Tag: taxes

Biden’s $475B student debt cancellation plan blocked as federal appeals court issues final decision

A federal appeals court delivered a crushing blow Tuesday to a more than $475 billion student debt cancellation program begun by former President Joe Biden, ordering the underlying regulation be blocked in its entirety.

The Eighth US Circuit Court of Appeals had partially blocked the loan forgiveness effort last year — but a three-judge panel at the St. Louis-based court issued a final judgment to a lower court prohibiting any part of the initiative from taking effect.

Judge L. Steven Grasz in a 25-page opinion ruled that Biden’s Education Secretary, Miguel Cardona, had “gone well beyond” his constitutional authority in creating the Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) plan.

“Rather than implying by omission or other ambiguities, Congress has spoken clearly when creating a repayment plan with loan forgiveness or otherwise authorizing it — explicitly stating the Secretary should cancel, discharge, repay, or assume the remaining unpaid balance,” Grasz wrote, finding “no comparable language” in the SAVE Plan.

In 2023, the Penn Wharton Budget Model estimated the so-called “repayment plan,” which Grasz said allowed for student debt to be “largely forgiven rather than repaid, would cost taxpayers $475 billion over the next decade.

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More USAID Fraud? Billions Of US Tax Dollars Are Missing From Haiti Relief Projects

There are those that say all government aid is a scam in one way or another, and so far the revelations surrounding USAID are proving those people right daily.  Democrats and the establishment media, in a bid to muddy the waters and save face, continue to claim that there was never any fraud at USAID and that the Trump Administration is simply labeling projects they “disagree with” as suspect. 

Of course, spending American tax dollars on projects the public never asked for and were never told about is the epitome of fraud, and waste is never a good thing.  Beyond that, the question of billions in missing funds certainly falls into the category of criminality. 

Trump has taken a lot of heat from the media with the shut down of USAID and much of the criticism suggests that without US funds people in third world countries will fall back into desperation.  The Washington Post recently claimed that Trump’s cuts to USAID are a “gift to Haitian gangs” terrorizing the locals; a typical leftist appeal to emotion that assumes most of the funds were getting to the Haitians in the first place. 

Yet another example of this problem has been revealed in a New York Post expose on the audit of USAID which shows a disturbing shortfall in funds surrounding ongoing relief projects in Haiti.  The Post notes:

“Since the 2010 earthquake in Haiti killed as many as 300,000 people, the US government has disbursed around $4.4 billion in foreign assistance to the small island nation.

At least $1.5 billion was disbursed for immediate humanitarian aid, while another $3 billion went to recovery, reconstruction and development.

Of the at least $2.13 billion in contracts and grants for Haiti-related work, less than $50 million, or 2% went to Haitian organizations or firms. By comparison, $1.3 billion, or 56%, has gone to firms located in or near the US capitol. Little wonder USAID is so threatened by the sudden scrutiny.

It remains unclear how exactly the billions have been spent and whether US tax dollars have had a sustainable impact. USAID and its vendors have generally failed to make such data public…”

The exposure of USAID by DOGE actually confirms long running suspicions of mishandled aid.  Some Haitian reporters warned about this disappearing money years ago under the Obama Administration.  USAID funds to Haiti were dispersed in part through the Clinton Foundation. 

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WOW: CNN Hack Michael Smerconish Melts Down After Getting Schooled by DOGE Dividend Creator James Fishback — Threatens to Cut His Mic and Calls ‘Time’ After Losing Debate

Another day, another embarrassing meltdown from the legacy media.

CNN’s resident fake news peddler, Michael Smerconish, couldn’t handle the cold, hard truth about government waste and taxpayer rip-offs.

During an interview with DOGE Dividend original creator James Fishback, a Trump-aligned entrepreneur and CEO of Azoria, Smerconish fumed and ultimately threatened to cut the mic when his leftist talking points crumbled under the weight of FACTS.

The DOGE Dividend, a bold new initiative supported by President Trump and spearheaded by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), aims to return taxpayer savings back to hardworking Americans.

The plan proposes that 20% of the money saved through cutting government waste would be refunded directly to taxpayers, while another 20% would go toward paying down the national debt. But for some reason, this common-sense approach sent Smerconish into a full-blown meltdown.

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EPA officials prepare to ditch fiction justifying Green New Deal

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is about to bury the unscientific idea that carbon dioxide is a pollutant. Dropping this “endangerment finding” represents the beginning of the end for the great global warming hoax.

Under President Barack Obama, the agency in 2009 declared the molecule that enables plants to grow and humans to breathe an enemy of the planetary thermostat. This decree vested the EPA with authority to regulate CO2 as if it were a nasty substance equivalent to black soot, lead, radon or asbestos.

But the public never embraced any of the austerity measures peddled as a remedy for this supposed ailment. Consumers didn’t want to pay extra taxes on cars, nor did they endorse the abolition of affordable sources of electricity. Even Senate Democrats couldn’t bring themselves to vote for the Green New Deal.

The package of socialist measures designed to “achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions” flopped 57-0 in 2019 before being crushed 99-0 in the Senate two years later. Undeterred, President Joe Biden implemented the deal’s main provisions administratively. His Inflation Reduction Act allocated billions to the EPA for distribution to any organization claiming to have a “climate solution.”

Nonprofits signed up for cash rewards for spreading the global-warming gospel. A vast array of public subsidies was lavished on economically unsustainable energy projects. These endeavors had a remarkable tendency to be staffed by the friends and political allies of progressives.

Newly sworn-in EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin pulled the plug on the scheme. “We will review every penny that has gone out the door. The days of irresponsibly shoveling boat loads of cash to far-left, activist groups in the name of environmental justice and climate equity are over,” he said earlier this month.

In one instance, an individual who left a company to take a position at the EPA “tossed his former employer $5 billion of your tax dollars,” Mr. Zeldin wrote on X, referring to a large EPA grant the firm received.

Mr. Zeldin’s review discovered a $20 billion EPA slush fund the prior administration had moved into private financial institutions as officials sought to empty the agency piggy bank before President Trump’s team arrived. This dubious use of public resources has been referred to the agency’s inspector general.

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New SBA Chief Goes Viral After Touring Empty Offices and Bringing Staff Back to Work

The new head of the Small Business Administration (SBA), Kelly Loeffler, is making headlines after a viral moment during her tour of the agency’s headquarters. While walking through an office filled with empty cubicles, Loeffler expressed her frustration about the lack of in-person staff presence and emphasized the need for employees to return to their workstations. She promptly directed the SBA team to resume operations in the office, signaling a strong commitment to restoring productivity and engagement within the agency. 

“It’s my second day here at the SBA,” Loeffler said in the video. “I could not be more excited to be here. So I thought I’d take a walk. And what I found is that exactly what’s been said is true. About 90 percent of our employees are working from home. Well, that ends Monday with President Trump’s order to return to work.”

In addition to the 17 million views Loeffler’s video on X received, Elon Musk also reacted to her post, saying, “No one at work.” 

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Possibly The Dumbest Example Of Waste DOGE Has Discovered (So Far)

There’s something about being exposed that causes stupidity; a kneejerk reaction to push back against reality, no matter how obvious. As DOGE and President Donald Trump work to expose and fight government waste, fraud and abuse (how sad is it that they have to FIGHT Democrats to end those things?), more ways in which the federal government has been doing those things is coming to light. 

As a result of this disinfecting glow of sunlight, people are losing their jobs. While that’s never fun, those jobs are simply unnecessary. Since Democrats have adopted a “If Trump is for it, we’re against it…whatever IT is” mantra, they end up looking ridiculous most of the time. 

That’s what happens when you don’t think, you simply respond. It’s a super power Trump has, he can make his opponents metaphorically punch themselves in the face while defending some of the dumbest, most wasteful and corrupt spending human beings have ever conceived. 

One of the dumbest and most hilarious cases of this very phenomenon was on display in a story in the Washington Post this week. It opens with this paragraph, “At California’s Yosemite National Park, the Trump administration fired the only locksmith on staff on Friday. He was the sole employee with the keys and the institutional knowledge needed to rescue visitors from locked restrooms.”

I have questions.

Why is there a locksmith on staff, as a locksmith, when you could just contract with one when needed? How often in your life have you said, “Damnit, why isn’t there a locksmith on staff?!” At the most, I’d say one time. But the odds are heavily in favor of never.

Next, why is this guy the only person with keys? Is that the source of his job security? “Fire me and you’ll never get into any building or room again, because I will destroy every key!” Doubtful, as other locksmiths exist, not to mention the fact that changing a lock isn’t all that hard.

Since that’s unlikely, why not just make more keys – make a lot of copies so park employees are lousy with them to the point that it doesn’t matter who is working or what day it is, every door can be opened? Because government is stupid, that’s why. The bureaucracy would rather pay a salary, benefits and fund a pension for someone who likely only gets called on once or twice a year, if that, than act in any way that could be confused with common sense.

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U.S. NATO Funding Much Higher Than Official Contribution Data

President Trump has faced criticism for claiming that the U.S. accounts for over 70% of NATO’s funding. However, he is correct in his assertion. The official figures on U.S. funding for NATO typically only reflect direct contributions, which represent roughly 15%-20% of NATO’s budget. In reality, the U.S. provides a wide range of additional aid and support, significantly increasing its financial commitment to the alliance.

These contributions include U.S. military bases in Europe, Enhanced Forward Presence (EFP), defense and security assistance, infrastructure support, contributions to NATO missions and operations, strategic airlift and logistics, cybersecurity and intelligence support, ballistic missile defense (BMD) systems, research and development (R&D) for NATO technologies, support for NATO’s nuclear deterrence, troop deployment costs, investment in NATO’s rapid reaction force, space applications, military aid and loans to smaller countries, and nuclear sharing.

By some estimates, when all U.S. contributions are considered, the total could be as high as $700 billion annually.

In terms of NATO-led operations, the U.S. is the largest contributor, covering the majority of personnel, equipment, and logistics costs for missions in Afghanistan, Libya, and Kosovo. Furthermore, the U.S. invests heavily in defense projects that bolster NATO’s collective defense capabilities, including missile defense systems in Europe, cyber defense initiatives, and advanced military technologies.

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Mayor Johnston’s Lawless Defiance to Cost Denver Taxpayers $2M

Mayor Mike Johnston is no stranger to controversial headlines. He’s also well known for defying US immigration law and prioritizing resources for illegal residents.

Remember the “Newcomer Playbook“? How about the time his peer in Aurora accused him of “human dumping“? Back before inauguration day, he was tacitly calling for insurrection. The reality is, Denver has been focused on settlement rather than law enforcement. When Biden was in office, they bragged about it.

A sustainable response to newcomers… right?

Johnston was called to D.C. last month to answer for his subversion of the law. First he resisted, then he said he was open to it, and now he has secured a top Biden lawyer at a reported rate of $1,000 per hour. From Denverite:

“Denver to pay $1,000 hourly for top Biden lawyer as Republicans investigate ‘sanctuary’ cities. The city of Denver is hiring outside lawyers as it prepares for a Congressional Republican inquiry about the city’s immigration policies. A contract passed by Denver City Council allows the city to pay up to $2 million over a one-year period to Covington & Burling, a Washington-based law firm. The city is to be represented by Dana Remus, who previously was the White House counsel for President Joe Biden.”

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Senator John Kennedy Blasts Continued Funding of “Public” Media NPR and PBS: “Gravy Train with Biscuit Wheels”

Senator John Kennedy (R-LA) had harsh criticism for taxpayers funding “public” leftist propaganda outlets such as National Public Radio, the Corporation Public Broadcasting, and the Public Broadcasting System.

Kennedy called the scheme more just a “gravy train” but a “gravy train with biscuit wheels.”

In November, video footage of NPR CEO Katherine Maher from an August 2021 Ted Talk reappeared on X, sparking new debate over the taxpayer-funded broadcaster’s alleged bias.

In the 10-second clip, Maher questioned the role truth plays in the industry as the then-CEO of Wikimedia. She took over as CEO of NPR in March 2024.

Maher told the crowd, “I think our reverence for the truth might have become a bit of a distraction that is preventing us from finding consensus and getting important things done.”

Elon Musk weighed in on the video asking if taxpayer funds should be used for an organization headed by someone who thinks the truth is a “distraction.”

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Seattle state-funded non-profit promotes bondage, ‘jack-off clubs’

Tens of thousands of dollars of taxpayer money were given to a Seattle foundation that supports bondage programming and “jack-off clubs” where members can “share masturbation and mutual touch in an open, group setting.” Volunteers, calling themselves WA DOGE, revealed that Washington’s Arts Commission gave the funds to the Pan Eros Foundation, an organization that “celebrates and cultivates consent & sexuality through the arts & education for all.”

The organization received $2,000 in the 2023-2025 biennium, according to the Evergreen State’s “open checkbook” website. Tax forms reveal that the organization received $60,000 in “government grants.”

One of the ongoing programs listed on the organization’s calendar is Rain City Jacks “a traditional jack-off club.” According to the event listing, calling it an “associated event,” “Rain City Jacks hosts regular, private events for its members to share masturbation and mutual touch in an open, group setting. Membership is available to adult men who desire and value what we have to offer, respect the Jacks culture of mutual respect and consent, and adhere to the RCJ Code of Conduct.”

Membership is required for participation in RCJ events and Rain City Jacks “welcomes all adult men, including trans men, regardless of age, race, ability, physicality, sexual orientation, or other subjective external traits.”

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