Free Republic

Watch this new holiday-themed video that asks the following question: Why does the government force us to spend billions each year on corporate welfare?

Special interest groups have long been working with the government to get more and more resources, helping to increase our national debt. Just how much of our debt do you now owe? You can find out in seconds by visiting this site.

Children used to have aspirations to achieve greatness in the private sector. But what are they learning now? Watch this video at Fox Nation and click "Fire it up!" on the top left if you really like it.

How do we stop cronyism? By using Crony Clean™, the spray that breaks down bureaucracy! Watch this new video now!

Can you imagine if the Olympic races were determined not by how fast the runners were, but instead how well they knew the referees? That’s what cronyism does: it means that companies can be successful by being friendly with government instead of by serving their customers. This video shows what a crony Olympic race would look like:

Washington is harming small businesses with legislation and regulation, but some small business owners are speaking up about the problems they face. Watch this video to hear about one entrepreneur's story.

When big business and big government get too friendly with each other, everyone else ends up paying the bill. This new video highlights the revolving door cronyism between business, especially finance, and government. For more material on cronyism, visit Crony Chronicles.

To view other stories of cronyism, visit here. Susan Ferrechio at the Washington Examiner writes about the the massive farm bill making its way through congress, and how there are lots of little programs thrown into the bill: But billions of dollars in the legislation are also dedicated to entities like the Market Access Program, which provides $200 million a year in taxpayer dollars to trade associations to promote U.S. products overseas.Espree, the company that produces the styling spray for dogs (“Leaves the coat with specks of shiny glitter and aroma of Candy Cane”) was aided by a taxpayer subsidy...

Full article here, Happy Father's Day everyone! Everyone has to decide how best to raise his own children, but I would submit one important element missing from what I’ve mentioned so far: In what shape are we leaving our society and our government for our kids to inherit?It is easy not to think about this as being an integral part of parenting, since these areas are not exactly in our control. You might think that since there are so many different opinions about how our government should behave that it is pointless to focus on it and instead trust that...

Here is a video showing how an immigrant built a successful business in Nashville only to have the city try to hurt his business on behalf of the big taxi companies. This is a clear-cut example of cronyism, where the government is benefiting one business or industry over another. For more examples, visit here.

Paul J. Weber of the Associated Press writes an article posted at ReporterNews about the Cancer and Prevention Research Institute of Texas, which was created by the state in 2007: A Nobel laureate resigning in protest from a $3 billion cancer research initiative in Texas told colleagues in heated emails that he was trying to prevent misuse of taxpayer dollars and funding decisions based on political considerations, according to state records released Thursday... Allegations of undeserving awards and political influence sullying the funding process were levied by Dr. Alfred Gilman, the agency's chief scientific officer and a Nobel Prize winner...

This is an excerpt of a new article explaining how federal regulations of the airline industry lead to cronyism, and how de-regulation was a success. By Billy Culleton Without needing federal approval, on December 17, 1903, two bicycle mechanics from Ohio made history by flying the first powered aircraft over the beaches of Kitty Hawk, marking the start of modern aviation. In the decades following the Wright Brothers’ breakthrough, commercial airline carriers emerged across the United States, saving people from the hassles of boarding dirty rail road cars and avoiding deadly automobile accidents. Recognizing the increased popularity in air travel,...

Professional sports teams are getting money from taxpayers, and it isn't anything new. The Minnesota Vikings will receive half a billion dollars from Minnesota taxpayers, as Tim Carney highlights here. Samuel Staley at the Reason Foundation's Out of Control Policy blog writes about the cronyism occurring when professional sports teams are subsidized by taxpayers, and gives several examples: Professional sports continues to be crony capitalism at its worst, using its oligopoly status to extract rents from taxpayers through elected officials. The reality is that precious little evidence exists suggesting that professional sports teams boost economic growth for cities, let alone...

New jobs report is terrible, but the cronies are doing just fine! Here's a new video showing you:

In 2008, the federal government bailed out two major automakers – General Motors and Chrysler, along with their financial groups that offered loans. At the time, it was said that these bailouts needed to happen to prevent a crisis, and that these auto companies would pay back the taxpayers in time.The companies got tens of billions of dollars to keep operating. Disaster averted? No. Chrysler and GM certainly benefited, but the taxpayers are now footing the bill. The Treasury Department has admitted that taxpayers will lose a staggering $14 billion from the bailout. At least, that was what they said...

The following is a story from Crony Chronicles, if you want similar stories updated daily visit here: http://cronychronicles.org/facebookOur story begins with two entrepreneurial women in Williston, North Dakota, who noticed that there was a shortage of cabs in their town because of the recent oil boom in the area. They decided to start two small shuttle services, with some service for locals. As the Williston Herald reported on April 2nd: “We initially intended to do the shuttle service, but until that really gets built up and people are aware, if people need rides home, we’re giving them rides home. We’re...

With all the cronyism occurring right now, it is good to see this site, which has dozens of specific examples of cronyism occurring between business and government, and breaks it down by local and state level too. For example, not surprisingly, California has quite a few examples. Here are some recent stories there: Missouri company walks away with $2.4 million from state, cuts jobsCronyism Undermines the Beneficial Role of Business in SocietyDodd-Frank and the expansion of crony capitalismIf you like the page there is a Facebook effort too, go and support it: http://cronychronicles.org/facebook

I'm pretty sure this is how DC people actually talk: Stuff cronies sayWe need to stop these cronies.

[Note: I take quite some time to get to the subject of climate change. Please bear with me, I think it is important to lay the proper foundations first.]Children are impressionable. They don't have much previous experience or knowledge stored away in their little brains, so they aren't able to judge the accuracy of factual information very easily. This isn't a knock against children. In fact, it is one of the delightful things about them. I have two young girls, and watching them learn about the world around them is incredibly fascinating. They don't have preconceptions about how things work....

The IPCC recently released the Summary of a report about renewable energy. Both Pielke Jr. and Donna Laframboise have mentioned it, and once the final report comes out at the end of the month I'm sure we'll hear more about it. However, in looking over the report I was stunned to find out what the IPCC considers as renewable energy (RE). This story at Scientific American covers it very well. I recommend reading it. Here's the problem. The IPCC has different categories of renewable energy. They include solar, wind, hydro, geothermal, ocean, and biomass. Biomass is by far the largest...