Free Republic

Schakowsky said that Americans don’t deserve to keep all of their money because we need taxes to support our society. “I’ll put it this way. You don’t deserve to keep all of it and it’s not a question of deserving because what government is, is those things that we decide to do together. And there are many things that we decide to do together like have our national security. Like have police and fire. What about the people that work at the National Institute of Health who are looking for a cure for cancer,” Schakowsky said. Schakowsky also says one...

"To me this ‘raise my taxes!” nonsense coming from wealthy hypocrites is exactly like this Global Warming nonsense coming from wealthy hypocrites. How’s this for a compromise: when you start living like the planet’s in peril only then will I stop laughing in your lying hypocritical face every time you open your lying hypocritical mouth.

Imagine this scenario: The IRS may soon just do your taxes for you — and send you the bill.If this sounds farfetched, it’s not.With a new congressional “super committee” tasked with finding $1.5 trillion in cuts by November, creative ways to find additional revenue are in high demand. And allowing the IRS to prepare you taxes could be one solution.The idea has been around for a while, but has been picking up steam in recent years. In 2006, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) argued it would close a $345 billion annual difference between what the government believes taxpayers...

C’mon, IRS. “Stop coddling the super rich.” Contrive to successfully extract the taxes they already owe.Mr. Buffett, I barely want to waste my breath on your blatant hypocrisy.And, Mainstream Media (by which I mean the NYT, which ran Buffett’s obnoxious op-ed in the first place), WHERE ARE YOU?From NewsMax: Billionaire investor Warren Buffett triggered a major debate over taxes recently when he wrote in The New York Times that he should be paying more to the federal government. He called on Washington lawmakers to up tax rates on the rich.But it turns out that Buffett’s own company, Berkshire Hathaway, has...

A solar energy company that intends to file bankruptcy received $535 million in backing from the federal government and has a cozy history with Democrats and the Obama administration, campaign finance records show. Shareholders and executives of Solyndra, a green energy company producing solar panels, fundraised for and donated to the Obama administration to the tune of hundreds of thousands of dollars. Tulsa billionaire George Kaiser, a key Obama backer who raised between $50,000 and $100,000 for the president’s election campaign, is one of Solyndra’s primary investors. Kaiser himself donated $53,500 to Obama’s 2008 election campaign, split between the DSCC...

President Obama’s new “We The People” initiative smells exactly like a political campaign move and is unethical, says one large grassroots conservative group spokesman. “It sure looks suspicious,” FreedomWorks president Matt Kibbe told The Daily Caller. “It looks like lobbying and it looks utterly inappropriate.” Because they’re not lawyers, though, Kibbe and FreedomWorks spokesman Adam Brandon won’t comment on whether the Obama White House’s new campaign is legal or illegal. Brandon said it appears the White House is using taxpayer-funded government resources to play political games. Brandon told The Daily Caller that FreedomWorks is looking into the legality of the...

With states facing nearly $100 billion in combined budget deficits this year, we're seeing more governors than ever proposing the Barack Obama solution to balancing the budget: Soak the rich. Lawmakers in California, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York and Oregon want to raise income tax rates on the top 1% or 2% or 5% of their citizens. New Illinois Gov. Patrick Quinn wants a 50% increase in the income tax rate on the wealthy because this is the "fair" way to close his state's gaping deficit. Mr. Quinn and other tax-raising governors have been emboldened by recent...

Thanks to Illinois governor Pat Quinn and the Illinois legislature Illinois Loses Most Jobs in the Nation. In a trend that continues to worsen, more Illinoisans found themselves unemployed in the month of July. Illinois lost more jobs during the month of July than any other state in the nation. ... When it comes to putting people back to work, Illinois is going backwards. Since January, Illinois has dropped 89,000 people from its employment rolls. A combination of high taxes, overspending and red tape do nothing but chase away job creators and leave too many citizens without jobs. Springfield needs...

Thanks to Illinois governor Pat Quinn and the Illinois legislature Illinois Loses Most Jobs in the NationIn a trend that continues to worsen, more Illinoisans found themselves unemployed in the month of July.  Illinois lost more jobs during the month of July than any other state in the nation, according to the most recent Bureau of Labor Statistics report. After losing 7,200 jobs in June, Illinois lost an additional 24,900 non-farm payroll jobs in July. The report also said Illinois’s unemployment rate climbed to 9.5 percent. This marks the third consecutive month of increases in the unemployment rate.  Illinois started to...

Americans for Tax Reform is active in all 50 state capitals and from this perspective one thing is clear, when it comes to legislative creativity, lawmakers in Sacramento have every other state easily beat – no contest. Unfortunately for those currently contending with the state’s nearly 12% unemployment rate, California legislators only seem to use their creativity for the purpose of enacting job-killing tax increases and other measures that only serve to further depress the Golden State’s already flagging economy. The latest exhibit of this unfortunate fact is Assembly Bill 155, legislation that, if Democrat lawmakers have their way, would...

Kasich's Olive Branch Governor John Kasich reached out to Ohio public employee unions to renegotiate collective bargaining policy in which Ohio Senate Bill 5, passed by the Ohio legislature, would give the Governor more leverage than the public unions in deciding how much the state can afford to pay state workers in terms of benefits like pensions and health care. The unions will have none of it, and are going for an "all or nothing" approach to defeat Senate Bill 5. My comment to the local lib newspaper, which is heavily in favor of higher taxation and the pacifying of...

IT HAS BEEN a little over a week since billionaire Warren Buffett called for higher taxes on the richest Americans, and now comes the reaction. Harvey Golub, a former chairman and chief executive of American Express, writes in the Wall Street Journal that he “resents” Mr. Buffett’s suggestion. I already pay plenty of taxes, Mr. Golub asserts, adding: “Before you ‘ask’ for more tax money from me and others, raise the $2.2 trillion you already collect each year more fairly and spend it more wisely.” Who’s right? Mr. Golub points out that almost half of the population pays no income...

The Obamas' summer break in Martha's Vineyard has already been branded a PR disaster after the couple arrived four hours apart on separate government jets. But according to new reports, this is the least of their extravagances. White House sources today claimed that the First Lady has spent $10million of U.S. taxpayers' money on vacations alone in the past year. Branding her 'disgusting' and 'a vacation junkie', they say the 47-year-old mother-of-two has been indulging in five-star hotels, where she splashes out on expensive massages and alcohol. The 'top source' told the National Enquirer: 'It's disgusting. Michelle is taking advantage...

There are fewer millionaires in America today – can you hear the celebration at the Blue Heron farm on Martha’s Vineyard where the Obama family is spending someone’s millions? Obama at Blue Heron Farm - 2009 Pullout quote: For the past three decades, the political left has obsessed about income inequality. As the economy experienced one of the largest and lengthiest economic booms in history from 1982-2007, the left moaned that the gains went to yacht club members. Well, if equality of income is the priority, liberals should be thrilled with the last four years. Wall Street Journal (great article...

Income for the Obama household continued to slip in 2010, tax returns show, as proceeds from President Obama’s best-selling books tapered off. But just as he has said, his income is easily high enough to make the family eligible for a tax increase under his own deficit-reduction proposals. The president and his wife, Michelle Obama, on Monday reported an adjusted gross income of $1,728,096 for 2010, down from $5.5 million in 2009. Most of their income came from sales of his books “Dreams From My Father” and “The Audacity of Hope.” The Obamas paid $453,770 in federal taxes, for an...

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie scored a big win for his agenda in June when he persuaded the state legislature to pass a public employee pension and benefits overhaul. The bill, which the governor’s office said would save New Jersey taxpayers $120 billion over 30 years, was the product of a yearlong negotiation between Christie and the Democratic leaders of the state senate and assembly, though it did not receive the backing of most Democrats in either chamber. Those that did support the bill are now paying a political price, with the state’s most powerful union, the New Jersey Education...

By Josh Gerstein, Politico The Secret Service has revealed to Talking Points Memo that the government has purchased two armored buses for use by President Barack Obama and Republican candidates in the 2012 presidential campaign and beyond.

The "buffer zone" parcel at the Obama family mansion in Chicago's upscale Kenwood neighborhood purchased by the wife of convicted felon Tony Rezko was transferred to Barack and Michelle Obama without ever being assessed or taxed, in apparent violation of Illinois law, according to a debt-collection expert. "The Cook County assessor's office told me that there is no record of any tax assessment having been done on this transfer of the buffer zone property into a Northern Trust Co. Deed in Trust," Albert Hendershot told WND. Hendershot, president and owner of Innovative Portfolio Recovery Inc, a debt collection and skip...

Further: 'I will work hard to protect entitlements... the only problem with the Reid Senate is that we didn't keep a fillibuster-proof majority... " Yeah. The Super Committee is gonna work. /S

All 6 Democrats on Deficit-Reduction Panel Earned 'F's From Taxpayers’ Union Thursday, August 11, 2011 By Terence P. Jeffrey (CNSNews.com) - All six Democrats that have been assigned to the special joint congressional committee that will recommend means for cutting the nation’s anticipated spending by $1.5 trillion over the next ten years compiled voting records last year that earned them grades of “F” from the National Taxpayers Union (NTU). House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (Calif.) announced today that she has assigned Assistant Democratic Leader James E. Clyburn (S.C.), Democratic Caucus Vice Chairman Xavier Becerra (Calif.) and Budget Committee Ranking Member...