Tag: taxes

You Can’t Make This Up: U.S. Navy Shoots Down Its Own F/A-18 Super Hornet Fighter Jet in Apparent ‘Friendly Fire’ Incident in Red Sea

A U.S. Navy guided-missile cruiser mistakenly shot down an American F/A-18 Super Hornet fighter jet over the Red Sea in an apparent “friendly fire” incident.

The two-seat F/A-18F Super Hornet, assigned to the “Red Rippers” of Strike Fighter Squadron 11 from Naval Air Station Oceana, Virginia, had just launched from the aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman.

The USS Gettysburg, part of the same carrier strike group, erroneously identified the aircraft as a hostile target and engaged it, leading to its destruction.

“The guided missile cruiser USS Gettysburg, which is part of the USS Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group, mistakenly fired on and hit the F/A-18,” Central Command said in a statement.

The Navy’s Central Command confirmed that both pilots ejected safely, with one sustaining minor injuries.

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Understanding The ‘Raising The Debt Limit’ Scam

Last week President Trump tweeted, “I requested that Mitch M & Paul R tie the Debt Ceiling legislation into the popular V.A. Bill for easy approval. They didn’t…Could have been so easy-now a mess!”

Trump seemed awfully cavalier about raising the debt limit, didn’t he? Isn’t raising the debt limit a really big deal? Isn’t it capitulation by all conservative-minded Americans? Isn’t raising the debt limit tacit approval for the US Government to even further exceed its Constitutional boundaries? Well, maybe. But more importantly, the ‘raising the debt limit’ debate is just another scam on the American people, perpetrated by those we elected to represent us in DC, another reason they all must be replaced. 

The periodic raising of the so-called “debt limit” is simply the natural order of things anytime a national government chooses to carry out its financial responsibilities under a private banking system rather than a truly sovereign, national monetary system. The banking system in our case is that of the Federal Reserve.
Although it could if it chose, the US Government does not create and issue dollars…AKA, money. Instead private Fed member banks do, the largest of which are on Wall Street. Importantly, however, those banks only issue dollars when someone promises to pay them back, with interest. And because the banks do not issue the dollars to pay the interest, the only way for a society as a whole to pay back what has already been borrowed is to keep borrowing more and more, and pay off older loans with new, larger loans. The entire American economy ($68 trillion in debt), including the US Government ($20 trillion in debt) is testimony to that fact. There is no mathematical solution for this system. It cannot be paid off from within. And while the system runs, the bankers get richer and richer, the population gets poorer and poorer, and the Government goes more and more in debt. It is a covert, wealth transfer mechanism-the biggest scam in the history of mankind. And as long as the Federal Reserve System stays in operation, it will remain mathematically impossible for America to become a nation other than one that is increasingly encumbered in debt.

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Sex educator clowns and BDSM classical music: How New York City arts group wasted $800K of taxpayer’s money

Taxpayer-funded woke art events, including erotic poetry readings, ‘sex educator clowns’, a BDSM-classical music mashup, and performances in aid of prison abolition, have got a New York government watchdog hot and bothered.

Nonprofit ‘good governance’ group One City Rising (OCR) has sparked a fight with the New York City Council by writing a letter demanding a review of $787,000 taxpayer funds given to an organization putting on the controversial art acts.

The spat is a microcosm of a culture war raging in the US – one side fearing they are under attack from prudish busybodies policing free expression, the other claiming government institutions are feeding ‘woke’ propaganda.

Last year the city’s Department of Cultural Affairs gave $130,000, one of its biggest cultural development grants, to the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council (LMCC), a group founded in 1973 to promote the arts in the Big Apple.

LMCC also received $657,600 in New York state government funds in 2023, records show.

One City Rising said there are ‘significant questions about appropriateness, oversight, and fiscal responsibility’ of the cash handouts, which they say are being used ‘for purposes that taxpayers might find objectionable’, in a December 18 letter to NYC Commissioner Laurie Cumbo.

The letter highlighted taxpayer-funded events, including a BDSM-themed ‘concert series celebrating queer identity through classical music and the aesthetics of the Leather subculture’ and a show by a self-described professional clown teaching sex education.

It also pointed to a series of ‘socially-conscious musical works’ by Black and Pink, a group ‘dedicated to abolishing the criminal punishment system and liberating LGBTQIA2S+ people,’ as well as ‘raising money for bail funds across the country.’

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Trump Reportedly Plans To Continue Aid To Ukraine But Will Raise NATO Spending To 5%

President-elect Donald Trump is expected to continue sending military aid to Ukraine, despite Trump earlier on the campaign trail mocking Zelensky for being the “greatest salesman on earth” for his getting tens of billions of US taxpayers’ money with ease.

A new Financial Times report has cited European officials who say Trump’s team told them he plans to continue military aid to Kiev after his inauguration. He’s reportedly trying to calm fears of an immediate US withdrawal of support, and this is connected to an expected Trump policy for NATO member states to increase defense spending to 5% of their GDP.

“Donald Trump’s team has told European officials that the incoming US president will demand Nato member states increase defense spending to 5% of GDP, but plans to continue supplying military aid to Ukraine,” FT writes.

NATO’s existing target of 2% of GPD for defense spending certainly has not been met by all members… not even close. The 2% is being met by only 23 of the alliance’s 32 members, and so a significantly higher bar set of more than double that is certainly going to rile Europe.

European NATO leaders have long been trying to figure out how to ‘Trump proof’ future defense aid for Ukraine, as has the Biden administration.

But there’s at least one severe critic – Hungary’s Viktor Orban. He estimated in a radio interview on Friday that the US and the EU have pumped over $300 billion in financial aid and military assistance into Kiev’s coffers since the war’s start.

“During the negotiation with the Americans, I received the figure that Europe and America together have spent €310 billion so far. Those are huge numbers!” the Hungarian prime minister declared.

He went to describe that such a massive amount “could have done wonders” for European people themselves, instead of sinking the funds into an unwinnable war, while avoiding the necessity of negotiations with Moscow.

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Cocaine quails, magic and ice skating drag queens: Sen. Paul uncovers bizarre gov’t spending

While the federal government wastes hundreds of billions in taxpayer dollars on unnoticed projects, Sen. Rand Paul’s Festivus report highlights some of the most shocking expenditures, from funding ice skating for drag queens to foreign nations’ borders. 

Sen. Rand Paul is preparing to release his annual Festivus Report next Monday, which will highlight wasteful government spending that has gone unnoticed. This year’s report promises to “air grievances” about both parties pet projects, with Sen. Paul calling out outrageous spending on both sides of the aisle.

“Government is incompetent and we should keep government out of everything they do unless nobody else will do it,” said Paul in a recent interview. “We’re going to be celebrating Festivus on December 23. It’s the day in which we air our grievances. I will air my grievances towards big spenders of both parties.”

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U.S. Taxpayers Kicked in $11.5 Billion for Global Vaccine Program Targeting Low-income Countries

U.S. taxpayers are the largest contributor to Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, the public-private partnership dedicated to expanding vaccine distribution and uptake in lower-income countries.

Gavi is often referred to as Bill Gates’ “international vaccination campaign,” according to Substack writer Jon Fleetwood. However, a recently published White House report revealed that the U.S. government to date has contributed $11.5 billion to Gavi through taxpayer-funded government allocations.

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has committed only $4.1 billion to Gavi, according to the organization’s website — less than 36% of what U.S. taxpayers have contributed.

The Gates Foundation, which co-founded Gavi in 2000 with a $750 million pledge, is one of Gavi’s four permanent board members.

UNICEF, the World Bank and the World Health Organization — whose second-largest donor is Gates — hold the other permanent seats. The Clinton Health Access Initiative also sits on the board.

In a recent investigation, Fleetwood analyzed the details of the Biden-Harris administration’s 40-page “U.S. Government Support for Global Health Security” report, which provides an update on the Global Health Security Strategy the administration rolled out in April.

At the heart of the plan was a new 50-country strategy to combat future pandemics and a new Pandemic Fund that would be channeled through organizations like Gavi.

The report showed the Biden-Harris administration allocated $2 billion to Gavi’s “Day Zero Financing” — a “suite of tools” that would allow the organization to quickly meet vaccine demand during a pandemic.

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Which US Companies Receive The Most Government Subsidies?

This chart, via Visual Capitalist’s Pallavi Rao, ranks the companies which have received the most American taxpayer support (in the form of government subsidies) since the year 2000.

Government subsidies take a variety of forms: tax credits, abatements, training reimbursements and direct grants.

Ranked: Companies Receiving the Most Government Subsidies

Over the last quarter of a century Boeing has received nearly $16 billion in government subsidies, putting it at the top of this list.

RankCompanyIndustrySubsidy Value (2000–2024)
1BoeingIndustrial$15.5B
2IntelTech & Media$8.4B
3Ford MotorAutomotive$7.7B
4General MotorsAutomotive$7.5B
5Micron TechnologyTech & Media$6.8B
6AmazonTech & Media$5.9B
7AlcoaIndustrial$5.7B
8Cheniere EnergyEnergy$5.6B
9Foxconn Technology GroupTech & Media$4.8B
10Venture Global LNGEnergy$4.3B
11Texas InstrumentsTech & Media$4.3B
12VolkswagenAutomotive$4.1B
13Sempra EnergyEnergy$3.8B
14NRG EnergyEnergy$3.4B
15NextEra EnergyEnergy$3.4B
16SasolEnergy$2.8B
17TeslaAutomotive$2.8B
18StellantisAutomotive$2.8B
19Walt DisneyTech & Media$2.6B
20NucorIndustrial$2.6B

Most of the subsidies have come from Washington State, which has nine preferential tax rates that benefit the aerospace industry.

Boeing has an assembly plant in the city of Everett—reportedly the largest manufacturing facility in the world—where it makes the 747, 767, 777, and the 787 airplanes.

There’s more to this Boeing story—but we cover that in the next section.

Ranked second, Intel’s received more than $8 billion from the government since 2000.

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Celebrity Piggy Bank Scandal: How Taxpayer-Funded Pandemic Relief Programs Became a Cash Grab for Hollywood Musicians

In a jaw-dropping exposé, new details reveal how the Shuttered Venue Operators Grant (SVOG)—a taxpayer-funded pandemic relief program established to save businesses and independent arts organizations—allegedly turned into a financial free-for-all for Hollywood celebrities.

Signed into law by then-President Donald Trump in 2020 and championed by figures like Senator Chuck Schumer, the program aimed to support struggling venues during the pandemic.

But according to a Business Insider report, it has now become synonymous with wasteful spending by high-profile stars.

Lil Wayne, whose real name is Dwayne Carter Jr., received an $8.9 million grant. Instead of directing these funds toward sustaining his music operations, he reportedly spent over $1.3 million on private jet flights and more than $460,000 on designer clothing from brands like Gucci and Balenciaga.

Additionally, he billed taxpayers nearly $88,000 for a New Year’s Eve concert in Coachella, California, which he ultimately canceled, and $14,900 for “mystery women” hotel stays.

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Real Truth About Maryland’s Blueprint: Expensive Ineffective Reform Designed By Bureaucrats

It’s the same old song and dance from the education establishment. Design a ridiculously expensive, cumbersome reform to save public education, the same public education they ruined. Invite politicians, elite college professors, corporate CEO’s and other big name policy makers to draft the reform. Sprinkle in a token few “educators” and tell them all to “shoot for the moon” when writing the reform. Pretend that funding is unlimited. Throw in every unproven pet educational program du jour. Then, convince lawmakers that the reform as written is the only way to assure the successful futures of our children.

Never ONCE during the entire process think about nuts and bolts of the reform and whether it will actually work or not. When the reform fails, write articles on how it’s not that the reform itself that is flawed, but the “unrealistic goals, insufficient management, and inadequate funding” of the program that are lacking, with strong emphasis on funding being the blame.

And so here Maryland is in year five of the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future education leviathan spending bill and local governments and the state are discovering that, surprise, it’s not working and it’s not sustainable. What do the creators of the bill do?

They shift the blame off the people who created the mess and on to those who need to implement and pay for the mess.

In his article in MARYLAND MATTERS, December 16, 2024, Kalman Hettleman, one of the members of the Kirwan Commission who developed the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future, bemoans the fact that the Blueprint has become a huge problem for state and local educators and education agencies as they fight to fund the full implementation.

Hettleman is a renowned “expert in education” and has a resume that includes being a past member of the Maryland Commission on Innovation and Excellence in Education (Kirwan Commission), member of Baltimore City school board, deputy mayor of Baltimore City, Maryland secretary of human resources, and Baltimore City director of social services. He had many other government positions in his career*. He is also the author of two books and numerous articles on public education. He was never a teacher. However, he has written several education books including this one:

It’s the Classroom, Stupid: A Plan to Save America’s Schoolchildren (New Frontiers in Education): Hettleman, Kalman: 9781607095491: Amazon.com: Books

From the summary of this book on Amazon:

In this book, Hettleman presents a bold, unconventional plan to rescue our nation’s schoolchildren from a failing public education system. The plan reflects the author’s rare fusion of on-the-ground experience as school board member, public administrator and political activist and exhaustive policy research. The causes of failure, Hettleman shows, lie in obsolete ideas and false certainties that are ingrained in a trinity of dominant misbeliefs. First, that educators can be entrusted on their own to do what it takes to reform our schools. Second, that we need to retreat from the landmark federal No Child Left Behind Act and restore more local control. And third, that politics must be kept out of public education.

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States Collected More Than $9.7 Billion In Marijuana Tax Revenue Since Mid-2021, Federal Census Bureau Reports

U.S. states where cannabis is legal have raked in more than $9.7 billion in marijuana tax revenue since the middle of 2021, according to newly updated federal data from the Census Bureau—that’s up nearly $1 billion since the agency last updated its cannabis revenue tracker in September.

During the third quarter of 2024—the most recent period for which data is available—states reported about $734.8 million in total marijuana tax revenue to the federal agency.

The new data, however, also revises upward figures from other recent quarters, adding up to a billion-dollar growth in reported state revenue in the last three months. The second quarter of this year, for example, saw an update from $609.9 million to $840.4 million—a new quarterly record, according to the agency’s tracking.

Individual states reporting the highest dollar amounts during Q3 of 2024 were adult-use jurisdictions with more established markets and larger populations: California ($159.6 million), Michigan ($79.3 million), Washington State ($77.3 million) and Illinois ($72.8 million).

Among the lowest were more restrictive states like Louisiana ($284,000) and Mississippi ($385,000) as well as Washington, D.C., where marijuana is legal for adults but sales of non-medical cannabis remain illegal.

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