Free Republic

This week, California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) joined the many Californians now seeking their fortune elsewhere. The difference is that Newsom is planning to come back to California, even as billionaires, investors, and companies flee his state for greener pastures. Newsom and Democrats such as Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) were selling a brave new world that looked a lot like the broken old world. It was an ironic moment. They were addressing countries at the Munich Security Conference that had previously destroyed their economies through socialist and far-left policies. The rush of liberal Democratic officeholders to Europe was telling. A...

Over the course of 2025, the average tariff rate on U.S. imports increased from 2.6 to 13 percent. In this blog post, we ask how much of the tariffs were paid by the U.S., using import data through November 2025. We find that nearly 90 percent of the tariffs’ economic burden fell on U.S. firms and consumers. [...] We highlight two main results. First, 94 percent of the tariff incidence was borne by the U.S. in the first eight months of 2025. This result means that a 10 percent tariff caused only a 0.6 percentage point decline in foreign export...

In his famous 20th century novel "The Sun Also Rises," Ernest Hemingway’s character, Mike Campbell, was asked by a friend how his financial ruin had happened. Campbell replied to the question simply, "Two ways. Gradually and then suddenly." Just a cursory look at today’s headlines and one can see this very idea of "gradually and then suddenly" playing out in the fiscal health of many blue states. California, the poster child for a state heading down the road to financial ruin, is slated to lose four congressional seats in the 2030 census due to population loss. Moreover, major companies such...

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. …

Mayor Zohran Mamdani told state lawmakers on Wednesday that the only way out of the city’s $12 billion budget gap is to raise taxes on the wealthy. Hizzoner, during his first Tin Cup Day in Albany, formally called on the state Legislature to raise income taxes on people making more than $1 million by 2%. “I’m asking for a 2% raise in personal income taxes on the most affluent New Yorkers, someone earning $1 million a year. The top 1% of New York City can afford to contribute $20,000 more in taxes,” the young mayor said. “That 2% tax alone...

House Democrats proposed a sugar tax on Thursday that would impose another 3-cent charge per fluid ounce of applicable beverages, amounting to a 72-cent tax on a 24-ounce coffee. The sugar tax would be in addition to other state and local taxes, including Seattle's sugar tax, which amounts to a 1.75-cent-per-ounce tax on distributors of "sweetened beverages." The money would go toward expanding food assistance programs, despite studies showing that it could decrease sales. Rep. Chipalo Street, D-Seattle, and Rep. Alex Ramel, D-Bellingham, recognized this potential outcome when filing House Bill 2734, citing Seattle and other cities with sugar taxes...

The Seattle Seahawks dominated their way to a Lombardi Trophy on Sunday, defeating the New England Patriots 29-13 behind a strong defensive performance, a clean game from quarterback Sam Darnold and multiple big plays from Super Bowl MVP running back Kenneth Walker. You’d think that with a Super Bowl win, most players would be in line for a hefty game check — plus possible bonuses. However, that's not the case in California. Despite the victory, Darnold actually ended up losing out on roughly $249,000 due to the state’s “jock tax,” which is calculated based on duty days. For Darnold, that...

A small group of pro-wealth activists clashed with socialist demonstrators Saturday over California’s proposed “billionaire’s tax,” as dueling protests played out on the streets of San Francisco. The rally, dubbed the “March for Billionaires,” drew supporters of the state’s ultra-wealthy residents, who are in the crosshairs of a proposal that would force them to hand over five percent of their net worth to California each year. Organizer Derik Kauffman said many onlookers assumed the march was a joke, given it was staged in ultra-liberal San Francisco. “Vilifying billionaires is popular. Losing them is expensive,” reads a message on the event’s...

Sheila Gunn Reid, Lise Merle and Wyatt Claypool react to debate between Mark Carney and Pierre Poilievre over the impact the industrial carbon tax is having on food costs in Canada.The industrial carbon tax isn't helping fuel the rising cost of food in Canada, claimed Mark Carney during debate with Pierre Poilievre in the House of Commons.“We have the highest food inflation in the G7,” Poilievre said, taking aim at the prime minister. “I've given my theory on why under his leadership, Canadians are paying more, faster than anyone else.”“The impact of the industrial carbon tax is, as estimated by...

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The global-warming debate is shifting from science to economics. For years, the fight over the Earth's rising temperature has been mostly over what's causing it: fossil-fuel emissions or natural factors beyond man's control. Now, some of the country's biggest industrial companies are acknowledging that fossil fuels are a major culprit whose emissions should be cut significantly over time. A growing number of these companies are pushing for a mandatory emissions limit, or "cap." Some see a lucrative new market in clean-energy technologies. Many figure a regulation is politically inevitable and they want to be in the room when it's negotiated,...

California drivers and Republican legislators are furious over a Democrat-led proposal that could see motorists taxed for each mile they drive. With the state staring down a budget deficit in the billions and more Californians switching to electric vehicles, Democratic lawmakers are searching for new ways to shore up declining gas tax revenue. Californians pay the second-highest gas price in the nation behind only Hawaii. In January, the average price was $4.23 per gallon, according to the American Automobile Association. On Thursday, state legislators advanced Democrat Lori Wilson’s bill, AB 1421, which would direct the California Transportation Commission and the...

Billions in taxpayer money have disappeared in Minnesota...but it’s not just Minnesota. There are other blue states where billions in taxpayer funds seem to be unaccountable. What happened to the missing money? Obviously, it went into someone’s account, at times with the knowledge of state officials who may have received contributions or votes to remain silent, but into whose account? The contrast between New York and Florida in this regard, as in so much else, is revealing. The marginal income tax rate in New York state is 10.9% (nearly 15% in NYC ), along with sales taxes nearly 9% in...

After Abigail Spanberger won the Virginia governor’s race going away in November, the consensus among the political chattering class was that it’s a foregone conclusion the Republicans will lose in next year’s midterms. The experts said this was a referendum on President Donald Trump, and an early sign that his America First movement is cracking. The same experts pointed to “key Democrat wins” in the New Jersey governor’s race and the New York City mayoral election as further indicators of a coming blue wave. To be so smug in their predictions, the experts had to ignore the fact that the...

Virginia Democrats have introduced a host of new tax proposals that would tax a range of services, including dog walking and gym memberships despite running on a campaign to increase affordability. More than 50 proposals and new rules were introduced for the new legislative session, including additional local sales tax in all Virginia counties and cities, 7News reported. The new proposed policies include: dog walking and grooming tax gun and ammunition tax new income tax brackets storage facility tax dry cleaning tax home repair tax new personal property tax on electric leaf blowers and electric landscaping equipment

ccording to documents posted online by a family who formerly lived in California, the Golden State is trying to collect income taxes years after the family moved to Florida. The documents, sent on Jan. 6, 2026, asked for receipts, invoices, canceled checks and other documentation showing that the family moved from California to Florida nearly four years ago. The California Franchise Tax Board, which sent the letter, also asked the family for a “narrative of the circumstances” surrounding the family’s move out of state. Hari Raghavan, who with his wife, Mitali Gala, was the subject of the investigation by the...

- New 4.3% sales tax on Uber Eats, Amazon, etc deliveries. - New sales tax on admissions to a wide variety of businesses. - Create two new higher tax brackets of 8% and 10% on people making over $600K. - A new 10% tax bracket for anyone making over $1M. - 3.8% investment tax on top of state income taxes. - Raise the hotel tax. - New personal property tax on landscaping equipment. - Ban gas powered leaf blowers. - Guarantee illegal aliens free education. - Make it illegal to approach somebody at an abortion clinic. - Extend the time...

Two Brooklyn marketers plead guilty in federal court to taking part in a wide-ranging Medicaid fraud scheme that prosecutors say relied on illegal kickbacks, sham billing, and money laundering connected to two social adult day care centers and a home health care company. Manal Wasef, 46, and Elaine Antao, 46, both of Brooklyn, were admitted to conspiring to commit health care fraud after investigators concluded they helped steer Medicaid recipients to specific providers in exchange for bribes and other illicit payments. Authorities allege the operation resulted in more than $68 million in Medicaid billings for services that were not provided....

The Trump Administration has told states to stop the long-standing practice of taking Social Security benefit checks from some children and youth in foster care. In a letter to governors, sent in early December, Alex Adams, an assistant secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, told states to end what he calls "the orphan tax." Adams, who oversees federal child welfare policy, told states to quit taking Social Security survivor benefits from children in foster care. The monthly benefit is paid to a child whose mother or father has died but had worked and paid Social Security...

Jan 13 (Reuters) - Sugary drinks and alcohol are not being sufficiently taxed and remain affordable, making it harder to tackle the chronic health problems caused by these beverages, according to two reports from the World Health Organization. The WHO has called for higher taxes on alcohol and sugar-sweetened drinks multiple times in recent years, arguing it would help cut consumption of the products which contribute to diseases such as diabetes, as well as raise money at a time when development aid is shrinking and public debt is rising. According to a report from WHO, sugary drinks have become more...