Free Republic

Pelosi, Reid, Frank, Dodd, (and Clinton), will be writing the new tax laws for small and large business, so anything "president elect" Obama has to say about Joe the Plummer is a waste of time anyway. Say what ever you want. Say 99% of voters won't be taxed. The truth is he will sign whatever socialist plan is served up. Can you imagine him veto'ing anything? Just call the next budget "The Declaration of Dependence".

In the recent debates, both Obama and Biden have told us that under their tax plan is about ‘fairness’ and that no one will pay ‘no more than they did under Ronald Reagan’. These are boldface lies which we can not let stand. Karl Rove pointed this out after the VP debate on Fox, but even the well informed Rove only got it part right. Reagan’s top tax rate was 28%, and social security and Medicare were capped. Under Obama’s plan, the top rate would go up to 39.6%, much higher than Obama and Biden are telling us. But that...

A majority of likely voters believe the tax plan being touted by Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama would leave them worse off than they are now, according to a new poll. The ATI-News/Zogby poll revealed today 52 percent of those surveyed believe Obama's tax scheme would leave them worse off, including 52 percent of independents and 51 percent of women. "Surprisingly, 18 percent of Obama's own supporters said his tax plan would make them worse off," the poll results said. One in four Democrats believes Obama's tax agenda would be damaging personally and one in five self-described liberals takes the...

Time’s up for Chicken Little: Budget shortfall presents opportunity for new leaders to emerge Thomas C. Patterson, Goldwater Institute Daily Email January 29, 2008 The state budget deficit is an opportunity in disguise. The pressure of a multibillion dollar shortfall might enable reforms we wouldn’t have the courage for otherwise. Governor Janet Napolitano, although often cited for her skill in avoiding tax hikes, recently unveiled a couple of particularly bad ideas for “revenue enhancement.” First, she wants to expand photo radar on state highways to generate $90 million of deficit reduction. The governor also recommended ratcheting up the marketing of...

Veto-proof margin of approval, includes $9 billion in added projects. 'Pet projects'? "These programs are necessary," insisted Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., who rejected arguments by opponents that the legislation is stocked with unneeded pet projects pushed by individual lawmakers. "How many failed projects and wasted dollars does it take before we finally say we've had enough?" asked Sen. Russ Feingold, D-Wis., who called the legislation a "flawed, loaded bill" that doesn't attempt to set priorities on water projects. Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C., complained that the bill contains about 20 projects that were added during the negotiations between the House and...

<p>President Bush's legacy is sure to be defined by his wielding of U.S. military power in Afghanistan and Iraq, but there is another, much softer and less-noticed effort by his administration in foreign affairs: a dramatic increase in U.S. aid to Africa.</p>

Gov. Kathleen Blanco was ready to go shopping. Her treasury was flush with money. The Republican Legislators said her proposals were dead on arrival. Many Democrats weren’t fond of her session ideas and wanted to discuss Road Home and real insurance reform, instead. Blanco wanted to spend a profusion of one-time money on many one-time spending items. The House of Representatives has told her to do it on her own time, not theirs. On Monday, Blanco failed to get the House of Representatives to approve a revised, reduced version of her spending plan. She has been unable to get the...

BATON ROUGE, La. -- Gov. Kathleen Blanco's push to spend $2 billion on tax breaks, pay raises and other budget proposals stalled in the state House on Sunday as the governor's allies ran into problems getting the votes to raise a constitutional spending cap. The Blanco administration tried to work out a compromise with lawmakers behind the scenes, to determine which proposals could gain passage in a 10-day pre-holiday special session called by the governor despite cries from critics for postponement. The House was expected to take up some of the Blanco spending proposals Sunday but adjourned when it was...

A move by Democrats to allocate about $1 billion from two voter initiatives on the November ballot has upset Republicans, who say it reneges on the deal that led to a massive infrastructure package going before voters this fall. An Assembly committee on Wednesday is scheduled to consider legislation by Sen. Wesley Chesbro, D-Arcata, that would specify funding for parks if the bond measures are approved by voters. Republicans had rejected spending on parks this spring during negotiations over a public works package that asks voters to approve money for transportation, levee repair, schools and affordable housing. That package, worth...

  From the Desk of Mark Stephens, Executive Director, NRSCDo you have your wallet handy? Well, you better . . . . . . Let me tell you why.The LCLI (Liberal Cost of Living Increase)Anytime liberal Democrats take the reins of government, the American people must pull out their wallets and pay a price. It's the automatic Liberal Cost of Living Increase - the LCLI. You see it happen at the local level, state level and at the federal level.Americans are feeling the squeeze of rising energy prices and escalating health care costs - but the LCLI will dwarf...

February 03, 2006, 9:00 a.m. The Virginia Miracle? Puh-lease! Presidential wannabe Mark Warner is a big-government, tax-and-spender — no matter what he says. By Peter Ferrara Tuesday night, in the Democrat response to President Bush’s State of the Union, we heard Gov. Tim Kaine talk about the great bipartisan collaboration in his state of Virginia. We were told that collaboration has served the people by focusing on delivering services, making record investments, and producing real results. Those are the new code words for what is really going on in Virginia, where historic runaway government spending is being fueled by...

BAGHDAD (Army News Service, Dec. 29, 2005) – Some families go through a great deal to spend time with loved ones on Christmas, but rarely do they deploy to the desert to do so. One family did, however, and they were able to spend this special holiday together. Air Force Staff Sgt. Salvador Russo, a secure communications craftsman with the 447th Expeditionary Communications Squadron, received a special Christmas gift this year when his mother traveled from Tallil, Iraq to spend the holiday weekend with him here. Sgt. First Class Ana Russo, who deployed to Tallil with the Headquarters and Headquarters...

President Bush will request billions more to help rebuild the levee system in New Orleans, Louisiana, Donald Powell, the top federal official for reconstruction, announced Thursday. "The levee system will be better and safer than it's ever been before," Powell said at the White House. When asked if the levees would be built to withstand a Category 5 storm, officials used broader language instead, promising that the city's citizens would be safe and the levees would be "stronger and better." "The federal government is committed to building the best levee system known in the world," said Powell. "It's a complicated...

With crumbling streets, gridlocked traffic and mounds of trash, Los Angeles County's deteriorating infrastructure needs $50 billion in upgrades over the next five years to meet growing demands, a statewide engineers group said Thursday. Of nearly a dozen infrastructure systems studied, the county's streets, highways and urban-runoff systems received the lowest grades - D's - while its solid-waste system got a B-plus. Flood control, wastewater and port systems got B's. Giving the county an average grade of C-plus, the American Society of Civil Engineers warned that significant problems are on the horizon for the infrastructure unless there are changes in...

Coburn slams 'improper' grants Sen. Tom Coburn (R) Muskogee, said he was the lone vote against the Homeland Security Department spending bill this week because it funded questionable grants in some lawmakers home states and didn't include enough money to fight illegal immigration. "Congress undermines our Homeland security when we fail to prioritize spending based on actual risks, and when we fail to secure our borders." "Homeland security dollars should be prioritized based on the greatest terrorism risk facing our country. Unforunately too many members of Congress are putting their political security ahead of Homeland Security" Coburn said improper uses...

Bond houses seek state's finance plan Rating downgrade possible next month Thursday, April 28, 2005 - Bangor Daily News Email This Article To A Friend Print This Article Go Back AUGUSTA - Optimism over the state's potential to avoid a bond rating downgrade was in short supply Wednesday as Maine's top finance officials prepare to meet next month with the heads of Wall Street's bond houses. Nicole Johnson, senior analyst and vice president at Moody's Investors Service in New York, said Wednesday the state must devise a plan to bring Maine's spending into line with revenue collections. The recurring deficit...

WASHINGTON, March 17 /U.S. Newswire/ -- House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Texas) today praised Chairman Nussle's (R-Iowa) fiscal year 2006 budget resolution as the House of Representatives passed this blueprint for funding America's priorities. "The budget passed today meets our needs at home and abroad without raising taxes, which would stifle our economy, or wasting money, which undermines the hard work the American people did to earn those tax dollars in the first place," DeLay said. The budget continues the work of the Republican Congress to reduce the federal deficit. This year's budget blueprint funds our nation's priorities by providing...

Last year when Cook County and Chicago both raised taxes on cigarettes, anti-tax activists cried foul. They argued that the new taxes would only drive smokers into the black market or onto the internet, thus depressing tax revenue. As it turns out, they were right! The Governor’s 2006 budget admits as much when it acknowledges that “total revenue from the [statewide] cigarette tax is forecast to come in significantly below budget, due to the Cook County tax increase of $0.82 in April 2004 and the subsequent increase of the City of Chicago ’s cigarette tax.” Unfortunately, the Governor fails to...

ASHINGTON, March 10 - The usually fractious members of the House of Representatives on Thursday found something they nearly all shared: an appetite for millions of dollars for home-state road, bridge and transit projects. On a vote of 417 to 9, House members approved a $284 billion, six-year measure that would pay for transportation upgrades around the nation, including more than 4,000 projects sought by individual lawmakers at a cost of more than $12 billion. The measure, which stalled last year in a dispute with the White House over spending levels, stands a much better chance of becoming law this...

Lawmakers' backing sought for college aid, filmmaking, tech fund. By Jason Embry AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF Wednesday, January 26, 2005 Gov. Rick Perry on Wednesday will ask lawmakers to combine two state scholarship programs, create an incentive fund for filmmakers and spend at least as much as they do now on the Children's Health Insurance Program. While lawmakers expect to have $6.4 billion more in general state revenue to spend than they did two years ago, most of that money will go toward paying for enrollment growth in Medicaid, public schools and higher education. The Legislative Budget Board earlier this month estimated...

WASHINGTON - President Bush (news - web sites) plans to ask Congress to spend more to crack down on undocumented workers and arrest and deport illegal immigrants. But he wants to fund only a fraction of the new Border Patrol agents called for in a bill he signed last year. Bush's budget plan will call for spending $23 million, nearly five times the current level, on work site investigations by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, a government official familiar with the spending plan told The Associated Press on Tuesday. The money would be used to conduct audits on employers, investigate violations...

NEW YORK - The maker of Listerine mouthwash will spend $2 million to replace what a judge called misleading advertising suggesting the product is as effective as flossing at fighting plaque and gingivitis. About 4,000 workers will be deployed around the country to place stickers over the claim on Listerine bottles and to remove similar advertisements that hang on bottlenecks, a lawyer for Pfizer Inc. told a federal judge Monday. Television, print and medical-journal ads using the campaign are also being pulled, and the as-effective-as-floss campaign has also been removed from the Listerine Web site, lawyer Tom Smart said. U.S....

Every year, taxpayers write a $7,000 check, on average, to educate each of the state's 6.3 million public school students. Some, including the governor, say that's plenty. Others say that's nowhere near enough. The reality is, no one really knows and we're not likely to get an answer anytime soon. The state has never sat down and put a price on a year's worth of reading, writing and 'rithmatic, not to mention art, history, music, librarians, nurses and school counselors. The $50 billion annual education budget is basically an arbitrary figure generated by how much money there is as determined...

Hundreds of millions of additional dollars must be pumped into Minnesota schools to get them operating at peak performance, the leader of Minnesota's teachers union said Thursday. And if that takes more taxes, then so be it. "We're not tax experts, but we need to put everything on the table," said Education Minnesota president Judy Schaubach. "Legislators cannot blindly adhere to a no-new-taxes stance."

The purpose of FreeRepublic.com's multiple message boards is to limit the topics for each board to particular topics. Posting the same message on all the boards defeats the purpose of multiple-boards for special topics. It is very annoying to see the same message on every bulletin board. PLEASE! DO THE READERS A FAVOR. STOP CROSS-POSTING YOUR MESSAGES!

Will you spend more on Christmas/Holiday gifts this year than last year? I have seen so many polls on websites asking a very similar question but without the use the "C" word. This one does. I answered it! Hope you do too!

In an internal Senate report obtained by HUMAN EVENTS, the Senate Budget Committee (SBC) rips Sen. John Kerry's various policy proposals, showing those proposals to be far from fiscally sound. The report (titled "Budget Impact of Policy Proposals advocated by Presidential candidate U.S. Senator John Kerry") was "prepared at the request of U.S. Sen. Don Nickles [R.-Okla.], Chairman of the Committee on the Budget" and "solely for the information and use of the Chairman, members of the Senate Budget Committee, and members of the full Senate." However, HUMAN EVENTS was able to get an exclusive copy and found that it...

A growing number of states around the country are mulling some constitutional restrictions on the growth in spending by their state governments. There’s even a national effort to do the same thing with the federal government. In all those cases, supporters point to Colorado’s Taxpayers’ Bill of Rights, or TABOR. They point to the stunning success that we’ve enjoyed in keeping state spending under control. Critics also point to Colorado, echoing what some have said here, that we are in a “crisis” and facing a “perfect fiscal storm” and that the economy is “spiraling down.” Which view is right? As...

Senate: No interest in cutting state's gas tax Associated Press Last update: 03 April 2004 TALLAHASSEE -- A chance for Florida's drivers to get cheaper gas for one month this summer appears to be at the end of the road. The idea for a dime-per-gallon cut in the state's gas tax is being floated by the House, but the Senate Appropriations Chairman and Senate President both shot down the idea Friday -- throwing a serious kink into the plans. "I have no interest in it whatsoever," said Appropriations Chairman Ken Pruitt, R-Port St. Lucie. "You cut the gas tax,...

WASHINGTON -- The chairman of the Senate Budget Committee asked the Treasury Department on Friday for a list of known tax loopholes, pledging to halt abuses and plug one transaction he called "a shell game." The statement from Oklahoma Republican Don Nickles adds tax avoidance to the items under scrutiny as lawmakers work to reduce the federal deficit. "If we can ... discover some other things that are really abuse of the system, we should shut them down earlier rather than later," Nickles told Treasury Secretary John Snow during a committee hearing. Nickles said Congress should look closely at abuse...

Congressmen say Iraq cash would be better spent at home By David Rennie in Washington (Filed: 24/09/2003) Senior congressmen of both parties have warned the Bush administration that a revolt is brewing over its request for £54 billion to rebuild Iraq. The warning came as details emerged of such spending as £62.5 million for a witness protection scheme, £181 million for the fire brigade, and nearly £6 million to give the country a system of post codes. Paul Bremer, the head of the Coalition Provisional Authority in Baghdad, flew to Washington this week to urge a "grandeur of vision" in...

Well, the state GOP doesn't seem to care about this, but the legislature is going to try to impose a sales tax on us. The Libertarian Party of Oregon, however, is working to defeat this. You can contact them at 1-800-392-1992.

By Sen. Dennis Hollingsworth California State Senate "An unlimited power to tax involves, necessarily, the power to destroy." --Daniel Webster "The other night I lay sleepin' and awoke from a terrible dream." -- George Thorogood and the Destroyers It’s well known Governor Davis has proposed $8.2 billion in tax increases to fix a $38 billion budget deficit caused by his and Democrats' overspending. His proposal increases taxes on retail sales, tobacco, the "rich", and triples the car tax. But Democrats have also proposed, according to the California Taxpayers’ Association, more than $50 billion in a myriad of other new taxes....

Multnomah County's new income tax passed largely on the strength of yes votes from inner-city Portland, voting records show, while the eastern part of the county voted strongly against it. The final vote tabulation from the county elections office shows a majority of voters in almost all the precincts west of 82nd Avenue voted for the three-year, 1.25 percent tax. It passed with 58 percent of the vote countywide. The pro-tax campaign did manage to win six precincts east of 82nd Avenue, the county's traditional tax dividing line. But a large majority of voters in the rest of mid- and...

<p>ALBANY -- A top Wall Street ratings firm lowered its outlook on New York state bonds Friday, saying the budget imposed by state lawmakers a day earlier doesn't have enough revenues to cover future spending.</p> <p>The action by Standard & Poor's Ratings Services could raise concerns about buying New York's state bonds, and raise interest rates.</p>

<p>In Gov. Gray Davis' first term, tax revenues were flowing into Sacramento faster than anyone could have predicted. The state's fiscal drought was over, replaced by a flash flood of cash.</p> <p>And the Davis administration, backed by the Legislature, was quick to spend the money on favored programs, including public education, unclogging highways, health care for the poor, home support for the elderly, and prisons -- and accelerate a planned cut in vehicle license fees.</p>

Stellar cellar discovery (WANG CHUNSHENG) 01/21/2003 About 3 tons of ancient coins were unearthed from a cellar in Lushan County, Pingdingshan City of Central China's Henan Province, last Monday. The cellar also contained dozens of iron ware pieces and a porcelain bowl. It was found during renovations of an old house at the Lushan No 2 Senior High School. The cellar is in irregular cuboid form and occupies 1.2 by 1.4 by 0.7 cubic metres. Some experts believe the owner of this fortune dug the cellar to store food in case of emergency. More than 30 types of coins were...

OTTAWA - John Manley, the Finance Minister, said yesterday the federal government will not embrace the kind of aggressive tax-cutting program announced by George W. Bush, the U.S. President, because it is unwilling to risk running a deficit. In Chicago yesterday, Mr. Bush unveiled his US$670-billion economic stimulus plan, one that will include personal and corporate tax cuts, and features the complete elimination of taxes on dividends. The plan is designed to revitalize the world's largest economy, but is widely expected to increase the U.S. budget deficit. Mr. Manley has come under renewed pressure from business groups, economists and the...

Is Bush a True Conservative? On the surface, the main political story appears to be "Clueless Democratic Party Beaten to Pulp by Triumphant Republicans." But the bigger, weirder story is that the liberals have corrupted the GOP with the worst aspects of their beliefs. Incredibly, the Bush Administration has turned out to be composed of old-fashioned tax-and-spend, welfare-coddling, big-government liberals! Before the 1980s the Republican base was conservatives who, as the word's etymology suggests, defended the status quo. The conservative tendency to let sleeping dogs lie undeniably resonates with a natural human inclination against recklessness and pointless destruction. Conservatives sought...

Jewish World Review Nov. 13, 2002 / 8 Kislev, 5763 Walter Williams The Great Generation? The American generation who suffered through the Great Depression and defeated the tyrannical designs that Adolf Hitler, Mussolini and Tojo Hideki had for the world has often been called "the great generation." Will history see it that way? Let's look at it, but first start with a couple of statements from two truly great Americans.In 1794, Congress appropriated $15,000 for relief of French refugees. James Madison stood on the floor of the House to object, saying, "I cannot undertake to lay my finger on that...

Christmas is set to be more expensive this year than ever before, with people spending almost £870 on presents, cards, decorations and food. According to a new survey, festive costs have risen by more than £150 over the past six years, a 20% increase, with spending up by £36 on the 2001 figure. The research, commissioned for the sixth annual year by debit card company Switch, found that over a third (34%) of the 1001 respondents said they would spend £500 or more on gifts alone, buying for up to 20 of their closest family and friends. But men look...

November 7, 2002 Now that GOP controls Congress, hold onto your wallet, Libertarians say WASHINGTON, DC -- Now that Republicans control both houses of Congress and the presidency, Americans should brace themselves for an era of skyrocketing federal spending and ballooning budget deficits, Libertarians say. “Our prediction is that with a GOP Congress egging him on, George Bush is going to make Bill Clinton look like a fiscal conservative,” said George Getz, Libertarian Party communications director. “Even when Republicans controlled only one house of Congress, Bush managed to sign the first $2 trillion-plus federal budget, throw more money at Clinton-era...

(CNSNews.com) - The House is expected to take up a Medicare prescription drug bill next week that would for the first time give drug coverage to seniors in addition to the hospital insurance they already enjoy. By a vote of 22 to 16, the House Ways and Means committee worked until the wee hours of the morning on Wednesday to pass the $305 billion GOP plan, despite the objections of Democrats, who believe the plan doesn't spend enough and leaves too much decision-making in the hands of private industry and beneficiaries. In fact, committee proceedings were interrupted three times in...

Tuesday’s acknowledgement of a $23.6 billion deficit sets the tone for the next two months, as the governor and the Legislature seek agreeable ways to balance California’s spending plan for the next fiscal year. Hard decisions will be made in the days ahead; emotions will run high as budget cuts are weighed against reductions in service versus tax hikes. The governor’s budget revision calls for a $76.5 billion spending plan for 2002-03, which pares spending by 0.5% or $393 million. However, this budget proposes spending $18.7 billion more than when the governor first took office four years ago. Growth of...

GOVERNMENT AND MONEY; THE WORST ADDICTION 3/29/02 The City of Milwaukee recently announced a 3 month hiring freeze. They claim that this will save $4.3 million. The city spokesman went on to say that there "...will be exceptions based on need." Ok, so this means that city hiring practices have been based on... on... on.... I'm sorry, but the concept eludes me here. If we don't need an employee, why have we hired him or her? What do these people do all week if we really didn't need them? Couldn't the city save $17.2 million every year if we instituted...