Tag: taxes

Where The Money Went: USG Funding To Counter-Mis/Disinformation Initiatives

Last week, my non-profit liber-net unveiled a new database of US government awards to mis-dis-and-malinformation (MDM) and other content control initiatives. A previous Network Affects post broke down where that money came from. This one details where the money went, specifically the countries, regions, topics, and activities, and the top organisations that took home the cash.

The below graphs are based on 867 awards made between 2016-2024, out of nearly 1,100 that we reviewed from 2010 to the present day. You can review our process and methodology here. You can see all the graphs from the last post, this post, and a few more here.

When it comes to MDM funding, the vast majority of the awards went to US-based initiatives. The graph below includes a contract totaling nearly $1 billion to military contractor Peraton, but even without it, US recipients received around $318 million, dwarfing the next country, Kazakhstan, at $20 million. Out of the nearly $1.5 billion spent across the 867 awards, around $187 million left the US from a roughly $6.7 trillion annual federal budget.

The “US taxpayers are wasting money on foreigners” narrative isn’t the story here, at least not in the mis/disinformation space.

Keep reading

Highest Tax State of California Bracing for Budget Shortfall of Ten Billion or More

The state of California is currently looking down the barrel of a possible budget shortfall of ten billion dollars, or possibly more than that.

This news comes just weeks after it was reported that their state-run healthcare plan, which covers illegal aliens, is over budget by billions. The state is also dealing with a massive recovery effort after wildfires ravaged a huge area in the southern part of the state earlier this year.

It’s incredible that some Democrats and people in media think Governor Gavin Newsom would be a good candidate to run for president in 2028. What has he done besides drive his state into poverty and population loss?

Breitbart News reports:

Gavin Newsom, California Face Another Budget Shortfall; $10-$20 Billion

California Governor Gavin Newsom and state lawmakers are bracing for a $10 billion budget shortfall — even before federal spending cuts undertaken by the Trump administration and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

Newsom and the Democrats took a near-$100 billion surplus in 2022– partly fueled by federal coronavirus funds under the Biden administration — to a near-$50 billion deficit in 2024.

Earlier this year, the state was forced to borrow $6.2 billion to fund Medi-Cal, the state’s Medicaid program, which Newsom and his party expanded to cover illegal aliens.

Keep reading

Planning to withdraw cash in Spain? You could now face a €150,000 fine

Thinking of pulling out a large amount of cash from your bank account in Spain? A new rule is now in force — and ignoring it could cost you dearly.

New rules in Spain: cash withdrawals over €3,000 under strict control

From now on, anyone withdrawing €3,000 or more from a Spanish bank must notify the Agencia Tributaria (Spain’s tax agency) in advance. If you’re planning to take out €100,000 or more, you’ll need to give at least 72 hours’ notice. For smaller sums over €3,000, a 24-hour notification is mandatory.

The warning must be filed through the tax agency’s official website using a digital certificate, Cl@ve PIN, or electronic ID card. You’ll receive a receipt that must be shown at the bank when withdrawing your cash.

Fail to notify? You risk a fine between 1 per cent and 10 per cent of the amount withdrawn — starting at €600 and climbing up to a massive €150,000, depending on the seriousness of the violation.

Banks are now required to block withdrawals if they detect missing paperwork, and must report suspicious transactions to the authorities, even if amounts are repeatedly just under the threshold.

Spain steps up fight against tax fraud and money laundering

This tough new measure is part of a wider strategy to crack down on tax fraud, money laundering and terrorism financing.
Authorities say that cash remains a key tool for illegal activities, making tighter monitoring essential.

Interestingly, it’s not just massive withdrawals that will raise red flags.
Even frequent small withdrawals — say, €800 or €900 at a time — could draw unwanted attention if not properly justified.
The message from the Spanish government is clear: every move involving large sums of cash must now be fully traceable.

Keep reading

Trump says he’s ending Biden’s ‘Digital Equity’ program — and Democrats are freaking out

Democrats are furious at President Donald Trump for saying that he will shut down the Digital Equity Act signed into law by former President Joe Biden.

The president said Thursday that he wanted to end the program signed into law in 2021, which spent billions ostensibly to expand internet access to underserved communities.

“I have spoken with my wonderful Secretary of Commerce, Howard Lutnick, and we agree that the Biden/Harris so-called ‘Digital Equity Act’ is totally UNCONSTITUTIONAL,” wrote Trump on Truth Social.

“No more woke handouts based on race!” he added. “The Digital Equity Program is a RACIST and ILLEGAL $2.5 BILLION DOLLAR giveaway. I am ending this IMMEDIATELY, and saving Taxpayers BILLIONS OF DOLLARS!”

Some of the funds allocated for the bill have already been handed out, including to some red states like Kansas, Alabama, and Arkansas. Defenders of the bill deny the president’s allegation that it is racist and claim that the legislation hardly even mentions race, according to the New York Times.

Democrat Sen. Patty Murray of Washington state, who authored the bill, expressed her outrage at the suggestion.

“It is absolutely insane that resources meant to help red and blue communities—everyone from local school districts and libraries to workforce training programs and Tribes—close the digital divide will be illegally blocked because the President doesn’t like the word equity,” wrote Murray.

“Americans are sick and tired of extremist right-wing culture wars being forced down our throats,” she added. “Republicans will have to explain to their constituents why this Republican administration doesn’t believe their local library should get funding to help seniors navigate telehealth options or why middle schoolers in rural districts shouldn’t get laptops.”

Keep reading

NIH Ends Secretive Pass-Through Funding to Foreign Labs, Which Previously Funded the Wuhan Lab and Fauci’s Beagle Experiments

The National Institutes of Health has banned U.S. scientists from directing federal funds to international research partners.

This secretive practice has previously allowed the funding of the Wuhan animal lab, paid for Dr. Anthony Fauci’s cruel beagle experiments in Tunisia, and funded Russia’s cruel kitten treadmill tests.

The decision addresses long-standing transparency issues with foreign funding for taxpayer-funded research projects.

According to a notice by the NIH, some recipients have failed to accurately report subawards of $30,000 or more, as required by the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act (FFATA). This lack of transparency, particularly with foreign subawards, has raised national security concerns for the U.S. government. To rectify this, NIH is establishing a new award structure prohibiting foreign subawards from being nested under parent grants, effective for all new, renewal, and non-competing continuation grants issued to domestic and foreign entities.

“NIH recognizes that some recipients do not accurately report on subawards consistent with Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act (FFATA) subaward reporting requirements (NIH GPS 8.4.1.5.5), which state that recipients must report on all subawards/subcontracts/consortiums equal to or greater than $30,000,” the agency said. “This includes awards that are initially below $30,000 but subsequent grant modifications result in an award equal to or greater than $30,000. This lack of transparency is particularly concerning in the case of foreign subawards, in which the United States government has a need to maintain national security.”

NIH Director Jay Bhattacharya, who has been critical of previous NIH spending practices, emphasized the need for accountability in a statement about the change.

“By creating a more unified view of where NIH dollars are going, we are strengthening public trust and improving accountability to recipients of federal dollars,” Bhattacharya said.

The decision follows years of investigations by the White Coat Waste Project (WCW), a watchdog organization that has worked to expose taxpayer funding of controversial animal testing domestically and in projects linked to foreign labs.

Keep reading

Chicago mayor permanently removes all Columbus statues from city parks

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson has said he supports the decision for the city to permanently eliminate statues of Christopher Columbus from two different city parks. He said that the decision shows the city’s “collective humanity.” 

Both the Arrigo Park and Grant Park Columbus statues were removed from their places after the Black Lives Matter protests and riots during the summer of 2020, according to Fox 32. The statues have been in limbo after the original choice to remove them by former Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot, but Johnson backed a plan to make the removals permanent on Tuesday. 

“Art and culture in particular is something that I don’t believe we should erase,” Johnson said. “And we do have to make sure that our presentation is depicting not just truth, but the best part of our existence, which is our collective humanity.”

The permanent removals come after the resolution of a lawsuit launched by the Joint Civic Committee of Italian Americans (JCCIA) over the statue. The settlement agreement sees to it that the statue from Arrigo Park goes to a museum that the JCCIA owns. The deal will leave the base in the park empty.

Mayor Johnson’s Park District CEO Rosa Ramirez-Rosa said of the plan, “The Chicago Park District is committed to diversifying our statuary to ensure we are honoring Chicago’s rich history and diversity.”

Keep reading

Socialist Bernie Sanders Doubles Down on Use of Private Jets — Says He Can’t Be Expected to Wait in Line at Airports

Senator Bernie Sanders is making no excuses for his use of private jets.

Lastm onth, it was reported that he had spent over $200,000 on private jets to travel to events during his anti-Trump “FIght Oligarchy” tour.

In an interview with Fox News host Bret Baier, Sanders defended his use of these aircraft, saying he can’t be expected to wait in line at airpots.

Here is a transcript of the exchange:

BAIER: Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI), she said you shouldn’t be using oligarch, it’s over people’s head.

You’ve gotten criticized from other people, the Free Beacon says, Bernie Sanders spent 221,000 on private jets fighting the oligarchy tour paid for by Friends of Bernie Sanders, that you’ve spent millions of dollars in campaign funds on private jet travel over the years.

How do you push back on both of those things?”

SANDERS: When’s the last time you saw Donald Trump during a campaign mode at National Airport?

BAIER: No, no, no. It doesn’t. But he’s also not fighting the oligarchy.

SANDERS: No. You run a campaign and do you three or four or five rallies in a week, the only way you can get around to talk to 30,000 people, you think I’m going to be sitting on a waiting line at United waiting while 30,000 people are waiting? T

hat’s the only way you can get around. No apologies for that. That’s what campaign travel is about. We’ve done it in the past, we’re going to do it in the future.

Keep reading

Sun-Dimming Quango has £800 Million of Taxpayer Money to Blow – and a CEO on £450k

Recently, this site reported that £50 million worth of taxpayer money was about to be approved to blot out the Sun in the name of staving off ‘global warming’.

The Telegraph has more on developments and the eye-watering sums of money being quietly allocated to Aria to develop potentially irreversible interventions in the natural world, while also paying extravagant salaries:

Plans to block sunlight to fight global warming have inadvertently shone a light on Aria, the Government’s opaque research arm.

The Advanced Research and Invention Agency was set up in 2021 by Kwasi Kwarteng, the ex-Tory business secretary, and was originally the brainchild of Dominic Cummings, Boris Johnson’s former chief aide.

Yet few people on the street know what it is, what it does, or how much taxpayer cash is flowing into its well-financed coffers.

Sure, it has a shiny website stocked with techno-waffle promising to help scientists “reach for the edge of the possible” and foster “opportunity spaces” but there has been little clarity on its day-to-day operations.

This week, we learnt it will spend £56.8 million on 21 “climate cooling” projects, which include looking into the logistics of building a “sun shade” in space and injecting plumes of salt water into the sky to reflect sunlight away from Earth.

“We’re not trying to dim the Sun,” representatives from Aria said rather disingenuously at a press briefing, knowing full well that should experiments prove successful, that is their ultimate aim.

Keep reading

Judge Blocks Department Of Education From Canceling COVID-Related School Aid

A federal judge on May 6 blocked the U.S. Department of Education from canceling more than $1 billion in funding that was allocated to help address the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on primary schools and students.

U.S. District Judge Edgardo Ramos entered a preliminary injunction that prohibits the Department of Education from enforcing its recission of extensions for the funding that had been granted in January by the prior administration.

Education officials also cannot modify the previously-approved extensions without giving the states at least 14 days notice, the judge said.

Congress allocated funds to states to distribute to schools to address problems stemming from the pandemic. The more than $276 billion was distributed to states through an education stabilization fund. Under laws passed by Congress, states had until Sept. 30, 2024, to designate the money, and until Jan. 28, 2025, to access funds to achieve the designations.

States could ask for extensions for the latter deadline, and a number did so. The Department of Education granted extensions to at least 16 states, and Washington, enabling them to access the money through March 2026. 

Education Secretary Linda McMahon informed the states in March that the extensions were being rescinded because additional review had determined they were “not justified” in part because the pandemic is over, although the states could reapply for extensions.

Keep reading

Trump Administration’s DOGE Cancels University’s Contract To Monitor Marijuana Potency

The Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) is touting the cancellation of another marijuana-related federal grant—this time targeting a program that’s long tracked cannabis potency levels in seized illicit products.

The contract has historically been awarded to the University of Mississippi, which for decades was the sole federally authorized cultivator of marijuana for research purposes. But it’s also received funding through the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) to monitor cannabinoid content such as THC and CBD in confiscated cannabis.

That contract has now been ended as part of DOGE’s mission to make significant government spending cuts.

“In the last two days, agencies terminated 148 wasteful contracts with a ceiling value of $420M and savings of $198M, including a $143K HHS contract for the ‘potency monitoring of confiscated marijuana samples,’” DOGE said in an X post on Monday.

Keep reading