Free Republic

NEW YORK — In separate articles on the same day, the New York Times and Washington Post each seemingly parroted the same talking points 11 times in respective articles in their zest to baselessly connect President Trump’s rhetoric and policies to an unhinged manifesto attributed to the 21-year-old accused of murdering 22 people in cold blood and injuring dozens when he opened fire in a Walmart in El Paso. The manifesto is clearly the work of a demented mind and expressed views that are all over the map, yet both newspapers selectively cited the document to divine the El Paso...

Ben & Jerry’s co-founders announced a limited edition ice cream on Friday in support of Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and his presidential bid. Ben Cohen, a co-founder of the Vermont-based ice cream giant, announced the new political flavor in a tweet Friday morning. He said Sanders is “the best candidate to beat Trump and drive the transformational change that we need to create a country that works for working families”:

Andrew Yang, the 44-year-old tech entrepreneur from New York running for president, may have the most extensive and wildest platform in the Democratic field. 1. A domestic infrastructure force called the " Legion of Builders and Destroyers." Under his proposal to modernize military spending, Yang has a scheme to divert 10 percent of military funding toward an infrastructure task force he calls “The Legion of Builders and Destroyers.” The head of this task force would be called “The Commander,” and he would be given the power to overrule local zoning laws and city regulations to make sure the building and...

See video at link. Andrew Yang has been censored by MSNBC. His mic was cut off during the debate so he could not respond. The other candidates' mics were NOT cut off. He only got two questions. Why? They (media punks) said Yang was the debate's "loser". They didn't even give him the chance to speak and tried to make him appear timid and stupid. Why don't the mainstream media want people to hear what Yang has to say?

A crowd broke out into chants of "PowerPoint, PowerPoint, PowerPoint," at Democratic presidential hopeful and entrepreneur Andrew Yang's latest Seattle rally last week. The chant broke out during a Friday rally at Gas Works Park in Seattle. Yang was reiterating his promise to become the first president to use PowerPoint in the State of the Union address when the audience responded by repeating "PowerPoint," according to GeekWire. "I'm going to be the first president to use PowerPoint at the State of the Union, how do you feel about that?" Yang said. "Yes, this is the nerdiest presidential campaign in history!"...

Democrats are trying to put the last nail in the coffin of the Budget Control Act of 2011, one of the few remaining semblances of fiscal restraint left in Washington. This week, the House likely will vote on a plan to raise the law’s discretionary spending caps by at least $357 billion for 2020-2021. As has far too often become the case in Congress, none of the proposed new funding will be paid for with cuts to other programs. The country is over $22 trillion in debt. It is past time for Congress to get serious about spending reforms and...

Andrew Yang, a businessman who is running for the 2020 Democratic nomination for president, said Sunday on ABC's "This Week" that his proposal to provide every American with a $1,000 guaranteed monthly income would help "solve the problems that got Donald Trump elected in 2016." "To me the main driver of his victory was that we automated away 4 million manufacturing jobs in Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, the swing states he needed to win," Yang said.

UBI is like putting a Band-Aid around America’s ruptured aorta—it might help, but it won’t stop our economy from flat-lining. Here’s why: Andrew Yang thinks automation will result in mass unemployment, and therefore we need a UBI to soften the blow. Both the economic logic and evidence suggests otherwise. Begin with this logic: Employment is determined by the ratio between productivity and output. All other things being equal, higher productivity (getting more done each hour) means fewer jobs, while higher output (making more stuff) means more jobs. If both productivity and output increase at the same rate, then employment does...

I have a feeling this guy is going to be the 'Hope and Change' guy for Democrats come 2020. He supports everything from universal basic income to upholding Roe v. Wade. It's worth observing him to see how his personality and emphases (automation, decline in American life expectancy, middle America's economy, using military budget to fund infrastructure) set him apart from the others in the leftier than ever pack.

Four years ago, Democrats were gearing up for a pre-determined outcome, the anointing of Hillary Clinton as the party’s presidential candidate. Convinced they were “on the right side of history,” Democrats believed Hillary was destined to succeed Barack Obama, America’s first black president, by becoming our first female president. The only real opposition to Mrs. Clinton’s nomination came from Bernie Sanders, the socialist senator from Vermont who had never previously identified as a Democrat. The weakness of Hillary’s candidacy was exposed in the 2016 primary campaign, when Bernie and his wild-eyed supporters very nearly derailed her nomination, being foiled by...

Hey Chuck,I read more and more people pushing for Universal Basic Income (UBI)? This sounds cool but so does a free condo on the beach. First, what is it? More importantly, is it really a good thing?Interested in UBIThanks for your important and timely question. UBI is being talked about heavily among Silicon Valley tech titans like Mark Zuckerberg. Recently, new presidential candidate Andrew Yang has even made it his central campaign promise.What Is UBI?On the surface, UBI does sound intriguing: everyone gets guaranteed monthly income; cash in the bank, no strings attached. This idea has been around for a...

Presidential candidate Andrew Yang is campaigning on the platform of Universal Basic Income. He says everyone from MLK to Milton Friedman to Richard Nixon were for it. But were they? The answer won't surprise you.

Dr. Milton Friedman, Nobel Laureate, promoting "Free to Choose" on the show Donahue.Worth watching....Donahue...actually conducted a decent interview.

Thomas Sowell now fears U.S. may not resist 'siren song' Revered economics columnist Thomas Sowell’s warning that Americans may not resist the “siren song” of socialism recalls the late legendary economist Milton Friedman’s warning of the inevitable “drift” toward collectivism that any society with a free enterprise system must constantly battle.

Quotations from Friedman, variously attributed: Government has three primary functions. It should provide for military defense of the nation. It should enforce contracts between individuals. It should protect citizens from crimes against themselves or their property. When government-- in pursuit of good intentions tries to rearrange the economy, legislate morality, or help special interests, the cost come in inefficiency, lack of motivation, and loss of freedom. Government should be a referee, not an active player. The great virtue of a free market system is that it does not care what color people are; it does not care what their religion...

Milton Friedman's prescient notions regarding Antifa and all like-minded communist brownshirts: Why Communism Must Lead to Corruption

For political observers of a certain vintage, long-shot presidential candidate Andrew Yang’s proposal to give every American adult $1,000 a month brought back a distinct memory from 1972. That year Democratic presidential nominee George McGovern also proposed writing a $1,000 check to every American — $1,000 a year, however (there’s been a lot of inflation since then). To put it mildly, it did not go over well. Even though McGovern eventually abandoned the proposal, and even though it was similar to the “negative income tax” idea crafted by famed free-market economist Milton Friedman and briefly considered by Richard Nixon, the...

Ah, socialism. Is there ever a time you fail to amuse us?In Finland we are seeing the launch of an idea which has been popular among liberals for quite some time but hasn’t really caught on anywhere. The government there has launched a pilot program where a select group of unemployed people will be given an assured basic income starting this month with no strings attached, no requirement to work (or do anything else for that matter) and no end to the program even if they go back to work. What could possibly go wrong? (Associated Press) Finland has...

Finland has started a radical experiment: It's giving 2,000 citizens a guaranteed income, with funds that keep flowing whether participants work or not. The program, which kicks off this month, is one of the first efforts to test a "universal basic income." Participants will receive €560 ($587) a month -- money that is guaranteed regardless of income, wealth or employment status. The idea is that a universal income offers workers greater security, especially as technological advances reduce the need for human labor. It will also allow unemployed people to pick up odd jobs without losing their benefits. The initial program...

Finland has become the first country in Europe to pay its unemployed citizens a basic monthly income, amounting to €560 ($587), in a unique social experiment which is hoped to cut government red tape, reduce poverty and boost employment. Olli Kangas from the Finnish government agency KELA, which is responsible for the country’s social benefits, said Monday that the two-year trial with the 2,000 randomly-picked citizens who receive unemployment benefits kicked off Jan. 1. Those chosen will receive €560 every month, with no reporting requirements on how they spend it. The amount will be deducted from any benefits they already...