Free Republic

Social Security will spend more than it collects this year, the program’s trustees said Tuesday, marking the first time in more than 35 years that it will run an annual deficit as it slides toward insolvency by 2034. Medicare’s main trust fund is in even worse shape, scheduled to hit insolvency in 2026 — three years earlier than last year’s estimate, the trustees said. The twin warnings add even more pressure to a budget already strained by last year’s tax cuts and this year’s deal to boost spending on defense and basic domestic needs, leaving few bright spots in the...

. . .we need to discuss the fact that immigration is changing, and has already changed, America’s political landscape—for better or worse. For example: with the exception of the anomaly of Ross Perot in 1992 splitting the Republican vote, American-born voters have not elected a Democrat as president since Lyndon B. Johnson in 1964. That is, every Democratic president since then—Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton (second term), and Barack Obama—won because the immigrant voting block tipped the scales in his favor. Another example: since 1960 California’s population exploded from 15.9 to 39 million people. This growth was almost entirely due to...

After eight years of budget cutting, Britain is looking less like the rest of Europe and more like the United States, with a shrinking welfare state and spreading poverty. PRESCOT, England — A walk through this modest town in the northwest of England amounts to a tour of the casualties of Britain’s age of austerity. The old library building has been sold and refashioned into a glass-fronted luxury home. The leisure center has been razed, eliminating the public swimming pool. The local museum has receded into town history. The police station has been shuttered. Now, as the local government desperately...

$100 million in taxpayer cash shipped out of country in past year alone. At the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, the carry-on bag bulged with $1 million in cash from a welfare rip-off scheme. The loot was headed for Somalia, some of it to regions controlled by the al Shabaab terrorist group, and this shipment was part of $100 million sent over the past year alone. This scheme was not uncovered by the New York Times, CNN, “Frontline” or any “investigative” journalist in the old-line establishment media. It came to light in “Millions of dollars in suitcases fly out of MSP,...

Together with the death of Charlie Gard last year, whom British authorities would not allow to be taken to the United States for an experimental treatment, Evans’ death seems to confirm British policy in such matters: children belong to the state, and when the state decides that they should die, they will die. Extraordinary international efforts were undertaken to save the boy’s life. Italy, which granted Evans citizenship, kept a specially equipped plane from the Italian defense ministry on standby to transport the boy to a Vatican hospital in case the U.K. courts ordered his release. Pope Francis issued a...

As any New Yorker knows, finding an apartment is not easy. The city’s affordable housing lottery was set up to assist residents, but applying for the lottery takes time and patience. Brooklyn resident Maria Martinez told PIX11 she’s been applying faithfully for 20 years, since the inception of the lottery program. Speaking through a translator, she said the process is frustrating. “You keep applying. You hope you end up with a home, but it hasn’t happened for me yet,” Martinez said. Martinez currently rents a one-bedroom apartment in Williamsburg. She lives with her husband and two teenage children. “Sometimes I...

I got a hold of this far-left book, "The Emotional Politics of Racism". The author, as usual, using the same liberal talking points, attacking Aemrican middle class taxpayers for worrying about "welfare recipients", attacking "law and order as racist", etc. "Shaming the poor". "Shaming illegal immigrants". Is their goal really to keep people poor or to play political games? It's sickening and sad. http://www.cronistas.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/The-Emotional-Politics-of-RacismDr.Soc_.pdf

Advocates of universal basic income believe that the unconditional offer of a regular, though tiny, sum of money could help many get back on their feet, and even encourage them to invest in new business ideas. However, people from both sides of the political aisle have engaged with the proposal, which would cost money upfront but could deliver important savings by replacing unemployment benefits...

The Government is to cut the controversial six-week wait for Universal Credit payments in the comings days in a bid to see off a Conservative rebellion. Universal Credit combines six benefits into one single benefit and is designed to simplify the welfare system and to "make work pay". It was the flagship welfare reform of David Cameron's coalition government, but has been plagued with delays since its inception and by criticism over its design. One flaw is the six-week wait time which has been criticised across the political divide amid concerns it is pushing claimants into arrears on rent and...

For thirteen years in a row, Business Insider – citing its standard of living, health-care system, and high life expectancy – has put Norway at the top of its annual list of “best countries to live in.” The high life expectancy is an objective fact; the other items are a matter of debate. Norwegian health care? It works admirably, unless you require an operation or treatment that the government considers too expensive or for which there's a waiting list. Standard of living? Incomes are high, but so are taxes. But I'm not here to argue with Business Insider's rankings. I'm...

RUSH: This will be a great opportunity to delve into the Walter Williams column that I referred to earlier. It’s got nothing to do with the NFL. I mean, that’s not why he wrote it. It comes from way back on September 20th, about a week ago, and the title of his column… Where did this run? The link is so tiny, I can’t read it. It looks like the Daily Signal. “The Black Family Is Struggling, and It’s Not Because of Slavery.” Now, Walter Williams is a former guest host here. He’s brilliant guy, very conservative individual. Let me...

Giving every adult in the United States a $1000 cash handout per month would grow the economy by $2.5 trillion by 2025, according to a new study on universal basic income. The report was released in August by the left-leaning Roosevelt Institute. Roosevelt research director Marshall Steinbaum, Michalis Nikiforos at Bard College's Levy Institute, and Gennaro Zezza at the University of Cassino and Southern Lazio in Italy co-authored the study. [snip] These estimates are based on a universal basic income paid for by increasing the federal deficit. As part of the study, the researchers also calculated the effect to the...

Medicare’s trust fund will run out of money in just over 10 years, according to a new report from the program’s trustees. Once that happens, the federal government won’t collect enough in payroll taxes to cover beneficiaries’ hospital bills. Congress could hike taxes to cover the shortfall. Or it could ration care to save money. Or it could modernize and restructure Medicare — by giving beneficiaries means-tested vouchers to buy private insurance. Doing so would protect taxpayers now, preserve the program for future generations and even provide higher-quality care to seniors. Medicare‘s spending isn’t sustainable. Congress can stave off massive...

ROANOKE, Va. (WDBJ) The contractor that maintains EBT services for Virginia's Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is experiencing multi-state service problems. This has resulted in an EBT System outage. It is unknown when the system will be restored. SNAP clients can call (866) 281-2448 to check on the status of the system restoration. Clients can also call 2-1-1 to learn of food resources that might be available to supplement their needs during the temporary outage. Also, clients can call the Enterprise Customer Service Center at (855) 635-4370 with any additional questions related to their benefits.

llegals living in Los Angeles County were handed almost $1.3 billion in welfare payouts between the months of 2015 and 2016, Fox News reported, citing data. That’s billion with a capital “B.” That’s a quarter of what the county distributed to its entire needy population in those same months. Liberals and government elitists always like to make the case that citizens ought to support some cheap-sounding fee- or tax-paying cause by grandly pronouncing, “It’s just the cost of a cup of coffee,” or “If everyone just gave up their Starbucks lattes, it’d pay for itself.” Well, guess what $1.3 billion...

[snip] According to the latest data, SNAP enrollment during the first few months of Trump’s presidency decreased by 2.79 percent. Food stamp participation on average in 2017 has dropped to its lowest level since 2010, and the latest numbers show that this trend is continuing. [snip] Federal lawmakers are also working on legislation that would seek to expand food stamp work requirements and put time limits on how long those enrolled in the food stamp program can receive benefits. At the state level, food stamp enrollment dropped significantly in places such as Georgia and Alabama once they instituted work requirements...

Thousands of undocumented immigrants in Merced County don’t have health coverage, but advocates supporting the #Health4All campaign say there are ways Merced County could help that could possibly benefit everyone. This week, Building Healthy Communities Merced, or BHC, a nonprofit group funded by the California Endowment, released a report outlining ways the county could potentially provide services for undocumented immigrants. BHS has estimated there are about 25,000 undocumented residents living in Merced County. Last year in California, undocumented children under age 19 became eligible for full-scope health benefits under Medi-Cal, that was able to give thousands of children insurance. Elizabeth...

Oregon has determined it awarded Medicaid health benefits to more than 37,000 people during the past year who earned too much money or otherwise failed to qualify, new figures show. That high number represents nearly half the Medicaid recipients whose incomes the state rechecked this spring and summer. It has come to light as the state health authority works through a backlog of eligibility checks caused by technology problems and the spike in enrollment under the Affordable Care Act. The count surpasses predictions to the Legislature by agency director Lynne Saxton, who pegged the number at 32,000. And it almost...

...The idea that we should be able to pass on our life’s accumulated wealth to descendants is deeply embedded. It appeals to the fundamental biological urge to protect your offspring and propagate your genes. Though only a small minority of estates are subject to inheritance tax in Britain as it currently stands, opinion polls consistently find that the majority of people oppose it. Instinct seems to override common sense. VAT falls disproportionately on people with low incomes, but it’s far less hated. Understandable sensitivity around issues relating to death make it difficult to discuss, but it’s time this conventional wisdom...

After the food stamp rolls swelled for years under the Obama administration, fresh figures show a dramatic reduction in states that recently have moved to restore work requirements. [Snip] Alabama began 2017 by requiring able-bodied adults without children in 13 counties to either find a job or participate in work training as a condition for continuing to receive Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits. According to AL.com, the number of those recipients declined from 5,538 to 831 between Jan. 1 and the beginning of May – an 85 percent drop. Similar changes were implemented in select counties in Georgia and...