Free Republic

Legal challenges by conservative lawmakers and activists against guaranteed basic income programs are heating up nationwide. And one of their arguments is surprising: Some say the programs are discriminatory because they are not universal. Numerous cities and counties are experimenting with guaranteed basic incomes to support their most vulnerable populations. They typically offer no-strings-attached monthly payments between $500 and $1,000 to specific groups, like new moms, Black women, or trans people, all of them low-income residents. Guaranteed basic income programs differ from their idealistic cousin — a universal basic income. UBI, made famous by Andrew Yang during the 2016 presidential...

Beneath the azure skies of the Mediterranean, a dark cloud of tyranny and violence gathered. This was Fascist Italy, a nation where Benito Mussolini's iron-fisted rule smothered the voice of dissent and liberty. It was a time marked by the infamous years between the 1920s and 1940s, where the boot of fascism stomped upon the face of humanity. One cannot forget the bombing of Guernica on April 26, 1937, a horrific act of aggression during the Spanish Civil War. Orchestrated by the German Luftwaffe with support from the Italian Aviazione Legionaria and the Corpo Truppe Volontarie, which comprised regular army...

Russian President Vladimir Putin promised a planned tax overhaul would increase inflows to the state budget, benefit low-income families and provide long-term stability for Russian corporation -snip- Now the government is looking to raise taxes for almost the first time since Putin took over in 2000 -snip- But with a war to fund, the Ministry of Finance (MinFin) intends to slowly move towards a more progressive system of taxes to boost revenues. At the same time Putin made expensive spending pledges to the population in March as part of the 12 National Projects that were launched in 2019 and need...

What explains the rise in warm feelings toward "socialism," especially among younger Americans? Several things, including a basic misunderstanding of what socialism means, the memory of the 2008 financial crisis and Great Recession, and a near-total lack of appreciation for how rapidly the material conditions of American life have improved. Given Karl Marx's emphasis on historical understanding as a vital pre-condition to political change, that last part is deeply ironic.

The Senate Budget Committee’s Democratic majority and Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) took aim at the oil industry Wednesday for historically minimizing the impacts of fossil fuels on the climate in a hearing on the results of a bicameral investigation into the industry’s efforts. In perhaps the most contentious exchange of the hearing, during which senators from both parties were cordial with Raskin, the Maryland Democrat also turned his criticism on a Republican committee member, calling Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) a “climate fatalist.” In testimony before the committee in the first half of the hearing, Raskin, the top Democrat on the...

White House Council of Economic Advisers Chair Jared Bernstein dismissed concerns that the economy is under-performing, saying "I can't get myself worked up over mere statistics in the GDP or CPI. Folks don't eat the GDP. The CPI includes volatile components like food, energy, and housing. If we exclude the price spikes in these areas inflation doesn't look so bad." "A key strength that our Republican critics overlook is that government spending remains robust," Bernstein added. "Under Bidenomics we're not at the mercy of private sector investments for economic growth. Their anti-social quest for increased profits is supplanted by a...

We have no time to waste. We live in troubled times. Our nation is bitterly divided. Our future as a republic, as a union, appears bleak. The news – the noise, the insanity, the darkness – is something many of us want to shut out. There are times when all I want to do is grab my surfboard and paddle out into the ocean, or go for a hike in the mountains, and appreciate the peace and majesty of Mother Nature. But there is too much at stake, in this moment, to put our heads in the sand and go...

McDonald said in addition to keeping the birth center open, the grant funds would be used to increase staff training around issues like poverty, racial equity, implicit bias and trauma-informed care. Money will also go toward partnering with community organizations and doula services to support increased pre and postnatal care, he said.

I am using this post to attract comments and build a powerful "talking Points" document. Freepers are the most informed and articulate researchers and commentators anywhere. I want to enlist your expertise to generate concise comments regarding 2 aspects of the pending CIA lawsuits. 1- What exactly is happening? 2- What does it mean? Using your concise comments I will create a powerful "talking points" document to be circulated to my email address book. I started to do it myself and then realized I have a powerful source ally at my fingertips.

A group of Republican senators reached out to National Public Radio (NPR), urging the network to “start a course correction” to shake off a left-wing bias controversy under the leadership of CEO Katherine Maher. Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-ND) led a letter sent to Maher on Monday, highlighting concerns raised by Uri Berliner, a longtime editor at NPR who resigned this month after he stoked fresh scrutiny of the media organization with claims that it “lost America’s trust” with an increasingly leftist bent. “It is not NPR’s job to tell Americans what to think but to inform them with unbiased facts....

A trend sweeping America is for people to break into unoccupied homes and resist eviction by claiming "squatter's rights." Some states, notably New York, explicitly facilitate this crime by declaring that a trespasser who can rebuff the owner's efforts to remove him for 30 days qualifies for "tenants rights." In an effort to ensure that intruders don't inflict these same crimes on Arizona home owners, the legislature passed a bipartisan bill (SB 1129) that would have permitted a homeowner to request law enforcement to immediately remove a squatter from his or her property. This bill was vetoed by Gov. Katie...

Exposes BS about Sweden. Not socialist, walked away from socialism, they have school choice, no minimum wage, etc...

There is much to learn from Paul Johnson's history of the 20th century, not least the appalling truth about the "Republican" camp during the Spanish Civil War; some unpalatable facts about FDR and his "vanity … compounded by an astonishing naivety"; and, most importantly, the many ways in which the autocrats of the left (Lenin, Stalin, Mao, etc…) and of the right (Hitler, Mussolini, Pétain, etc…) inspired, complemented, and even conspired with, one another. Much of what we have learned turns out to be myths. What explains the rise of rightist fascism, and how does it differ from leftist communism?...

When Barack Obama was campaigning for president in 2008, he was fond of saying that he wanted to "fundamentally transform America." He wasn't always upfront about the specifics, but when we read between the lines, we knew what he was talking about. Steeped in Chicago radicalism, Obama wanted to push America hard toward socialism. Seven years after Obama left office, the Democrat Party has abandoned Obama's vision of "fundamentally transforming" that nation and instead wants to end America. I know you're thinking that I'm making a melodramatic statement, but let's explore why it's true. For starters, the left has put...

It is the height of naiveté to believe that the seditious, anti-American left has any desire for, or intention of, peaceful coexistence with traditional America’s patriotic conservatives or Judeo-Christian culture. They despise those of us who reside in the so-called “flyover” part of the country…the “deplorables,” “Bitter Clingers,” “Deniers,” “American Nationalists,” etc. Despite all their empty rhetoric about tolerance, equality, diversity, and social justice, make no mistake about it: the “radical left’s” ultimate goal is the demise of all and any who oppose their totalitarian worldview.

Socialism always fails! But people still want it. They should listen to Gloria Alvarez.

Kudlow calls out Biden's economic agenda Congratulations to President Joe Biden, who continues to believe that he can tax the country into prosperity. I say "congrats, Joe" because the entire history of tax hikes shows the revenue increases never pan out. The economy is depressed. Investment falters and, if that weren't enough, you would be emulating western Europe which has been taxing itself into recession for many decades including now. If it's not exactly big government socialism, it sure comes close, doesn't it? Proud of you, Mr. President! You never miss a progressive beat. By the way, I don't want...

President Vladimir Putin is set to extend his 24 years as Russia's paramount ruler in an election on March 15-17 and has promised more than 11.5 trillion roubles ($126.5 billion) in infrastructure and social spending over the next six years. "This is the programme of a strong, sovereign country that confidently looks to the future," Putin told Russia's elite including lawmakers in a speech on Feb. 29. "We have both the resources and tremendous opportunities to achieve our goals." Russia's total budget spending in 2024 is planned at 36.6 trillion roubles, with military expenditure set to exceed social spending for...

(1/31/24 story) On the heels of Safeway's decision to keep its Fillmore grocery store open until January 2025, one San Francisco supervisor wants to regulate grocery store closures in the city to ensure local communities are not blindsided. Why it matters: The proposal is an effort to ensure food security throughout the city and is a direct response to Safeway's announcement and subsequent reversal of its decision to close its Fillmore supermarket, the only full-service grocery store in the neighborhood, in March. What's happening: Supervisor Dean Preston plans to officially introduce an ordinance, dubbed the Neighborhood Grocery Protection Act, that...

Bidenomics boosters in the media and on Wall Street are everywhere to be seen these days, selling the election-year idea that our president’s economic policies have somehow triumphantly raised our economy Phoenix-like from the ashes. Nothing could be further from the truth. A sampling of headlines going back to last summer show the adulation for Bidenomics among our supposedly objective economic cognoscenti (Latin for “know-it-alls”): “Bidenomics Is Real Economics,” Time Magazine. “Bidenomics is working,” New York Magazine. And our over-the-top favorite: “Bidenomics’ critics are being proven wrong. Happy days are here again,” Fortune Magazine. We could go on, but why...