Free Republic

The Federal Budget Balance, a key indicator of the health of the U.S. economy, has reported a significant swing into surplus territory. The actual figure for the month came in at $198.0 billion, a stark contrast to the previous month’s deficit of $345.0 billion. This substantial change in the budget balance has exceeded all expectations. Analysts had been forecasting a continued deficit, making this surplus a welcome surprise. The shift from a hefty deficit to a surplus indicates a robust increase in the federal government’s income relative to its expenditure for the reported month. The surplus of $198.0 billion not...

WASHINGTON (AP) — With every passing day of the government shutdown, hundreds of thousands of federal employees furloughed or working without pay face mounting financial strain. And now they are confronting new uncertainty with the Trump administration’s promised layoffs. “Luckily I was able to pay rent this month,” said Peter Farruggia, a furloughed federal worker. “But for sure I am going to have bills that are going to go unpaid this month, and I really don’t have many options.” Farruggia is the head of the American Federation of Government Employees local representing employees at the Centers for Disease Control and...

CBO’s review of the 2025 fiscal year shows Republicans have every reason to reject Democrats’ demands to end the ‘Schumer Shutdown.’Are you the kind of person who likes to spend $4 for every $3 you take in? If so, your financial management “skills” might qualify you to run for Congress. With people like that running the show, is it any wonder that interest costs on our national debt surpassed $1 trillion last year for the first time ever?The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) review of the fiscal year that just concluded on Sept. 30 provides one of many reasons why Republicans...

Rachel Reeves could impose a 'one-off' tax on wealth to appease militant Labour MPs, according to a report today. In a major analysis ahead of next month's Budget, the Institute for Fiscal Studies warns the Chancellor against imposing a permanent wealth tax, saying similar attempts have failed around the world. But the think-tank says a 'one-off' raid would be far harder for the rich to dodge as they would have no opportunity to move their assets.

President Donald Trump said Thursday that he would hold discussions on which “Democrat Agencies” should be cut amid the ongoing government shutdown. Trump said he will meet with Office of Management and Budget Director Russ Vought, who oversees the allocation of federal funds. The shutdown started on Wednesday after the Senate failed to pass a temporary government funding bill backed by Republicans. “I have a meeting today with Russ Vought, he of PROJECT 2025 Fame, to determine which of the many Democrat Agencies, most of which are a political SCAM, he recommends to be cut, and whether or not those...

Democrats and their Fake News allies want you to believe it’s all a lie that Democrats shut down the government over free healthcare for illegal aliens.Except that’s exactly what happened. As Vice President JD Vance said, “It’s not something that we made up. It’s not a talking point. It is in the text of the bill that they initially gave to us to reopen the government.”As the White House makes clear in a new memo, Democrats’ unserious proposal takes extraordinary efforts to accommodate illegal aliens while repealing reforms that strengthen healthcare for American citizens.Here’s what you need to know:FACT: Democrats’...

The Trump administration has frozen about $18 billion for infrastructure projects in New York City to ensure that funding is not “flowing based on unconstitutional DEI principles,” a top official said Wednesday. The funding is earmarked for the Hudson Tunnel Project and the Second Avenue Subway project, said Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought. Vought announced the freeze in posts on the social media site X. * * *

WASHINGTON, Sept 30 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump warned congressional Democrats on Tuesday that allowing the federal government to shut down at midnight would allow his administration to take "irreversible" actions including shutting down programs important to them. "We can do things during the shutdown that are irreversible, that are bad for them and irreversible by them, like cutting vast numbers of people out, cutting things that they like, cutting programs that they like," Trump said in remarks to reporters from the White House Oval Office."You all know Russell Vought," Trump added, referring to the director of the Office...

Cracks are starting to form in the Senate Democratic caucus over whether to hold the line against a seven-week clean government funding stopgap passed by the House, according to Democratic sources who say a threat by President Trump to lay off thousands of federal workers is changing the Democratic political calculus on a shutdown. Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (N.Y.), who faces a potential primary challenge from Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) in 2028, has made it clear he won’t vote for the House-passed GOP stopgap, but centrists in his caucus are looking for a way to avoid a catastrophic shutdown....

It is sadly humorous to me, but not surprising, that Elizabeth Guevara, writing for Investopedia, can only seem to offer one solution for young people considering college, now that there is a cap on available federal student loans. From a new article via Yahoo Finance: New Student Loan Limits May Force More Borrowers to Take Out Private LoansThe ‘One Big, Beautiful Bill’ will restrict the amount of federal student loans available to college students next year. Students may have to take out riskier private loans to cover the rest of their schooling. The average medical graduate student will not be...

BREAKING: The Supreme Court sides with the Trump administration, allowing it to block $4 billion in Congress-approved foreign aid spending. “A federal judge had previously ruled that the administration would have to spend the funds by the end of the month, but the Supreme Court's decision puts that on hold.”

Donald Trump just pulled off a political maneuver that has Democrats reeling — and, frankly, they should be. With a potential government shutdown looming on September 30, the Trump administration has made it clear that if Congress can’t pass a clean Continuing Resolution to keep the government running, federal workers could be facing mass firings. Not furloughs. Firings. Real jobs on the line. For years, Democrats thought they could weaponize shutdowns as a way to extract concessions from Republicans. Now, Trump has flipped the script by putting the pressure right back where it belongs: on them. The House passed a...

Halloween could come early this year. The Democrats have named their price to avoid a government shutdown come October – an additional $350 billion for healthcare over the next decade. Critics say a big chunk of that money may go to ghosts. At issue are the generous subsidies the Biden administration created for Affordable Care Act policies, sweeteners that are slated to expire in December. Making healthcare essentially free for millions of Americans, those policies have skyrocketed enrollment in Obamacare plans. But a recent study found they have also sparked a curious phenomenon: an estimated 12 million enrollees “without a...

House Republicans plan to vote Friday morning on a short-term measure to fund the government as a shutdown deadline nears, hoping to keep pressure on Democrats who have signaled they will vote to shut down the government if Republicans don't cave to Democratic demands to restore cuts to Medicaid and extend Obamacare subsidies set to expire at the end of the year. House Majority Leader Steve Scalise announced Thursday afternoon that the House would vote on the measure at 10:20 a.m. Friday. House Speaker Mike Johnson expressed cautious optimism Thursday that Republicans will pass their 52-day continuing resolution on Friday...

Senate Republicans are calling foul on Senate Democrats' opposition to the GOP’s short-term plan to keep the government funded, calling it hypocritical. House Republicans on Tuesday unveiled their seven-week funding extension, known as a continuing resolution (CR), which congressional Republicans argue is as "clean" as can be. That means that the bill largely lacks any additional spending or policy riders. But Senate Democrats have dug in deep on their rejection of the proposal, increasing the likelihood of a government shutdown come Sept.30. It comes after Democrats previously warned Republicans not to use government funding as a political weapon when Democrats...

President Trump on Monday urged Republicans in Congress to unite in support of a “clean” continuing resolution that would avert a government shutdown at the end of the month. “Congressional Republicans, including Leader John Thune and Speaker Mike Johnson, are working on a short term ‘CLEAN’ extension of Government Funding to stop Cryin’ Chuck Schumer from shutting down the Government,” Trump posted on Truth Social. “In times like these, Republicans have to stick TOGETHER to fight back against the Radical Left Democrat demands, and vote ‘YES!’ on both Votes needed to pass a Clean CR this week out of the...

Tariffs are rolling into the Treasury, but there is another source of rising revenue that is proving to be just as important: the stock market. On returns for tax year 2024 filed through mid-July, taxpayers reported $530 billion in net capital gains, up 65% from the prior year, according to new Internal Revenue Service data. The full effect of that on collections isn’t clear yet because of varying tax rates and returns that are still arriving, but there are strong signs that equity-market gains are turning into rising federal revenue. Individual income-tax payments outside of paycheck withholding—a category that includes...

The federal government's budget deficit reached $2 trillion for the current fiscal year as the deficit has widened by nearly $100 billion from last year. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released its monthly budget update for August, which showed the deficit reached $1.989 trillion in the first 11 months of fiscal year 2025. That amounts to a $92 billion increase in the deficit when compared with the first 11 months of fiscal year 2024. Overall, federal spending was up by $391 billion from a year ago, an increase of 5%, while tax receipts rose $299 billion, or 7%, in...

Former President Joe Biden has chosen his home state of Delaware to build his presidential library — but his new board has opted against setting a budget as the former prez hunts for people willing to donate to the project. The Joe and Jill Biden Foundation tapped a 13-member board of close confidants and former officials, including former Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and longtime adviser Steve Ricchetti, to oversee the project and raise funds to preserve the 82-year-old Democrat’s four years as president. But Biden’s decision comes as construction of former President Barack Obama’s $850 million library and museum...

Despite the ongoing budget concerns, commissioners voted 4–1 this week to allocate funding for the 2025 Gay Softball World Series. The measure, sponsored by Garcia, dedicates $468,610 to the tournament, with Ramsey casting the lone “no” vote. Garcia said the money would come in part from a tourism fund designed to attract events that bring visitors to the county. However, while part of the funding does come from that tourism fund, the other part comes from Precinct 2’s General Fund—largely supported by property taxes. In effect, at least 50 percent of the $468,610 will come from local property tax revenue...