Free Republic

The context for Occupy Wall Street and proposals to tax the rich - "rich" being constantly redefined - is the broader issue of economic inequality. For years, liberal politicians, academics and pundits have complained about growing inequality, but their protests barely resonated with the public. When most people are doing okay, the fact that some people are doing better does not arouse much anger. No more. When many people do worse, or fear they might, the rich inspire resentment and envy. Glaring inequalities that once seemed tolerable become offensive. By and large, Americans regard the rich the way they do...

Montage of Liberals calling for resdistribution of wealth in their own words.http://www.glennbeck.com/2011/10/06/shocking-video-of-politicians-calling-for-redistribution-of-wealth/

Jonathan Silver, administrator of the U.S. Department of Energy’s loan guarantee program, is resigning from his post. Until now, Silver was the head of the DOE’s Loan Programs office. That office oversaw the program that gave now-bankrupt Solyndra its $535 million loan guarantee. The transaction left taxpayers on the hook when the company failed. Though President Barack Obama continues to tout solar energy as a boon for the future, Silver’s resignation may signal that key Obama administration officials lack confidence in a strategy of subsidizing loan guarantees for companies in hat Obama calls the “green jobs” economy.

BET founder Robert Johnson on the "FOX News Sunday" program: "Well, I think the president has to recalibrate his message. You don't get people to like you by attacking them or demeaning their success. You know, I grew up in a family of 10 kids, first one to go to college, and I've earned my success. I've earned my right to fly private if I choose to do so. "And by attacking me it is not going to convince me that I should take a bigger hit because I happen to be wealthy. You know, it is the old --...

In the coming weeks, Americans could face sweeping changes to the tax deferral status and funding strategies of their retirement plans.

Who’s the largest owner of REO (bank-owned) inventory in the country? The taxpayers! That’s right. You and me. Mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, along with the Federal Housing Administration (FHA), are currently holding approximately 250,000 foreclosed homes. That’s roughly half of all unsold, repossessed properties. Plus, these government-backed agencies may soon be forced to repossess 830,000 more homes currently in some stage of foreclosure. What’s a government to do with so many distressed properties? Unloading them into the market would only further depress values, while damaging the fragile U.S. economy that depends on real estate stability. Holding the...

Ever since Rick Perry derided Social Security as a Ponzi scheme, economists and other pundits have jumped into the fray. Progressive blogger Matt Yglesias says it's "nuts" for anyone to talk like this, because Social Security merely relies on future economic growth — just like a private pension plan. Free-market economist Alex Tabarrok responded to Yglesias with links to arch-Keynesians (and Nobel laureates) Paul Samuelson and Paul Krugman, both comparing Social Security to a "Ponzi game." In the present article I have three aims: First, I will point out that the critics are right; to the extent that Social Security...

For about a year, Dauhn Minus has been struggling to pay her utilities bill, which, at times, she said runs well over $300. "That's a lot of money for an electric bill," said the 52-year-old West Palm Beach resident. The main reason their bill is so high is because the air conditioning unit is 15 years old and working overtime to cool their two-bedroom home. But it can't do the job properly since Minus' home wasn't energy efficient. "I would have my AC on at 70 degrees, but it was reading 85 degrees in my house," Minus said. "I was...

In New York City, Democrats lost a congressional seat that had been continuously held by the Party since 1923. The defeated Democrat—David Weprin—blamed Obama: “It’s pretty simple, the President wrecked the economy and I took the lumps for it. I’d advise any Democrat who hopes to survive the 2012 election to put as much distance as he can between himself and the President.” Representative Henry Waxman (D-Calif) distanced himself from Weprin and denied that the President should bear any part of the blame, attributing the outcome, instead, to “Jewish greed.” “The President is trying to achieve a more equitable distribution...

While greeting a Latino audience to support her husband’s speech about opportunities for Hispanics, Michelle Obama decided an exotic gown was in order. As President Barack Obama spoke at the black-tie event, the First Lady looked stunning in the strapless raw-silk dress by U.S. designer Chris Benz. She appeared to be inspired by an Amazonian peacock as she sashayed into the Washington Convention Center with matching emerald hued earrings and classic black heels. And Mrs Obama seemed delighted with the President’s pledge to put more money in the pockets of Latino workers by the look of her ear-to-ear grin on...

An abiding—make that the primary—goal of the Obama Administration has been to reduce income inequality. When the Affordable Care Act finally passed, White House economists and liberal pundits did a victory dance in their favorite publications boasting about how the bill would spread the wealth. So how's that inequality project working out? One answer came yesterday with the Census Bureau's annual snapshot on living standards. The official poverty rate—defined as a family of four earning less than $22,314—rose to 15.1%. That's up from 14.3% in 2009 and 12.5% in 2007. The official rate significantly overstates poverty by missing government income...

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) said she was “wiped out” by Kinde Durkee, a well-connected California Democratic political operative who served as treasurer for hundreds of state, local and federal campaign committees.Durkee was arrested by the FBI on Sept. 2 on allegations of fraud surrounding the diversion of more than $670,000 from the reelection committee for a California state assemblyman, and a growing list of California Democrats, including Feinstein and Reps. Susan Davis and Loretta Sanchez, now appear to victims as well.“I was wiped out too, we don’t know how much,” said Feinstein, indicating the losses in campaign funds could run...

FREMONT, Calif. (AP) — FBI spokesman says federal agents executing search warrants at California solar firm Solyndra

Federal agents are executing a search warrant this morning at the Solyndra in Fremont, according to a FBI spokeswoman. It is part of a joint operation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Department of Energy' Office of Inspector General, according to Julianne Sohn, a spokeswoman for the FBI. The action by federal agents comes a week after the solar panel manufacturer abruptly closed, laying off 1,100 workers. Sohn would not comment on the purpose of the search or what they might be looking for. "Everything is under seal," she said. There are indications that the agents are in the process...

Maxine Waters believes that the only way to get the economy going again is to spend another trillion dollars or more putting people back to work:

She’s a true democrat. We all know the democrat solution to every problem is to spend more taxpayer dollars. Rep. Maxine Waters believes we need to blow another trillion dollars to jump-start the economy. The far left politician was on Meet the Press this morning, via The Right Scoop:

JOHANNESBURG (AP) -- South Africa's minister of land reform says black farmers have resold nearly 30 percent of the white farmland bought for them by the government - often back to the previous white owners. Minister Gugile Nkwinti announced the startling indicator of failure at Wednesday's launch of a long-delayed government policy paper to revitalize plans to more equitably distribute agricultural land, redressing historical wrongs.

Yes, you read correctly. “Spread the jobs around.” You’re probably familiar with Barack Obama’s well documented intentions to “spread the wealth around.” In a discussion about his vision for economic recovery back during the campaign of 2008, he expressed that intention using those precise words (do a web search with the President’s name and the phrase, and see what pops up). Today, the President struggles with the political consequences brought about by the stifled economy, which has been brought about his own “wealth spreading” ways. Yet within the Obama worldview, it makes sense that a President who has displayed no...

Full Title: College Students in Favor of Wealth Distribution Are Asked to Pass Their Grade Points to Other Students A California college student is conducting a social experiment where he’s trying to get his peers to sign a petition in favor of distributing grade point averages to show how the federal government distributes wealth.

A poll of New York voters conducted by Siena College found that only 36% approve of President Obama’s job performance. This is a decline from last May’s 53% approval rating. A comment from a Manhattan poll respondent cited the president’s “lack of focus.” “He keeps talking about creating jobs,” the respondent complained. “We don’t want wage slavery. We need to get paid. That’s why we elected him. What I want to know is where are our checks?” Despite their disappointment with the President, New York voters still prefer him to any possible Republican contender. The poll shows that even former...