Free Republic

Socialist Zohran Mamdani is now the mayor-elect of New York City. Unfortunately for the city, they're about to find out what a bad decision they made. Mamdani recently interviewed with PIX11 News’ politics managing editor and anchor Dan Mannarino, where he was asked about his plan for "free" buses and how he would pay for them. He was asked where he was going to get the $700 million that he would need for the plan if New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) was not for raising taxes. Q: “How are you getting the $700M to make the buses free if...

Chicago homeowners are asking for answers as property tax bills continue to climb, with several residents saying they’ve seen little improvement in return. In Lawndale, a neighborhood on Chicago’s West Side, residents told ABC7 Chicago that despite higher property tax bills, little has changed on their streets, leaving them frustrated over where their money is going. Community leaders and the Lawndale Christian Development Corporation gathered citizens at a local church for what they called a "property tax bonfire," the local station reported. "There's been a divestment in this community for the most part, but it seems like now that people...

Gov. Hochul is reportedly open to raising taxes on corporations in the Empire State to help fund socialist Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani’s freebie-filled agenda for New York City. Hochul, who is up for re-election in 2026, is sticking to her vow to not hit high-earners with higher taxes — but has had preliminary conversations about raising revenue by upping the corporate tax rate, according to Politico, which first reported the story. The hike would help fill the more than $4 billion budget gap facing the state next year and cover some of the costs associated with Mamdani’s socialist dream in the...

A new analysis finds that the states of New York and New Jersey have lost billions of dollars from their tax base amid an exodus of residents in recent years. Unleash Prosperity released a report on Tuesday that found New York lost $517.5 billion in resident incomes from 2013 to 2022, while New Jersey lost $170.1 billion in that period, according to data from the Census Bureau and IRS. The report covers cumulative gains and losses in each state's resident income, as a mover takes their income to another state for subsequent years – not just the first year after...

Bill Maher presses his guests on the migration of wealth from high-tax blue states to Florida -- what some are calling "Wall Street South." From rising costs in New York to the surge in Florida’s real estate market, this debate reveals how much post-COVID economics and state policy have reshaped where Americans live and invest. "Bill Maher: The Rich Are Fleeing Blue States -- and He Explains Why" | 7:07 Raw Nation Report | 679 subscribers | 159,308 views | November 8, 2025

"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...

The most important thing to know about the Trump administration’s defense of its hotly contested use of tariffs to bring allies and opponents to heel is not that it is a novel and unprecedented legal argument but rather a full-throated articulation of the campaign themes that got the president elected – in both 2016 and 2000. In its legal documents, and in the oral arguments that took place before the Supreme Court Wednesday, the Trump administration paints a picture of America under siege. Once thriving industrial towns in the Midwest hollowed out. Factories dismantled as supply chains have been moved...

A senior EU official has said he expects the US "not to interfere" in global climate negotiations in Brazil next week, citing aggressive behavior at last month’s International Maritime Organization (IMO) meetings in London. At those talks, US officials reportedly intimidated diplomats from Africa and the so-called Small Island States, warning some they might lose US transit rights or face entry restrictions for themselves and their families if they did not help block the UN-backed Net Zero Framework for shipping. The official said they were unaware whether commission staff had been targeted directly. “We have no indication our colleagues were...

Voters who are 65 or older are especially passionate about health care – nearly all say access to quality, affordable health care is important to their vote (97%). Nine in 10 voters ages 50 to 64 say the same (90%). Eighty-three percent of voters 50 to 64 and 92% of likely voters 65 and older say a candidate’s stance on improving the response plan for natural disasters is important to their vote. The state’s youngest and oldest voters consider a candidate’s position on housing affordability more important to their vote than those in between. Ninety-two percent of voters ages 18...

A group of strip club executives allegedly bribed a New York state tax auditor with cash, luxury Florida trips and lap dances worth thousands of dollars a day to slash millions from their tax bills, according to a sweeping indictment by Attorney General Letitia James. The 79-count indictment accuses top leaders of RCI Hospitality Holdings Inc., the Texas-based parent company behind strip clubs Rick’s Cabaret, Vivid Cabaret and Hoops Cabaret, of using their venues to disguise bribes as "promotional" expenses and avoid more than $8 million in sales taxes between 2010 and 2024. Prosecutors say the auditor received at least...

1. The Tax Law That Now Finds Itself Without a TaxIn the recent discourse around the potential removal of suppressors and short barrel rifles from the provisions of the National Firearms Act (NFA) and its tax and registration requirements, a point made repeatedly was that if the tax was repealed but the registration stayed, the latter would be illegal as it was only ever justified by the former.This is indeed correct, as from its inception, the NFA was justified as a tax, with the registration being incidental to that tax and only existing ostensibly to ensure the tax was properly...

U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzales has filed legislation to support domestic filmmaking, days after President Donald Trump threatened to impose a 100% tariff on foreign-made films. Gonzales has dubbed his proposed legislation “Texas is the New Hollywood Act.” A news release from Gonzales on Tuesday afternoon said the bill would create more filmmaking opportunities “here at home and allow Texas to build on its momentum to be at the forefront of the American film industry.” “This legislation is key to creating new jobs in our communities. It also goes hand-in-hand with efforts underway in the Lone Star State to give film...

Seven Democrat states have pledged tens of millions of dollars in taxpayer funds to prop up Planned Parenthood amid federal defunding under Congress and President Donald Trump. The move is drawing sharp condemnation from pro-life advocates who say the states are propping up the nation’s biggest abortion company. The taxpayer-funding commitments from New York, California, Oregon, Washington, Illinois, Massachusetts and Hawaii come in response to a one-year moratorium on Medicaid reimbursements for nonprofits that kill babies in abortions, enacted as part of Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill” signed in July. The law bars such organizations from federal funding if they received...

Various blue states are facing towering budget deficits as federal pandemic payments end and expenditures rise. The result is a widening gap between the two parties on tax policies as Democratic leaders seek to avoid massive budget cuts in favor of tax increases. Two of the most economically moronic measures can be found in California and Illinois where leaders could be pushing high-tax residents out of their respective states.In California, Gov. Gavin Newsom is seeking a billionaire tax that would target roughly 180 individuals who are expected to remain in the state, like some voluntary canned hunt. In Chicago, Mayor...

The U.S. budget deficit edged lower for 2025 as record-setting tariff collections helped offset what also were unprecedented numbers for payments on the spiraling national debt, the Treasury Department announced Thursday. In a year marked by a bruising trade war and high financing costs, the federal government managed to escape with a $1.78 trillion shortfall, some $41 billion, or 2.2%, less than in fiscal 2024. While that’s still on the high end historically, the red ink would have been still worse had it not been for a massive surge in customs duties and a September surplus of $198 billion that...

The U.S. Internal Revenue Service has filed two liens on claims of unpaid taxes by Senator Jim Justice and his wife Cathy, adding up to more than $8 million. The filings were first reported by Politico’s Ry Rivard. MetroNews reached out to Justice through his Senate office and through the communications team at The Greenbrier Resort, owned by the Justice family, but received no response. The full amount claimed by the IRS across two filings is $8,053,554.37, and the sums go back years. $3,060,855.27 is listed for the tax year 2009. $4,957,763.72 for 2017. $24,044.80 for tax year 2017. And...

The Democrat-led state of Illinois spent more to give free health care to illegal migrants than the total it spent on its citizens in programs for foster kids, the elderly, its roadways, and the arts — combined. The 2025 budget, passed in June of 2024, totaled $53.1 billion in spending, inducing more than one billion dollars in new taxes. But despite the huge rise in taxes, Gov. JB Pritzker also signed onto a total of $629 million toward taxpayer-funded health care for illegal migrants called the Health Benefits for Immigrant Adults (HBIA). The mounting number of programs for illegal aliens...

Chicago Tribune @chicagotribune Gov. JB Pritzker released partial tax records Wednesday showing he and his wife reported more than $10.3 million in taxable income — including more than $1.4 million in income from gambling.

Rachel Reeves could impose a 'one-off' tax on wealth to appease militant Labour MPs, according to a report today. In a major analysis ahead of next month's Budget, the Institute for Fiscal Studies warns the Chancellor against imposing a permanent wealth tax, saying similar attempts have failed around the world. But the think-tank says a 'one-off' raid would be far harder for the rich to dodge as they would have no opportunity to move their assets.

The greatest generational wealth shift in history has already begun.Baby Boomers, the largest retirement generation to date, will finish shifting up to $105 trillion to heirs by 2048. And according to a recent LegalZoom survey*, 62% of what will be left behind is anticipated to be real estate or property.But rising home maintenance costs could pose a problem for younger generations.For instance, property values have increased “almost 27% faster than inflation since 2020,” per the Tax Foundation. And with higher home valuations, heftier property tax bills typically follow.So will the inherited wealth be enough to support the higher costs of...