Tag: taxes

Legal Weed Is Working, Data Suggests: $24.7 Billion In Taxes, Teen Use Down In Most States

More than a decade into America’s state-by-state experiment with cannabis legalization, the results are no longer theoretical. Government data now confirms what early advocates envisioned—and what critics warned against: legal cannabis is reshaping public policy. The numbers tell a clear story, one grounded in billions in state tax revenue and a measurable decline in teen marijuana use.

According to two reports from the Marijuana Policy Project (MPP), legal adult-use cannabis sales have generated more than $24.7 billion in state tax revenue since 2014. Much of that money is being directed toward education, healthcare, infrastructure, substance use prevention and community reinvestment. At the same time, teen cannabis use has declined in most legal states, defying long-held fears that legalization would increase youth access and consumption.

“Legalization does not increase youth cannabis use. In fact, evidence suggests the opposite,” MPP’s youth impact report states.

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NATO Pledges $40 Billion to Ukraine

The neocons would never permit a true ceasefire. The war in the Middle East must continue in order to broaden the West’s conflict with Russia. Russia is not permitted to remain neutral, despite Putin’s insistence. Follow the money—NATO has assembled $40 BILLION to prolong aggression against Russia.

“Let’s not forget, Iran is heavily involved in the fight of Russia against Ukraine by, for example, their drone deliveries, which are killing innocent Ukrainians every day, in cities, in communities, without any respect for life,” Rutte said. Russia has paid Iran for defense and drones throughout the conflict in Ukraine, and therefore, the neocons believe Russia should be held responsible for the war in the Middle East.

Russia has successfully fended off NATO and the weaponization of Ukraine by the West. The messaging put forth by NATO aligns with Socrates’ predictions—the worst is yet to come and we have mass panic cycles occurring in nearly every major economy in 2026. The reason cannot be provided by the computer, but historically, we only see such an uptick in activity during times of global conflict.

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EMBARRASSING: Air Force Spends Millions On Relaxation Cubes

At dozens of bases across the Air Force, troops are undertaking tried-and-true relaxation techniques — biofeedback, meditation — in shiny mirrored cubes that can project light patterns and even galaxies. The experience, as one researcher put it, is more like a “Disney ride” than a studio or clinical office.

This is Lumena Mindgym, a flashy new curriculum-based therapeutic tool that’s taking the Air Force by storm. More than two dozens Mindgyms have been installed at base fitness centers and support facilities for about $100,000 apiece; Mindgym just marked its first installations outside the continental United States, in Kuwait and Turkey, earlier this year.

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Biden Judge Blocks Trump From Withholding EV Charger Funds After Joe Biden Spent $7.5 Billion to Install 8 EV Chargers

A federal judge on Tuesday blocked the Trump Administration from withholding funds for electric vehicle chargers.

In 2021, the Democrat-controlled Congress gave Joe Biden $7.5 billion to install electric vehicle chargers all over the country and only 7 or 8 EV charging stations have been built. It’s a total scam.

According to 2021 analysis from the New York Times, $1.2 trillion of the ‘Infrastructure’ bill would be spent over 8 years and $550 billion will go to roads, bridges, rail lines, electric vehicles, water systems and other programs.

Electric vehicles are unpopular, expensive and bad for the environment but the Biden Regime is going into overdrive to force car companies to produce more EVs while they crack down on gas-powered vehicle tailpipe emissions.

President Trump vowed to immediately dismantle Joe Biden’s insane electric vehicle mandate.

Earlier this year the US Transportation Department suspended Biden’s EV charging station scam.

On Tuesday, Seattle-based US District Judge Tana Lin, a Biden appointee, temporarily blocked Trump from withholding EV charger funds to 14 states.

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Slovakian paedophile who kidnapped and gang raped schoolgirl, 12, starred in rap video funded by British taxpayers

A Slovakian paedophile who kidnapped and repeatedly raped a 12-year-old schoolgirl previously appeared in a British taxpayer-funded rap video, MailOnline can reveal.

Ernest Gunar Jr, 27, lured his victim into a car with the promise of a cigarette at an Asda car park in Dover last August, alongside fellow Slovakians Kevin Horvath, 26, and 38-year-old Ivan Turtak.

The girl was raped in Horvath’s car, before being taken to Gunar’s squalid caravan on Arthur Street in Folkestone, Kent, where she was plied with illicit substances, subjected to further rapes and other degrading sexual acts.

The trio were last week convicted of all charges against them.

MailOnline can now reveal that, as a teenager, Gunar rapped about how a lack of ‘respect’ for different communities would result in ‘racism and crime‘ for a local project financed by the UK Government.

Showcased by ITV project Fixers, Gunar – who was 16 at the time – was funded by the Cabinet Office’s Youth Social Action Fund under then-Prime Minister David Cameron.

ITV’s Fixers worked with Gunar as part of the Cabinet Office’s ‘Step Up To Serve’ campaign – which was spearheaded by the then-Prince of Wales, King Charles III.

The sex offender said at the time: ‘It’s my view that young people can be quick to judge each other and don’t always show one another respect.

‘The result of this can be racism and crime and I believe that the barriers between different groups of young people need to be broken down.’

He created a rap song and video, accompanied by friends, many of whom also originally came from Eastern Europe, and said: ‘Some people will perhaps think they know one Slovak who is bad, so they consider us all to be the same.

‘But, we’re all humans and we shouldn’t judge others. We should respect them.’

The lyrics of the video focused on community and unity, with one line stating: ‘Magnify the world, different countries and religions. What we know and what we don’t, let’s mix-match our opinions’.

The music video showed Gunar and several other teenagers singing and rapping while having a barbeque.

King Charles was the royal patron of Step Up To Serve, an initiative which called on adults across the UK to volunteer to help double the level of participation of young people in helping others.

It was supported by the Prime Minister David Cameron, Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg and Leader of the Opposition Ed Miliband.

Gunar was born in Košice, the second biggest city in Slovakia, but came to the UK with his parents when he was aged three or four.

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Dublin considers introducing tourism tax

Dublin is considering introducing a tourism tax that could bring in ‘significant’ funding. 

At a press conference on Tuesday, Michael Martin, the head of the Irish government, said he was backing the proposal made by the Dublin City Taskforce, which said last year that the city has become ‘less welcoming’ since the financial crash. 

‘It could provide additional revenue raising powers, so that will be examined. Because, let’s be honest, there’s going to be significant investment here’, the Taoiseach said. 

He added that the actual amount of money expected to be brought in varied widely, depending on the rate applied if the tourism tax comes to pass. 

‘It will be examined in more detail. Estimates varies between depending on rate of fee applied, it would range from four million to 41 million.’

But Martin claimed that no matter what rate the city lands on, ‘there’s going to be significant additional expenditure to make the city more attractive.’ 

Dublin is already considered one of the most expensive cities in Europe for eating and drinking, and there are fears that the proposed tax will further burden tourists visiting the already expensive city. 

Simon Harris, the deputy leader of the Irish government, said that the plans were far from set in stone, and that Dublin City Council will have a significant role to play in deciding whether to implement it. 

He said: ‘Fundamentally, I believe, massively in local government, empowering councillors and providing revenue streams, there needs to be a sensitivity around the timing.’

Cities across Europe are beginning to place daily taxes on visitors. Rates vary from just a few cents per day to up to €7 per day in places like Rome. 

In the UK, Manchester is the first and currently only British city to charge a tourist levy, requiring visitors to pay £1 per day in hotels or rented flats in the centre of the city. 

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NATO To Take ‘Quantum Leap’ in Military Spending, Pledging 5% of GDP Baseline

Each member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is expected to ink a pledge to raise military spending to 5% of GDP over the next ten years. This is more than double the current 2% goal. Responding to President Donald Trump’s demands for greater spending, member states will agree to the new baseline in the Netherlands during an alliance summit this week. On Monday, the eve before the summit, this proposal was referred to as a “quantum leap” by Secretary General Mark Rutte.

Under the compromise deal, by 2035, each member state will commit a minimum of 3.5% of their GDP to “core military needs,” along with 1.5% to be earmarked for cybersecurity, infrastructure, and other security components.

“The defense investment plan that allies will agree [to] in The Hague introduces a new baseline, five percent of GDP to be invested in defense,” Rutte told reporters.Despite alliance concerns over Madrid’s refusal to commit to the 5% spending figure, which would necessitate a military yearly budget of nearly $90 billion, Rutte emphasized Spain will not be allowed to “opt-out.” He said, “NATO does not have as an alliance opt-outs, side deals, etcetera, because we all have to chip in.”

Moreover, Rutte insists the new spending will go toward producing thousands of tanks and a five fold increase in the production of air defenses. The NATO chief declared, “Our focus is ensuring that we have all we need to deter and defend against any threat.” Rutte added the summit will see strong support for Ukraine and noted the “most significant and direct threat facing this alliance remains the Russian Federation.”

The alliance has poured hundreds of billions of dollars into a proxy war with Russia in Ukraine that has seen hundreds of thousands of casualties with Ukraine losing roughly 20% of its territory.

With the US taking the lead, by 2021, defying Russia’s core security concerns and provoking conflict, Ukraine was being treated as a de facto NATO member. Rutte’s predecessor, Jens Stoltenberg, admitted that, under his leadership in the lead up to the war, the Washington-led bloc refused to take potential membership for Kiev off the table in negotiations even though Moscow had made clear that would prevent an invasion.

The policy has not changed. “Last year in Washington, NATO allies agreed… there is an irreversible path of Ukraine to enter NATO. And that is still true today, and it will still be true on Thursday after this summit,” Rutte told reporters.

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US auditors arrive in Kyiv to check for corruption

American auditors have just landed in Kyiv, and their plan is simple – to dig out what is really happening with the billions of dollars that the US has already sent to Ukraine.

The West has poured an estimated $133bn into Ukraine since the start of the war over three years ago, but for much of that time there has been little accountability or reporting on where the money went and to whom.

Ukraine has been plagued by corruption since independence and as bne IntelliNews has reported, corruption is not a problem of the system; it is the system. Ukraine has long been dubbed one of the most corrupt countries in the Former Soviet Union (FSU). Part of the motivations behind the 2014 Euromaidan evolution was that former president Viktor Yanukovych is believed to have stolen hundreds of millions of dollars from the state.

Now that the US ardour for supporting Ukraine is beginning to cool, the Trump administration intends to hold the Zelenskiy administration to closer account. And the momentum for more transparency has been building. When the US ran out of money for Ukraine at the start of 2023, part of the $60bn emergency bailout package included several tens of millions of dollars in a special budget dedicated to accounting and audits.

Scandals have plagued the Defence Ministry, including one last year when the government was caught procuring eggs for four times the market value and heavily overpaying for dud winter jackets. Zelenskiy sacked Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov in September 2023 in a military shake-up to crack down on corruption, but it remains rife. Reznikov himself was not accused of any wrong-doing.

The arrival of the US audit team has been confirmed by US State Department of contracts worth $814,806. That amount will cover the hotel accommodation of the employees who will stay in the capital of Ukraine for a month in the luxurious Hilton Kyiv hotel.

The audit comes as Trump has been leaning on the Ukrainian presidential administration to cut a ceasefire deal with Russia, but Zelenskiy has proved reluctant to do so. Some experts have speculated that audit comes as part of the pressure Trump hopes will push Zelenskiy into cutting a “quick and dirty deal” with President Vladimir Putin.

A group of 80 to 100 people is in charge of a comprehensive audit, according to reports, checking how funds for military and humanitarian support, logistics, security and security were spent.

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The F-35 Ages Worse Than the Planes It’s Meant To Replace

As the U.S. grapples with ballooning federal budgets and increasingly necessary spending cuts, the military remains ripe for austerity. In February, the Pentagon suggested cutting $50 billion per year from its budget over the next five years—a good start but nowhere near enough, considering the Trump administration is floating a defense budget of nearly $1 trillion.

A recent government report detailed even further evidence that the F-35 stealth fighter jet is a program that deserves to be scrapped.

“The F-35 Lightning II aircraft (F-35) is the Department of Defense’s (DOD) most ambitious and costly weapon system and its most advanced fighter aircraft,” the Government Accountability Office (GAO) reported in April 2024. “However, DOD’s projected costs for sustaining the F-35 continue to increase while planned use of the aircraft declines.” (There are three primary variants: the F-35A, the F-35B, and the F-35C, which are primarily for use by the Air Force, Marine Corps, and Navy, respectively.)

“DOD plans to use the F-35 aircraft through 2088 and plans to spend over $2 trillion on acquisition and sustainment,” the GAO noted, even though the department also “plans to fly the F-35 less than originally estimated, partly because of reliability issues with the aircraft.”

Nonetheless, the report expressed some optimism over the F-35’s future: “As of August 2023, the program was meeting or close to meeting 17 of its 24 reliability and maintainability goals, which are aimed at ensuring that the aircraft will be available for operations as opposed to out-of-service for maintenance,” it noted. At the same time, even though the DOD planned to fly the crafts less than anticipated, that reduction in flight hours meant the various military branches “are now projecting they will meet most of their affordability targets (i.e., the amount of money they project they can afford to spend per aircraft per year for operating the aircraft).”

Last week, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) tossed even more cold water on the F-35’s viability. It turns out that not only do the F-35s not age particularly well, they don’t particularly offer a competitive advantage over the planes they’re supposed to replace.

“As F-35s have aged, their availability and use have decreased,” the CBO detailed in a report—”availability” being a measure of “the number of hours that aircraft are both mission capable and in the possession of operational squadrons,” as a percentage of that fleet’s total flight time.

“The availability and use of F-35s have been lower, in some cases much lower, than those of other fighter aircraft of the same age,” the CBO continued. “For example, the average availability rate of a 7-year-old F-35A has been about the same as that of a 36-year-old F-16C/D and a 17-year-old F-22.” The fleet’s target availability rate is 65 percent, but all three F-35 variants range between 50 and 60 percent.

The F-35 means to replace previous-generation aircraft like the F-16, but instead, the obsolete models are running circles around their intended replacement. (The F-22, like the F-35, is a stealth aircraft, which the F-16 is not; the report notes that stealth crafts “have different maintenance requirements” and lower availability than non-stealth fighters of similar ages.)

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Budget Office Estimates Biden Border Bedlam Cost States Billions

Arecent report attempted to quantify the real costs the Biden administration’s deregulated border had on state and local governments.

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates that the surge in illegal migration cost governments billions of dollars in 2023, which illustrates the real-world impact of the previous administration’s actions — or inactions. The report also exhorted Congress to provide adequate resources for border security, so that the chaos of the past four years can never happen again.

Quantifying Surge Populations

The CBO report looked at the impact of the Biden-era migration surge among “other foreign nationals.” This immigration category includes those who entered the United States unlawfully; so-called “overstays,” who entered the country lawfully but did not exit when their visa expired; parolees permitted entrance despite not falling into another immigration category; and those awaiting immigration proceedings in court. The budget office estimated that, by the end of 2023, the “other foreign national” population had increased by a net of 4.3 million since the Biden administration took office in 2021.

CBO believes that, of those 4.3 million, “about a quarter,” or roughly 1.1 million, “were qualified aliens upon arrival.” That term has particular relevance because the 1996 welfare reform law restricted eligibility for federal programs to “qualified aliens” who have served a five-year waiting period. However, CBO also notes that “about half,” or over 500,000, “of those qualified aliens” arriving during the surge “were exempt from the five-year waiting period,” and therefore could immediately receive taxpayer-funded benefits.

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