Tag: taxes

House passes $900B defense bill with pay hike for troops, Golden Dome tech and more

The US House of Representatives passed the annual defense bill Wednesday, outlining a $900 billion budget that would give troops a 4% pay bump, help counter China and Russia, support new technologies like the Golden Dome missile defense system and promote military readiness, among other provisions.

The House voted 312-112 to adopt the National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2026.

The Senate will have to approve the bill before sending it to President Trump’s desk for a signature, though an earlier version cleared the upper chamber in October.

It’s expected to take it up next week.

Before the vote, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) had touted that the more than 3,000-page bill was aimed at “codifying 15 of President Trump’s executive orders, ending woke ideology at the Pentagon, securing the border, revitalizing the defense industrial base, and restoring the warrior ethos.”

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Minnesota: ‘Nearly Every’ Somali Household with Children Is on Welfare

More than 8-in-10 households headed by Somali refugees in the state of Minnesota are on one or more forms of American taxpayer-funded welfare, new data published by the Center for Immigration Studies (CIS) reveals.

The data, based on 10 years of data from the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey (ACS), shows drastic disparities between native-born American households and Somali-born households in Minnesota, where nearly 80,000 residents have Somali ancestry compared to zero who had Somali ancestry in 1990.

In particular, the data shows that 81 percent of Minnesota households headed by Somali refugees are on one or more forms of welfare, including 27 percent who are on cash welfare, 54 percent who are on food stamps, and 73 percent who are on Medicaid.

Compare this massive welfare use to native-born Americans residing in Minnesota, only 21 percent of whom are on one or more forms of welfare, including just 6 percent who are on cash welfare, 7 percent who are on food stamps, and 18 percent who are on Medicaid.

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At the end of the climate change illusion lies the poverty trap

The German government has shifted into hyper-mode to defend its green patronage economy. To pay for it, heirs, high performers and savers are being drafted into service. The end of the eco-socialist nightmare will be convulsive and chaotic.

On Friday, the federal cabinet agreed to introduce a new EV subsidy. Roughly three billion euros are set to flow into this bloodless market segment over the coming years – a drop in the bucket compared to the vast sums used to artificially keep the green patronage complex alive. But it is a signal.

A Negatively Sloped Learning Curve

The decision joins a long list of political misfires in recent months – a list unlikely to end with subsidised industrial electricity, heat pumps or refinancing packages for wind turbines. The state simply has too much money at its disposal to be forced to abandon its wasteful, destructive project.

For Bavaria’s minister-president Markus Söder, the revival of this failed subsidy instrument was cause for a small celebration. He promised a “huge boost” for the domestic market, claiming state intervention would secure value creation and jobs – a thoroughly “Söderized” view of reality.

Once again, Söder proved that his personal learning curve has flattened into a downward-sloping line – a phenomenon broadly visible across European politics.

Debt Union And Professional Manipulators

Germany’s EV subsidy stands pars pro toto for the broader European situation. Public debt is exploding across nearly all EU member states. Next year, Germany will post net new debt of around 5.6% of GDP – placing it among Europe’s top debt creators.

This figure is honest – and shows the true fiscal position once the government’s accounting tricks, exemptions, “special funds” and skyrocketing municipal debts are properly added back in.

France and the UK look equally grim. Even once-disciplined Finland is stumbling toward 90% debt-to-GDP with a similarly large deficit. It can no longer be denied: Europe is trapped in a debt spiral.

Schäuble and the Troika

How times have changed. Some may recall the theatrically staged visits of former German finance minister Wolfgang Schäuble and the Troika, who – with maximal media firepower – pinned the sovereign debt crisis squarely on Greece.

In reality, it was perfect camouflage – designed to divert attention from the bailout of Germany’s banking and insurance sector, which had sailed into heavy waters due to political mismanagement.

The public was never meant to see what is now obvious: the EU has degenerated into a debt club trying to execute its ideological mega-projects – like the green transition – through a credit pump, with taxes and inflation serving as the extraction mechanism from ordinary citizens.

Heirs, asset holders, small business owners and the productive middle will pay the bill. The emotionally charged debate over inheritance taxes – and the faux rhetoric about “fairness” – reveals that the political class is now openly planning the confiscation of accumulated private capital.

Inflation as a Hidden Tax

The permanent crisis will inevitably lead to a growing state apparatus – a debt-financed Leviathan that accelerates the inflation spiral with every intervention. No one is supposed to notice how quickly money loses value in this environment. The seigniorage – the hidden gain – goes to the biggest debtor of all: the state.

With every new green initiative, every EV subsidy, every publicly funded wind turbine, the bill rises. Only the delayed price effect helps politicians obscure cause and effect and decontextualise the economic damage of their intervention.

Von der Leyen, Merz, Macron & Co. rely heavily on this effect. They hope the majority of voters never add one and one together – and never question the soft-edged tax squeeze and deliberate erosion of their savings.

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The Hidden Subsidy for Renewable Energy

Renewable energy really means anti-establishment energy, or politically correct energy.  The energy is usually electricity that is distributed via the electric grid.  The source of energy has to be “natural.”

Solar and wind are the most popular types of renewable energy.  Hydroelectric energy derived from a big dam on a river might seem ideal, except that the promoters of renewable energy don’t like dams.  If you can figure out how to generate hydroelectricity without a dam, you can call it renewable.  Nuclear energy might seem like a good candidate except that nuclear energy is too scary and too good a fundraising tool to accept as renewable.

Solar energy costs about seven times as much as electricity from coal or natural gas.  Most of the cost is hidden in subsidies.  If that truth were not obscured by massive propaganda, hardly anyone would build solar energy or wind energy farms.

The renewable energy promoters are politically successful.  About half the U.S. states have renewable portfolio laws that mandate the amount of renewable electricity they use.  For example, California requires that 60% of its electricity be renewable by 2030.  That has increased and will increase the cost of electricity in California.  Many electric customers pay more than 50 cents per kilowatt-hour.

According to the promoters of renewable energy, it is well-suited for solving a multitude of imaginary problems.  The number-one imaginary problem is global warming, rechristened “climate change” when the globe failed to warm.

The Sierra Club is a leading promoter of renewable energy.  This is the pitch on one of their websites promoting renewable energy:

We are facing monumental threats to our planet’s future. We are fighting back with every tool at our disposal — but to face these challenges, we need your support. Make your gift today.

Even the New York Times has become critical of the Sierra Club, for reasons described in this video.

Solar and wind are erratically intermittent sources of electricity.  Solar quits at night and whenever a cloud obscures the sun.  Wind quits when the wind slows or stops.

When solar or wind electricity is introduced, it is supplementary to the existing electric infrastructure.  Solar or wind cannot replace existing generating plants because solar and wind  are intermittent sources of electricity.  The existing grid generating plants must be retained so they can supply electricity when solar or wind fails.  In order to compare the cost of solar and wind with the traditional fossil fuels, we need only to compare expenditure when the traditional plants are powering the grid with the expenditure when solar or wind is engaged.

When solar or wind is working backup, coal and gas plants are idling.  Every megawatt-hour of electricity not produced by a coal or gas plant reduces the cost of fuel by about $20.  Every megawatt-hour of electricity produced by a solar plant costs about $150, mostly amortization of the original cost of the plant.  The cost for wind is similar.  A spreadsheet showing a detailed calculation of the cost of solar energy can be downloaded here.

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Hypersonics, AI, Space Weapons, & Directed Energy: Lawmakers Release Defense Bill As Expiring Obamacare Subsidies Marinate On Back-Burner

With Congress in its second-to-last week in session for this year, lawmakers on the House Armed Services Committee released the final bill text of the 2026 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) Sunday night, which allocates a topline of roughly $8 billion over the $892.6 billion the Department of Defense had requested, and what the House version of the NDAA provided which stuck to the Pentagon’s request. 

The NDAA is the annual law passed by Congress that sets the budget, policies, and legal authorities for the U.S. military and national defense programs. It shapes everything from troop pay to weapons development and foreign military aid.

“This year’s National Defense Authorization Act helps advance President Trump and Republicans’ Peace Through Strength Agenda by codifying 15 of President Trump’s executive orders, ending woke ideology at the Pentagon, securing the border, revitalizing the defense industrial base, and restoring the warrior ethos,” House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) said in a Sunday statement. 

The $8B increase is a ‘compromise‘ – as the Senate tried to jack the budget up by $32 billion over the department’s request. According to Breaking Defense, Rep. Adam Smith, the ranking member of the House Armed Services Committee, noted that appropriators would have the last word on the final budget, but was optimistic that the $8 bullion figure was in the ballpark.

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Beyond the Pale: Ilhan Omar Says Somalis Are the Actual Victims of the Massive Somali Fraud Scandal

Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar tried to play the victim when questioned Sunday about the massive fraud perpetrated by those of Somali descent in her state and district, but her argument rings hollow.

CBS News “Face the Nation” host Margaret Brennan introduced the subject, noting that the Justice Department uncovered and prosecuted more than $1 billion in fraudulent payments, mostly going to those from the Somali community in Minnesota.

“Of the 87 people charged, all but eight are of Somali descent, and that has added to the spotlight being put specifically on your community,” Brennan said.

“Why do you think this fraud was allowed to get so widespread?” the host asked.

“I want to say, you know, this also has an impact on Somalis, because we are also taxpayers in Minnesota,” Omar replied.

“We also could have benefited from the program and the money that was stolen. And so it’s been really frustrating for people to not acknowledge the fact that we’re also — as Minnesotans, as taxpayers — really upset and angry about the fraud that has occurred,” she said.

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Michigan Judge Allows Marijuana Tax Increase To Take Effect Despite Industry Lawsuit

A group of cannabis industry advocates were unable to convince a Michigan Court of Claims judge that they would face irreparable harm if a new 24 percent wholesale tax on marijuana went into effect to fund the state’s future road repairs.

In an opinion issued Monday, Court of Claims Judge Sima Patel said she was denying a request for a preliminary injunction from the plaintiffs in Holistic Research Group Inc./Michigan Cannabis Industry v. Michigan Department of Treasury.

The consolidated lawsuits posited that the new tax, passed in October as part of a comprehensive 2025-26 budget deal to raise new revenue for road repairs and rebuilds through 2030, was unconstitutional because it violated the title-object clause of the state’s Constitution.

Patel on Monday, after hearing oral arguments in the matter in November, said the industry advocates didn’t make a supported argument that a real constitutional issue existed, nor did the group succinctly show that the Michigan Regulation and Taxation of Marijuana Act, which legalized the use and sale of cannabis in Michigan, was the only statutory mechanism to enact taxes on pot.

“The [road funding act] is consistent with the [marijuana taxation act]. The plaintiffs contend that the phrase ‘all other taxes’…refers only to generally applicable taxes, like the 6 percent sales tax imposed on all retail sales,” she wrote. “If that were true, however, the initiative could have simply said that. Instead, the initiative stated plainly that the 10 percent retail excise tax was in addition to ‘all other taxes.’ And the phrase ‘all other’ is broad and expansive. According to the plain meaning of these terms, ‘all other taxes’ broadly means all taxes other than the tax imposed by [the marijuana taxation act].”

Patel further noted that the Legislature did not directly amend any of the existing taxes in the regulatory act or replace it with the new tax in the road funding legislation; rather, the Legislature imposed a new separate tax, which is permitted under the regulatory act.

“The two statutes can be read together,” Patel wrote.

The claim regarding the mechanism by which a new tax could be enacted was therefore dismissed, Patel wrote.

Patel did, however, allow the case to move forward to determine if the tax interferes with the intent of the voter-initiated law that allowed marijuana consumption, regulations and sales. Patel said a genuine issue of fact remained on that issue, which required further consideration before the court.

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Walz Under Increased Fire as Minnesota Disability Services Pauses Licensing After 283% Increase in New License Applications but only 25% Increase in Participants

Minnesota disability services licensing is coming under increased scrutiny, and the Department of Human Services has paused the program as new findings of fraud come to light. 

The Department is reportedly issuing a two-year ban on new licenses for providers with a moratorium on Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS).

Services, most of which are funded by Minnesota’s Medicaid waiver programs, will be halted on January 1, until December 31, 2027.

This comes after an explosion in applications for new licenses over the last five years.

While the number of participants in these programs has only increased by roughly 25%, new license applications have risen by approximately 283%!

Minnesota Governor Tim Walz claims that his state has acknowledged that the findings are “serious” and that “it needs to stop.”

“It is stopping. People are continuing to go to prison,” he said. “I think the good news for Minnesotans to know: When that 90-day pause is over, and the third-party audits are done, we will have a better picture than we’ve ever had, which I think is really good.”

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EU Pokes Russia Again with “Reparation Loans” to Ukraine

The European Commission proposed a “Reparations Loan” to Ukraine on Wednesday. Some of the funding would come from European financial institutions that hold frozen Russian funds.

They would issue loans backed by their budget. However, they would also give Ukraine loans backed by Russian assets.

The Tin Gods of the EU

It would allocate about 90 billion Euros to Ukraine to aid in its effort to repel Moscow’s invasion. They would just give money without a plan.

France, Spain, and Italy spent almost no money on Ukraine. UK doesn’t have much and Germany has already planned how they will spend their 11 billion. They want to keep the war going without contributing.

President Trump wants to establish peace and Europe wants to take funds from Russians that are in European banks to continue the war. Some of the money belongs to the Russian government, but much of it belongs to Russian investors.

Commissioner von der Leyen said it would cover Ukraine’s expenses and their “defense.”

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Generational Betrayal: HUD Reveals Biden Gave Illegal Aliens FHA-Backed Mortgages

HUD Secretary Scott Turner told Fox Business on Friday that illegal aliens received federally backed mortgages during the Biden–Harris regime years. Turner characterized this as a significant policy failure by the previous administration and evidence of what he called misplaced priorities that favored illegals over American homebuyers.

“You know, during the Biden Administration, there were over 12 million illegal aliens that came over the border, straining our housing supply and making the costs go up,” Turner told Fox Business host Maria Bartiromo.

He continued, “And so we worked with Secretary Noem at DHS, as you alluded to, to make sure that only American citizens are living in HUD-funded housing. We also took away FHA-backed mortgages from illegal aliens. During the Biden Administration, they turned a blind eye. But we’re going to keep the law to make sure these mortgages, which are backed by the taxpayer, go only to the American people.”

“And lastly, we’re mandating every public housing authority give us a comprehensive account of who’s living in every unit and every taxpayer-funded HUD property.”

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