Tag: taxes

California Governor Signs $2.8 Billion Medi-Cal Bailout to Cover Soaring Costs, Including for Illegal Immigrants

California Gov. Gavin Newsom has signed emergency legislation that will close a $2.8 billion shortfall in the state’s Medicaid program, Medi-Cal, ensuring continued health care coverage through June for approximately 15 million low-income residents, including hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants.

Newsom signed Assembly Bill 100 into law on April 14, according to a statement from his office. The measure is part of a broader response to an estimated $6.2 billion budget gap in Medi-Cal, the state’s sprawling public health care program.

The shortfall followed California’s expansion of full-scope Medi-Cal benefits to all income-eligible adults in 2024, regardless of immigration status—a move hailed by progressives and criticized by conservatives.

The Medi-Cal expansion—implemented in January 2024 under a 2022 law—made California the first state in the nation to offer free, comprehensive health care to all low-income adults regardless of immigration status. The state initially projected that the policy would cost $2.7 billion annually and cover about 764,000 residents without lawful immigration status. Actual program costs have exceeded expectations, contributing to California’s budget crisis, according to state officials.

California state Rep. Carl DeMaio, a Republican, has called for an audit of Medi-Cal spending, saying that California cannot afford to provide free health care to illegal immigrants.

“This puts the health coverage for poor people, children, the neediest among us, at risk,” DiMaio told reporters, according to a video that he shared on social media. “Why? Because we’ve given away the store to noncitizens. We’ve given illegal immigrants free health care at taxpayers’ expense.”

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Elizabeth Warren: Congress Has to Take Tariff Authority Away from Trump

Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) said Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union” that Congress had to take away the tariff authority from President Donald Trump.

Warren said, “It is a mistake to have the President of the United States out there just playing red light, green light and saying, oh, this morning I woke up and think the tariffs should be this big. Now, I think they should be this big; now, I think they should be somewhere else. And I got to say, saying, well, I will continue to make those decisions and I’m going to hold off on these tariffs for 90 days, that doesn’t put the economy in a better place. That doesn’t put investors in a better place.”

She added, “Congress has a job right now, and that is to step up and take this authority away from Donald Trump. He has proven how he will use it. But remember the statute that he’s now using starts with a declaration of emergency. And in that same statute, Congress has the responsibility to decide is it really an emergency or not? Are we really in an emergency with Belgium right now? Are we really in an emergency with South Korea? Congress can say no, there’s no emergency. It’s a resolution. And if we do that, it takes Donald Trump back to the trade as we had it before. Tariffs are then decided with Congress having an important say in it. That’s an important signal to the rest of the world. Right now it’s a no curbs on Donald Trump and that means chaos and corruption. We have an opportunity in Congress to vote that down and to say, no, we are going to use tariffs in a far more targeted way.”

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Junk science at NOAA about to come to an end

I never thought that I would see the day when the junk science at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, NOAA, came to an end. The Trump administration recently leaked news that it intends to eliminate the research arm of NOAA. I am not kidding when I say that I have been awaiting this moment for over thirty years.

NOAA researchers have been fomenting lies and distortions about climate from the moment they set foot in the place. At NOAA, they found an outlet to express the environmental radicalism that they absorbed in college classes and late-night bull sessions. The junk science that they cranked out has been used by mainstream media and cultural elites to perpetuate a panic about the weather and climate. It was a comical farce that they created, weaving tales about storms of biblical proportion due to a trace element in the atmosphere that happens to be the basis of all life.

The NOAA gig allowed researchers to show off their intellectual prowess and moral superiority, but it’s over now. Artsy communities like Asheville, where NOAA offices are located, will now have to contend with a flood of aspiring baristas as researchers try to find useful employment. As they stare wistfully out the window from behind the expresso maker at the faded lawn signs that read CLIMATE CHANGE IS REAL, they can think back with nostalgia on a time when the nation took them seriously.

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DOGE says illegal immigrants with criminal or terrorist records received public benefits under Biden

The Department of Government Efficiency revealed on Sunday that illegal immigrants with criminal or terrorist records received public benefits under former President Biden.

“Under the Biden administration, it was routine for Border Patrol to admit aliens into the United States with no legal status and minimal screening. So far, CBP identified a subset of 6.3k individuals paroled into the United States since 2023 on the FBI’s Terrorist Screening Center watchlist or with criminal records. These paroles have since been terminated with immediate effect,” read a DOGE post on X.

“Despite having no other legal status, paroled aliens are able to file for work authorization and receive social security numbers,” the agency added.

DOGE found that of that group of 6,300 illegal immigrants, “905 collecting Medicaid (including 4 on the terrorist watch list); $276k was paid out – 41 collecting Unemployment Insurance, receiving $42k in benefits; 22 received federal student loans totaling $280k; 409 received {net} tax refunds (2024 only) for $751k; several (final number TBD) received SNAP (food stamp) benefits.”

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Harvard Professors Try Blocking Audit Into $9 Billion in Government Grants

Professors at Harvard University have filed a lawsuit aimed at halting a federal review of nearly $9 billion in government grants and contracts awarded to the school, as the Trump administration investigates antisemitism on college campuses.

The lawsuit, filed Friday in federal court in Boston, claims that the administration’s audit threatens academic freedom and free speech.

It was brought by the Harvard chapter of the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) and the national organization.

The legal challenge comes amid a broader federal effort to investigate antisemitic incidents and rhetoric on college campuses, including those at elite universities.

The Trump administration has increased scrutiny of institutions receiving taxpayer funds, particularly where student protests or faculty conduct have raised concerns.

According to the AAUP, the audit violates constitutional protections and is intended to intimidate faculty and chill campus discourse.

The Department of Justice, which is representing the administration in the case, declined to comment on the pending litigation.

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Audit: Cuomo Spent $453M On 247,343 Medical Devices For COVID… State Used Only 3

Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s handling of the Covid crisis wasn’t just a health catastrophe, but a financial one too, according to a damning new audit report released Friday. The state government poured $453 million into building an enormous stockpile of medical equipment — and only used 0.000012% of it. 

According to state comptroller Tom DiNapoli, New York bought a staggering 247,343 medical devices, but only wound up using a laughable three pieces of equipment out of the vast horde. Worse, the waste was only compounded by the state’s utter neglect of its fiduciary duties to taxpayers. Rather than finding buyers for the once-valuable assets, bureaucrats have been content to let the equipment age and decay in warehouses. As if the erosion of the stockpiles weren’t bad enough, New York is also wasting money on storage costs. 

“New York state bought hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of medical equipment at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, including ventilators and x-ray machines, that now sits unused in storage facilities across the state, missing recommended maintenance and costing taxpayers storage expenses,” said Napoli’s office. Of the equipment that requires ongoing maintenance, auditors found that 90% of it is past due, with no process or contract in place to handle that need. Failure to keep up with maintenance risks voiding manufacturer warranties, and also rendering the equipment unusable in an emergency. 

 “It was completely understandable that we did a lot of panic buying in the moment. But then to throw all this stuff in a warehouse and neglect and ignore it — it’s compounding the mistake,” Bill Hammond of the Empire Center think tank told Politico. Four years ago, the Department of Health created a “Medical Stockpile Steering Committee” to determine how much of the equipment should be retained. The group said 51,140, but there was no plan for the other 200,000 devices. The DOH couldn’t produce any documentation about how the committee reached its conclusions.  

Heading into the pandemic, the state had 4,800 pieces of equipment on standby, but now has a quarter million items five years after Covid-19 entered the country. The inventory includes CPAP/BiPAP machines, ventilators, oxygen tanks, pulse oximeters, oxygen concentrators and infusion pumps In addition to the money wasted on the equipment itself, Cuomo’s administration also paid McKinsey & Company consultants more than $5 million to advise them how much stuff to buy.

In the understatement of the year, Cuomo spokesman Rich Azzopardi told the New York Post that McKinsey overestimated the need. “You can Monday-morning quarterback now, but then we were looking to save lives and doing nothing wasn’t an option.” Alas, Cuomo’s record on “saving lives” is arguably worse than the emerging picture of his financial mismanagement of the pandemic. His administration was widely condemned for ordering nursing homes to accept Covid-positive patients who were discharging from hospitals, then accused of deliberately understating the number of long-term-care-resident deaths that followed. 

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The Socialist Autocrat of Spain, Pedro Sánchez, Targets Foreign Property Buyers with a 100% Tax While Daring to Criticize Trump’s Tariffs.

Spain’s Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez — the most corrupt and autocratic socialist in recent history leading a far-left coalition — has announced a stunning policy: a 
100% tax on real estate purchases by non-EU foreigners.

Recently unveiled, this measure threatens to destabilize Spain’s housing market, scare off investors, and allegedly prioritize housing for locals — all at the expense of economic growth. Yet Sánchez dares to call President Donald Trump’s tariffs “unfair,” revealing a level of hypocrisy that no longer surprises anyone.

Comrade Sánchez presents this tax as a solution to Spain’s housing crisis. He cites data showing that in 2023, non-EU buyers — Americans, Brits, and others — purchased 27,000 properties, often as investments rather than primary residences.

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DOGE Finds 3 States Are Responsible For Over Half Of All Unemployment Fraud

The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has identified California, New York, and Massachusetts as the primary states responsible for over half of the fraudulent unemployment claims in the United States since 2020. According to DOGE’s findings, these three Democrat-led states accounted for $305 million out of the $382 million in improper claim payments.

DOGE’s survey revealed numerous fraudulent claims made by individuals with improbable ages , including those listed as over 115 years old, between one and five years old, and even with birthdates that have not yet occurred. These fraudulent claims amounted to hundreds of millions of dollars, with $254 million claimed by children aged one to five and $69 million by individuals with future birthdates.

Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer emphasized the department’s commitment to recovering these funds, stating, “We will catch these thieves and keep working to root out egregious fraud.” Meanwhile, Elon Musk , who is spearheading the DOGE effort, highlighted the absurdity of the situation, noting that tax dollars were being used to pay fraudulent claims for “fake people born in the future.”

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Pentagon’s Yemen Operations Nearing $1 Billion Price Tag

Fresh analysis in both the NY Times and CNN have estimated that America’s Yemen operations will soon hit the $1 billion mark. Still, war-planners are admitting only ‘limited success’ in degrading and dismantling the Houthis sophisticated weapons network.

‘Operation Rough Rider’ has seen warplanes and warships in the Red Sea go through at least $200 million in launched munitions alone since March 15, the Times report says. An in total, CNN says the overall operation is “nearing $1 billion in just under three weeks, even as the attacks have had limited impact on destroying the terror group’s capabilities,” according to several US defense officials.

US military assets in the region have utilized JASSM long-range cruise missiles, JSOWs (GPS-guided glide bombs), and Tomahawk missiles – all of which are very costly, advanced munitions.

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Trump Announces End to Federal Funding for Sanctuary Cities

Sanctuary cities and jurisdictions will have federal funding withdrawn, according to President Trump, who has made these safe havens for illegal immigrants one of the major targets of his new mass-deportation and immigration-reform policies.

In a post on Truth Social on Thursday, President Trump called sanctuary jurisdictions “death traps.”

“No more Sanctuary Cities! They protect the Criminals, not the Victims,” Trump wrote.

“They are disgracing our Country, and are being mocked all over the World. Working on papers to withhold all Federal Funding for any City or State that allows these Death Traps to exist!!!”

There are around 220 sanctuary jurisdictions in the US today.

Sanctuary jurisdictions, which refuse to cooperate with federal immigration operations, were a major target during President Trump’s first term. He signed an executive order to withdraw federal grants from jurisdictions based on their immigration policies. In 2018, that order was blocked, before the block was overturned in 2020.

During the 2024 election campaign, President Trump promised that he would abolish sanctuary jurisdictions if elected.

Attorney General Pam Bondi targeted these jurisdictions immediately upon her confirmation, ordering federal funding to them to be paused and a full investigation of all funding agreements these jurisdictions have with NGOs that offer assistance to illegal aliens. She has also launched a number of lawsuits against sanctuary cities, including Chicago and New York.

At the end of March, Border Czar Tom Homan led a series of raids in the sanctuary state of Massachusetts, arresting nearly 400 illegal aliens, the majority of whom were criminals.

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