whether or not Barack Obama will continue as President of the United States for another four years. If history has anything to do with it, the American public will be able to breathe a sigh of relief as we give him his walking papers. It has nothing to do with the fact that a recent poll reveals that 55% of Americans believe Obama will be a one-term president. Nor does it have to do with the fact that a current poll suggest that any Republican candidate would beat Obama in an election by...

This is AWFUL!! I spilled milk in the car and now it smells like something died in there? Does anyone have a hint about how to make this smell go AWAY?? My neighbor thought she was being funny and said, 'buy a new car'.

Report: Over 1,000 Kids in L.A. County Foster Care Have Capable Parents Who've Been Detained/Deported. Arguably two of California's most controversy-plagued government factions -- immigration enforcement and child protection -- team up for double the incompetency in today's "Shattered Families" report by the Applied Research Center. The heartbreaking new data shows that 1,178 children in Los Angeles County alone are only in foster care because... ... their illegal-immigrant parents are caught up in deportation proceedings. "It's one more problem," says Richard Wexler of the National Coalition for Child Protection Reform. "What you've got is two hugely dysfunctional systems, and when...

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi exemplifies the Democrats’ anti-democratic, rule-by-fiat interpretation of American government. A clearly agitated Maria Bartiromo asks Pelosi, in short, whether or not the regulatory uncertainty created by the radicalized Environmental Protection Agency, Dodd-Frank legislation, and the National Labor Relations Board have any impact on job creation. Bartimoro then asks whether or not the NLRB has the right to close Boeing’s South Carolina plant. “Yes. I don't think they close it down. I would hope they would make it union,” Pelosi responds. Pelosi is not concerned with the preferences of Boeing’s workers—whether or not they would like...

We should be wary of allowing any court to define Constitutional terms. Even more important, for the very sake of representative government, we must resolutely oppose judicial interference with the Presidential election process. From Madison’s record of the Federal Convention, it is clear the Framers considered anyone born in the US, less slaves and indians, to be a natural born citizen. They did not bother to specify parentage because it just didn’t matter. What was important was to minimize the possibility of a paid foreign born agent becoming President. Yes, I know Wiki says it was to keep foreign aristocrats...

...According to today’s Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, Costa told House Republican lawmakers that officials examined cases over a three-month period and found thousands of Medicaid cases that should have been closed under existing state laws. He contended that previous administrators failed to consistently monitor eligibility and enforce regulations. It is believed that the Dept. of Public Welfare can save over a hundred million by cleaning up Medicaid rolls when it is all said and done. It’s both refreshing and good news for Pennsylvania taxpayers that the folks in Gov. Corbett’s administration are rolling up their sleeves, cracking open the books, and cleaning...

Four times a year, Democrats and the Left cherry-pick oil and natural gas companies’ quarterly earnings and supplementary data in an attempt to justify tax increases on some of America’s largest employers. Yes, Exxon and other American oil and natural gas companies make a lot of money, but they also pay a lot of taxes and employ a lot of people—two facets of these companies that are rarely, if ever, discussed. You are “Big Oil” Today Exxon announced 3rd quarter profits of $10 billion. So when oil natural gas companies make billions, who profits? If you have a retirement fund...

ATR has long said that the so-called "Congressional Supercommittee" should focus entirely on spending cuts. After all, Washington's problem is that it spends too much money, and you don't solve that by raising taxes. That's why we've advised the Supercommittee members to avoid taxes as a topic at all. Should the Supercommittee decide to look at taxes, it should avoid net tax increases at all costs. If the Supercommittee reports a net tax hike, it will probably be a violation of the Taxpayer Protection Pledge and will certainly be opposed by Americans for Tax Reform. Finally, should the Supercommittee decide...

...Rather than introspect on the damage the past few years of Obama-Pelosi-Reid have wrought, the President is returning once again to the rhetoric of exigency to push policies that are too unpopular - even amongst his own party - to pass through Congress. Alleging Republicans have been "unwilling" to act, the President announced today that he will direct the Federal Housing Finance Agency to unilaterally implement new refinancing measures to help homeowners who are underwater on their mortgages. The executive summary is silent on what impact this could have on mortgage bondholders and certainly doesn't comment on the increasing moral...

Unlike the latest television perversion entitled, The Playboy Club,  I can actually tell you the truth about being a Bunny and working in the Chicago Playboy Club in the 60s. If you're wondering why I bring this up 45 years after the fact, it's simple.  One of my readers took exception with my article on GOP presidential candidate Richard Perry, and decided to go after the messenger rather than the message.   I find it humorous that anyone would think exposing me as a Playboy Bunny in my youth should affect what readers think of my research and articles today.  Apparently...

...ATR’s Ryan Ellis articulated it best in his initial response to Cowen: Would a grand bargain with $10 in promised spending cuts for $1 in tax hikes be a good deal for conservatives? No. We have been through this before. In 1982, President Reagan was promised $3 in spending cuts for every $1 in tax hikes. In 1990, President George H.W. Bush was promised $2 in spending cuts for every $1 in tax hikes. In each case, all the tax hikes went through, since that's a matter of a single, affirmative tax law change. The spending cuts never materialized. It...

The pending Keystone XL Pipeline—the pipeline that will carry Canadian crude oil to refiners in Texas and Oklahoma—is emblematic of the misinformation campaigns waged by those who inexplicably want to scuttle this project, and the tens of thousands of jobs tied to its construction. Attempting to brand the pipeline as “dangerous,” groups and politicians on the Left have done Americans a disservice by misrepresenting the project’s basic facts. The Pipeline is NOT a disaster waiting to happen Since the first well was drilled in Pennsylvania over a hundred years ago, oil pipelines have been one of the safest, most efficient...

For those in need of a good chuckle, Americans for Tax Reform recommends checking out the Democratic Governors’ Association’s twitter feed. The latest gem came this afternoon, when the DGA sent out a tweet touting Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley’s denunciation, during an appearance on Fox News this morning, of Republican opposition to Harry Reid’s millionaire surtax in the U.S. Senate. O’Malley began by referring to the current economic doldrums as “the Bush recession,” despite the fact that President Obama is in his third year in office. The good news is that the electorate isn’t buying such nonsense anymore. A new...

Last night, the Democrat-controlled Senate rejected a portion of the President’s so-called jobs plan, which would have been a mini-“stimulus” program designed to save local public employee jobs. The bill was overwhelming rejected; only gaining 50 votes. The history on local “stimulus” spending is clear: the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act established the State Stabilization Fund, a $50 billion slush fund for state and local educators. Projects funded from the program ranged from providing for inflated health care costs to funding water park field trips to buying iPods and iPads for elementary school classes. As a result, 1.6 million teaching...

With the United States Postal Service’s (USPS) $8 billion deficit this year forcing Congressional action, Representatives Issa (R-Calif.) and Ross (R-Fla.) have proposed the Postal Reform Act, H.R. 2309, which balances the books and ensures taxpayers do not foot the bill for USPS mismanagement. Click here to view the PDF.Rightsizing the workforce Compared to the private sector, over 80 percent of the Post Office’s costs are labor related, while FedEx and UPS spend 20-40 percent less. The Postal Reform Act looks to bring down labor costs by rightsizing the entity’s workforce and bringing postal employee compensation in line with other...

This afternoon, the U.S. Senate will be voting on an amendment to H.R. 2112, the Agriculture-Commerce-etc. appropriations bill for FY 2012. The amendment, #789, is being offered by Senator Merkley (D-OR). Below is a legislative alert sent by Americans for Tax Reform opposing the measure. Senator Merkley’s amendment would require that all steel, iron, and manufactured products used on freight transportation projects be made in the U.S. The motivation behind “Buy American” may make political sense, but it makes horrible economic sense. Such protectionist measures raise costs for consumers and businesses. Not only do “Buy American” provisions restrict growth, they...

This afternoon, the U.S. Senate will be voting on an amendment to H.R. 2112, the Agriculture-Commerce-etc. appropriations bill for FY 2012. The amendment (#769) is being offered by Senator David Vitter (R-La.) The amendment in question would allow Americans to purchase prescription medicines from Canada. On its face, this is a pro-free market amendment. Why should the government prevent people from buying goods or services from anywhere they want to, especially a developed nation like Canada? The free market answer is that consumers would often not be importing just the medicine, but also the price control. In most countries, the...

Over the last few years, I have seen numerous articles on everything imaginable . This has been the most informative site amongst “many” others I frequent. I am a Messianic Christian and partially disabled. I once weighed over 500 pounds and was written off for dead with severe sleep apnea. By the grace of God I have since lost 300 pounds. Many years spent in a wheelchair have pretty much weakened me from the knees down. If you see me in the mall I am probably zipping by you, but I cannot stand for long. I will never be able...

Herman Cain's "9-9-9" plan is coming under increased scrutiny. At issue is the fact that two of the "nines" are sales taxes. One is a national retail sales tax. The other is a value-added tax (VAT.) ATR has long been opposed to a VAT, since the European experience with them has been so negative. VATs started out in Western Europe at about a 5 percent rate, but now average about 20 percent. There is a 15 percent minimum VAT requirement just to join the European Union. The growth of government spending in Europe since 1970 is directly-correlated to the growth...