Free Republic

Over more than a decade, consumers became accustomed to the sweet, steady flow of free news, pictures, videos and music on the Internet. Paying was for suckers and old fogeys. Content, like wild horses, wanted to be free. Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation charges for access to The Wall Street Journal and could do the same on Hulu. Now, however, there are growing signs that this free ride is drawing to a close

Well, it's not quite as bad as Paul Krugman critiquing the Fox Business Network, but a little troubling because tax dollars are being spent to undertake such an effort. A Nov. 27 post by incoming White House communications director Dan Pfeiffer on the The White House Blog attempted to fact check a Nov. 27 column by Washington Post columnist Charles Krauthammer, proving the left-wing noise machine isn't the only shop in Washington, D.C. criticizing conservative voices (h/t Amanda Carpenter of The Washington Times). "In today's Washington Post, Charles Krauthammer takes great pains to paint a bleak picture of health care...

(snip) There’s a list of issues being hammered out, but at the top is finding money for South Florida’s cash-strapped Tri-Rail. Republicans are targeting a $2 fee on rental cars as the source and discussing whether to let county commissions approve the charge or require a referendum.“That’s sort of one of the issues we’re dealing with,” Crist said. Florida’s Republican leaders believe they need to settle funding issues for Tri-Rail and a host of insurance and money issues for a proposed Central Florida line known as SunRail before the state has any chance at securing $2.5 billion in federal stimulus...

In a bad economy, we expect poor people will get poorer. But this recession has taught us that one mishap can snip anyone's strings and collapse middle-class financial security like a marionette. We didn't expect that. Consider planned communities. They're appealing as places where everyone is supposed to keep up: No front lawns going to seed; no cars rusting on top of them. However, the poor economy has meant that some of the neighbors can't keep up – and this hits homeowners associations in a unique way. Neighbors are financially yoked together, and problems for one can mean problems for...

Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin emerged from a two-month absence from public view with a private talk, heavy on foreign policy, to a group of investors in Hong Kong. Palin was paid an undisclosed amount, said to be in the low six figures, for the 90-minute speech. She has said one of the reasons she resigned was to pay legal bills that have topped $500,000. The speech was closed to reporters, but Palin later posted lengthy excerpts on her Facebook page. "This speech had very little to do with advancing her political career and more to do with advancing her...

More than a year after Bay Area air pollution regulators became the first in the nation to charge businesses for pumping greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, the program has raked in close to $1.7 million. And as early as this week, the state may follow suit by imposing similar fees on large California polluters as part of an ongoing effort to cut greenhouse gases 20 percent by 2020. The proposed program from the California Air Resources Board and the fledgling regional effort are designed to use the fees to pay for measuring, monitoring and studying the emissions blamed for global...

SACRAMENTO — State air-quality regulators appear back on track to impose the nation's first broad-based fee on greenhouse gas emissions, potentially costing Californians a little extra to fill their gas tanks, turn up the heat or go out to dinner. Regulators estimate that overall, the average consumer will pay less than $1.50 a year more once the fee is passed down by energy providers and others that release greenhouse gasses linked to global warming. ... The fee will affect about 250 types of businesses, such as the energy and cement industries, that burn huge quantities of fossil fuels. Together, those...

LONG BEACH, Calif. (AP) — The California State University system raised student fees Tuesday by 20 percent as part of a budget plan that would also shrink enrollment and furlough nearly all employees for two days a month. The Board of Trustees voted 17-1 to raise undergraduate fees by $672 a year to $4,827 in the nation's largest four-year university system. The fee increase, which follows a 10 percent hike approved in May, is part of the 23-campus system's plan to close a $584 million budget shortfall caused by an unprecedented drop in state funding to CSU, which has with...

WASHINGTON (AP) - A senior administration official says billions of dollars to raise fees for doctors treating Medicare patients are not covered by President Barack Obama's pledge to pay for health care legislation. Budget Director Peter Orszag said Tuesday that's because the administration always assumed the money would be spent to prevent a cut of more than 20 percent in doctor fees.

State law ups late fines, adds new road and bridge surcharges for transportation funding. A set of new fees aimed at funding highway repairs and improvements took effect July 1, and officials at the local branch of the Division of Motor Vehicles said they've been getting an earful from angry vehicle owners since then. While they didn't want to be named in the newspaper, the clerks said Tuesday that they don't set the fees. “People are irate about the fees, but it's a state law. We just collect them,” said one of the clerks, describing how some vehicles owners have...

Taxes Vs. Fees: What's The Difference? The word "fee" has been tossed around a lot lately. Cities are increasingly passing or considering raising the amount of money residents pay to use recreation centers, libraries, and trash collection services. Jon Caldara, president of the Independence Institute, said politicians should just be asking the voters for more money if they want it. Hickenlooper said he was not ruling out the possibility of going to voters and asking for a tax hike but hopes a review of departments and fee increases will help them avoid it.

In a controversial simple-majority vote Sunday night, the state Assembly approved raising taxes on oil production and tobacco products as part of a Democratic budget proposal that closes most of the $24.3 billion budget shortfall through June 2010. But the plan met immediate resistance when a spokesman for Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger vowed that the Republican would veto such an end run around GOP lawmakers. Bills containing new taxes normally require a two-thirds majority to be enacted. "He will veto any majority-vote budget fix," said Schwarzenegger spokesman Aaron McLear. "I think this shows that the Legislature is not yet serious about...

Coloradans whose license plates expire in July will have to pay new fees to get their plates renewed starting Wednesday. The size of the fees varies by the weight of the vehicle... Late fines are going up, too, and there will be a $2 daily fee on rental cars. The fees come from Senate Bill 108, the first new funding source for Colorado highways since the last time the gas tax increased nearly two decades ago. Democrats led by Gov. Bill Ritter pushed for the law, which should raise $200 million to $250 million a year to repair roads and...

SOUTH BEND - Three local shelters have lost the ability to acquire food from the Food Bank of Northern Indiana because they charge fees to certain residents or accept their food stamps. It could create a financial pinch for the shelters: the Center for the Homeless, the YWCA of St. Joseph County and the Salvation Army's Adult Rehabilitation Center. Food Bank CEO Lisa Jaworski says she regrets that those ties had to be severed, but she says her “hands are tied” by the strict federal and nonprofit rules for the two kinds of food that were provided. It all came...

There is only one major problem with Manitou Springs' plan to start charging $5 per car in the Barr Trail parking lot: Manitou doesn't own the lot, Colorado Springs Utilities does. And now Utilities wants some of the cash - or maybe all of it. The 32-car lot is packed nearly year-round with hikers going up Pikes Peak or Manitou Incline. The parking fees could easily top $100,000 a year. "Utilities wants a say in how money is allocated," Utilities spokesman Steve Berry said Wednesday. "We have an obligation to make sure we are representing the interests of our ratepayers."...

Credit cards have long been a very good deal for people who pay their bills on time and in full. Even as card companies imposed punitive fees and penalties on those late with their payments, the best customers racked up cash-back rewards, frequent-flier miles and other perks in recent years. Now Congress is moving to limit the penalties on riskier borrowers, who have become a prime source of billions of dollars in fee revenue for the industry. And to make up for lost income, the card companies are going after those people with sterling credit. Banks are expected to look...

All vehicles with a registration date of Tuesday and beyond will see the license fee increase from 0.65 percent to 1.15 percent of value of the vehicle. Based on the purchase price of a $20,000 vehicle, the vehicle licese fee will go from $131 to $231. The increase is part of the state's effort to close its budget deficit.

SACRAMENTO – Call it overhead. The state Air Resources Board plans to collect more fees from industries responsible for large amounts of greenhouse gases to recoup the administrative costs of implementing California's landmark climate change law. The proposed $50 million in annual assessments would nick Californians for about $1.50 a year after the costs are passed down, regulators estimate. The climate change program has been partly living on borrowed money for some time, tapping various state accounts to pay for 155 positions within the air board and for about 20 others assigned to different agencies. The additional staff, which includes...

Gov. Bill Ritter today signed into law the historic Colorado Healthcare Affordability Act, which will provide health coverage to more than 100,000 uninsured Coloradans and reduce uncompensated care and cost shifting. House Bill 09-1293 is the most significant health reform legislation in Colorado in four decades. “At no increased cost to taxpayers, the Colorado Healthcare Affordability Act will allow us to provide critical health services to people who need those services the most,” Gov. Ritter said. “This historic legislation will significantly address the crisis of the uninsured while also reducing uncompensated care and cost-shifting in our healthcare system. By partnering...

In a decision that could force Silicon Valley's largest water provider to refund millions — or perhaps tens of millions — of dollars to its customers, a judge on Thursday ruled that one of the Santa Clara Valley Water District's primary fees is illegal. Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Kevin Murphy found that the district's "groundwater extraction fee" requires voter approval under Proposition 218, a state law passed in 1996.

After her sport utility vehicle sideswiped a van in early February, Shirley Kimel was amazed at how quickly a handful of police officers and firefighters in Winter Haven, Fla., showed up. But a real shock came a week later, when a letter arrived from the city billing her $316 for the cost of responding to the accident. “I remember thinking, ‘What the heck is this?’ ” says Ms. Kimel, 67, an office manager at a furniture store. “I always thought this sort of thing was covered by my taxes.” It used to be. But last July, Winter Haven

WASHINGTON – The Senate has endorsed using revenues from controversial cap-and-trade auctions of permits for emitting greenhouse gases to help consumers pay higher gasoline and electricity prices. The 54-43 vote Tuesday is nonbinding.

CHICAGO (CBS) ― Chicagoans are so frustrated with broken parking meters and high costs, some are vandalizing the meters. They are taking more of your quarters every day. And Chicagoans are in revolt. While some are saying enough by avoiding them, others are taking out their frustrations on the parking meters - literally! CBS 2 Chief Correspondent Jay Levine reports with the anger behind the new meter rate increases. You think eight is enough? How about 12? That's how many quarters buy an hour of parking time in some places now. And its why some people have had enough. Near...

Michigan Tax Alert: Senate Bill 45 Take Action! Michigan Tax Alert: Your state senator just proposed a tax increase! Bill Number: SB 45 Bill Sponsors: Sen. Patty Birkholz (R-24), Sen. Jason Allen (R-37), Sen. John Pappageorge (R-13), Sen. Roger Kahn (R-32) This bill creates a new government bureaucracy to oversee the ongoing inspections of septic tanks. Home and business owners would be responsible to pay the fee for these inspections. The cost of new construction would also increase as a result of the additional fee. The taxpayer would also be on the hook to pay for the newly created On-site...

First, Arthur Santa-Maria called Bank of America to ask how to check the balance of his new unemployment benefits debit card. The bank charged him 50 cents. He chose not to complain. That would have cost another 50 cents. So he took out some of the money and then decided to pull out the rest. But that made two withdrawals on the same day, and that was $1.50.

The FDIC needs an infusion Concerns about the long-term solvency of the FDIC has prompted the insurance fund to approve a one-time “emergency” fee and other assessment increases within the banking industry. “Without these assessments, the deposit insurance fund could become insolvent this year,” [Chairman Sheila] Bair wrote in a March 2 letter to the industry. U.S. community banks plan to flood the FDIC with about 5,000 letters in protest of the fees, according to a trade group. “A large number” of bank failures may occur through 2010 because of “rapidly deteriorating economic conditions,” Bair said in the letter. “Without...

Like a lot of California drivers, Dave Soss just got a $490 lesson on how the state budget really works. It all began when Soss, who lives in the East Bay, was ticketed Feb. 1 for rolling through a red light while making a right turn in Emeryville - and was hit with what he called a "mind-blowing" penalty.For starters, there was the $100 base fine. Most of that goes to Emeryville, and the leftovers go to Alameda County. Then comes the real hit:-- A $100 state penalty - $70 of which is divvied up among a dozen programs, including...

Senate Democrats plan to push ahead with a plan to raise vehicle registration fees to pay for highway and bridge repairs without the support of Republican leaders. The measure (Senate Bill 108) has three main parts. Starting this year, it would tack on fees to vehicle registrations — $32 for passenger cars and many sport utility vehicles — and impose a $2 daily fee on rental cars. To raise more money in the future, it would allow tolling of existing highways and try out a plan to charge drivers based on the number of miles they travel as a possible...

LOS ANGELES – "SpongeBob SquarePants" might get squeezed off Time Warner Cable. Media giant Viacom Inc. said its Nickelodeon, MTV, Comedy Central and 16 other channels will go dark for 13 million subscribers at 12:01 a.m. Thursday if a new carriage fee deal with Time Warner Cable Inc. is not agreed upon by then. The impasse would mean "SpongeBob" and other popular shows like Jon Stewart's "The Daily Show" and Stephen Colbert's "The Colbert Report" will be cut off on the nation's second-largest cable operator.

NY officials want older trucks fitted with emission-reducing equipment; cost put at $195M ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) -- New York is taking steps to reduce diesel emissions in its construction fleet. The Department of Environmental Conservation is floating proposed regulations requiring trucks made before 2007 to be fitted with emissions-reducing equipment and to use ultra-low-sulfur fuel by 2011. The new regulations would apply only to state-owned trucks or trucks used for state contract work. The DEC estimates it will cost $195 million to retrofit about 30,000 state trucks. The New York State

There’s no “change” when it comes to politics as usual in The Empire State, in fact the Emperor’s latest edict is not being well-received. Gov. Paterson’s proposed $121 billion budget hits New Yorkers in their iPods - and nickels-and-dimes them in lots of other places, too. Trying to close a $15.4 billion budget gap, Paterson called for 88 new fees and a host of other taxes, including an “iPod tax” that taxes the sale of downloaded music and other “digitally delivered entertainment services.” “We’re going to have to take some extreme measures,” Paterson said Tuesday after unveiling the slash-and-burn budget....

You drink diet soda, so you must be healthier. Right? That's what New York Gov. David Paterson is talking about with his proposal for an "obesity tax" — a 15 percent slap on non-diet sugary soft drinks. Think $1 for a Diet Coke, $1.15 for a Coke. There's just one problem: Studies have found links between drinking diet sodas and obesity and diabetes. A 2005 study at the University of Texas Health Science Center, San Antonio, and separate studies released in 2007 at the University of Alberta in Canada and the University of Massachusetts found that diet soda drinkers were...

ALBANY - Gov. Paterson released a $121 billion slash-and-burn budget Tuesday morning that slams New Yorkers with 88 new fees and taxes - even on their iPods. Calling the budget the "greatest economic and fiscal challenge of our lifetimes," Paterson acknowledged his spending plan cuts deep. But he said the pain must be shared to deal with the fallout from the Wall Street collapse. The budget will cost the city an estimated $650 million in aid. But it's the $4 billion in new fees and taxes that are sure to aggravate everyday New Yorkers, who would be

The city's latest move to close the budget gap is annoying New Yorkers to no end. Soon, you may not be able to avoid the police no matter what you do. Approximately 100 of the agents will be in Manhattan; the other 100 will be spread out across the other boroughs. The money line from the article: The city thinks it can raise an extra $66 million this way.

OAKLAND, Calif. -- A proposed strategy for reducing ocean litter calls for a statewide ban on foam food containers, fees for using plastic and paper bags, and making producers responsible for the collection and disposal of packaging. The California Ocean Protection Council announced its plans (PDF [319KB]) earlier this month and voted on actions for preventing and reducing waste that could end up in the ocean. The state council also aims to change producer and consumer behavior with its three recommendations for reducing packaging waste: adopting extended producer responsibility, prohibiting certain items and charging fees for items that commonly become...

Earlier this year, San Francisco got slapped down by the courts over 1995's Proposition H, the controversial voter-approved ban on the sale and possession of firearms. The proposition was ruled unlawful and the plaintiffs in the case, including several gun-owning residents, the National Rifle Association and other pro-gun groups, cheered. Now, they -- well, technically their attorneys -- are getting paid by city taxpayers. The city has tentatively agreed to a $380,000 settlement for lawyers fees and other costs the plaintiffs incurred in fighting the ban. The Board of Supervisors still must approve the agreement, but it's likely they will.

HOUSTON, Sept. 5 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Continental Airlines (NYSE: CAL) today announced a $15 service fee for the first checked bag for certain customers who purchase economy-class tickets. The service fee will not apply to EliteAccess customers, including those seated in First or BusinessFirst, OnePass Elite and SkyTeam Elite members, customers traveling on full-fare economy (Y) class tickets, or military personnel and their families traveling on official orders. The policy will apply immediately for tickets purchased for destinations within the U.S., and between the U.S. and Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands and Canada for travel commencing on or after Oct....

American Airlines is charging troops for their extra baggage, a practice that forces soldiers heading for a war zone in Iraq to try to get reimbursement from the military. One of the country's largest veterans groups is asking the aviation industry to drop the practice immediately. American, which recently charged two soldiers from Texas $100 and $300 for their extra duffel bags, said it gives the military a break on the cost for excess luggage and that the soldiers who incur the fees are reimbursed. (snip) Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) spokesman Joseph Davis said service members destined for Iraq...

At Gus Miller's newsstand on Forbes Avenue in Oakland, there's a small, handwritten sign taped to the counter. It reads: "$15 minimum for credit card, 50-cent fee for debit." Kim Gresco barely acknowledged the sign as she reached for her wallet. The cashier rung up her bottle of Pepsi and a pack of cigarettes, little more than $5 total. She handed him her PNC Bank/Visa debit card. "You know about the fee, right?" he asked. "Yeah, it's fine," she said. The transaction may have cost Ms. Gresco an extra 50 cents, but it could have cost store owner Brian Weiss...

Editorial: Assessment ruling won't serve state well Monday's state Supreme Court decision striking down an assessment by the Santa Clara Valley Open Space Authority was one more nail in the coffin of California's quality of life. Not that the court was unreasonable. The justices were interpreting Proposition 218, as convoluted and mean-spirited an anti-tax law as California voters ever passed. The 1996 initiative aimed to tighten the rules set by Proposition 13 to make it even harder for government to raise revenue, and it's succeeding all too well. Californians must come to grips with the kind of place they want...

California high court strikes down Santa Clara County open space tax The California Supreme Court today struck down a special fee on Santa Clara County homeowners used to pay for open space acquisition, possibly wiping out more than $50 million collected over the past seven years for parks, trails and other services. In a unanimous ruling, the justices found that the 2001 special assessment by the county's Open Space Authority violated Proposition 218, a 12-year-old voter-approved law known as the "Right to Vote on Taxes Act." Proposition 218 was designed to limit local governments' ability to raise revenue without voter...

Lawyers might be going off the clock Saturday, July 5, 2008 3:00 AM By Braden Lammers THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH With money tight, we all want to know exactly what we are paying for. That applies to professional services as well as grocery-store staples. As a result, there is a change brewing in the legal arena on the best way to charge clients. One Columbus law firm has abandoned the long-established standard, the billable hour. Waite, Schneider, Bayless & Chesley moved to a fixed rate, or an alternative fee as it is called, in January. "Lawyers call it alternative billing because...

Californians would pay higher traffic ticket, parking, car registration, property insurance and other fees under dozens of proposals flying around the Capitol. Whether taxes ultimately are raised, state officials are looking to cut a $15.2 billion deficit by increasing other revenue. Higher fees could bolster the California Highway Patrol, state parks, emergency services, state wildfire response, oil-spill prevention and various public programs. Fee hikes are not touted as a way to solve the massive deficit, but they could soften the blow as legislators fight over sales and other taxes. Kris Vosburgh, executive director of the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association, said...

BOSTON- The UMass Board of Trustees Committee on Administration & Finance today voted to advance a policy called the "Welcome Home Waiver Program," to the full Board for a vote on June 12. The proposal would extend a partial fee waiver to Massachusetts veterans who have served in the Iraq and Afghanistan combat areas since September 11, 2001. Under the program, Massachusetts veterans who gain admission to degree programs at UMass would be eligible for an annual mandatory fee waiver of up to $2,000 for a maximum of eight semesters (total value $8,000). The program targets the same combat veteran...

FORT WORTH, Texas - American Airlines will start charging $15 for the first checked bag, cut domestic flights and lay off workers as it grapples with record-high fuel prices. ADVERTISEMENT The nation's largest carrier said Wednesday the fee for the first checked bag starts June 15 and that it would raise other fees for services ranging from reservation help to oversized bags. The other fees will mostly range from $5 to $50 per service, the airline said. Last month American announced it would join other carriers in charging $25 for second bags checked for some passengers, but it wasn't immediately...

The matchup was inevitable. For the past two months, House Speaker Andrew Romanoff ... His complex proposal would undo the tightest part of that knot by lifting the spending limits imposed by the 1992 Taxpayer's Bill of Rights... Rep. Douglas Bruce, R-Colorado Springs,... "For this purpose, I come before you as the author of the Taxpayer's Bill of Rights, and as is my wont, I will speak plainly," he began. "This measure, if adopted, will mean unlimited state spending forever." Bruce railed against what he saw as a conspiracy by the "tax-and-spend crowd" to "con" voters into giving up government...

AUSTIN — Maybe Texas’ transportation problems are a lot simpler to understand than recent fights over toll roads make it seem, North Texas leaders told state senators Wednesday. “My first recommendation: You need to provide a lot more revenue for transportation,” Michael Morris, transportation director for the North Central Texas Council of Governments, told the Texas Senate transportation committee. That was hardly the only suggestion from Mr. Morris or the many others who spoke to the committee, which is seeking input as it readies an approach on toll roads, TxDOT and more for the next legislative session. But it might...

The Empire Strikes Back With Massive Attorneys’ Fee Request in CityNorth Case Clint Bolick, Goldwater Institute, April 24, 2008 While the Goldwater Institute’s legal challenge to the CityNorth subsidy moves to the Court of Appeals, one issue remains before the trial court that upheld the subsidy. Not content merely to demand $97.4 million of taxpayer money, the developers now are seeking hundreds of thousands more for their attorneys’ fees—from the Goldwater Institute. The City is, too. Rather than using the same huge in-house legal department that negotiated the deal, the City hired a high-priced private firm to defend it. The...

Exasperated Republicans accused Democrats on the Senate floor this morning of raising wide-ranging fees on ordinary Coloradans in order to avoid seeking voters' permission for a tax hike. The debate erupted amid discussion of ... a new fee to birth certificates--and came only days after a proposal by another Senate Democrat... to slap a $25 fee increase on marriage licenses. The Republicans point to numerous fee hikes authored by Democrats ...to one that would assess higher fees on ozone-depleting compounds. "Will enough ever be enough?" the GOP's Sen. Josh Penry, of Grand Junction... "When do we stop the fees? We...

Californians support the idea of charging "green" vehicle fees that would make drivers of gas guzzlers pay higher taxes and offer discounts for those driving less-polluting vehicles, according to a survey by a transportation researcher at San Jose State University.The state now charges drivers registration and licensing fees and gasoline taxes at rates that do not take into account vehicles' pollution levels. But the survey, conducted by Asha Weinstein Agrawal, a research associate with the university's Mineta Transportation Institute, found that Californians would support a variety of taxes and fees to raise money for transportation improvements as well as combat...