Tag: taxes

US Bases Damage by Iran: $19.94 Billion

World BEYOND War has just published a new report by Mohammed M.A. Abunahel and David Swanson called The Damage Done to U.S. Bases in the War on Iran: Documenting Attacks, Assessing Damage, and Estimating Financial Losses (full report here).

The estimated cost of replacing U.S. military property either completely destroyed or severely damaged by Iranian attacks, according to the calculations in the report, is $19.94 billion. When we read cost estimates for the U.S. role in the war of $43.6 billion, we can therefore correct that to an estimated $63.5 billion — not counting economic impacts or lost opportunity costs.

This report documents the damage done by Iranian attacks on both U.S. bases and on non-U.S. buildings and people in Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Oman, Cyprus, and Israel.

According to U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio the United States attacked Iran because Israel was planning to attack Iran, which was understood as likely to produce Iranian attacks on U.S. bases. Through the course of the war, the U.S. government has used the bases it has maintained thousands of miles away from the United States to describe its attacks on Iran as “defensive.” Prior to the build-up to war, over 50,000 U.S. troops occupied dozens of bases in some of the world’s most brutal dictatorships — dictatorships propped up in part by these bases.

When the U.S. Congress takes up legislation to authorize more military spending, the question must be carefully addressed: how much funding will go to rebuilding bases that make wars more likely and which have a high probability of being destroyed again, and is it fair to the host nations to impose bases that not only support unpopular rulers but also turn the surrounding areas into targets?

This report should have long since been produced by the U.S. government. Independent researchers should not have to make estimates based on news reports and what scraps of information the U.S. government sees fit to make public. Secrecy, like an archipelago of foreign bases, is one factor contributing to the initiation of wars. This report is offered in hopes of shining what light it can into the darkness of U.S. war policy.

Piecing together the costs to U.S. government property is not meant to distract from the massive human and property costs that this war has inflicted on the people of Iran. Rather, it is intended to help inform the U.S. public of one small part of what its government does with its money.

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Germany Threatens to Hold the Entire EU Budget Hostage for Ukraine

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz is now threatening to block the European Union’s entire seven-year budget unless every member state agrees to finance Ukraine. This is the state of European politics today. The governments of 27 nations are supposed to negotiate a budget that addresses their own economic needs, infrastructure, agriculture, regional development, and public services. Instead, Merz has decided the future of the entire European Union must be conditional on another financial commitment to a nation that is not even an EU member. The war has been dragging on since February 2022, European economies are deteriorating, and the political establishment continues to behave as though there is an unlimited supply of money that can be extracted from the taxpayers.

Ukraine is facing a €70 billion financing shortfall in 2027. Brussels has already promised to cover approximately two-thirds of that amount, or €45 billion, despite having no agreed mechanism to finance the commitment. The European Commission is considering another round of joint borrowing, which would place additional obligations upon European taxpayers. This comes on top of the €90 billion loan approved last December. The existing loan was supposed to provide Ukraine with financing over two years, yet Kyiv is already demanding another enormous injection of capital. At what point does anyone in Brussels acknowledge that this is becoming a permanent financial obligation rather than temporary emergency assistance?

Merz has written to European Council President António Costa demanding that all member states contribute to Ukraine’s financing. He declared, “A collective commitment that all of us, without exception, will contribute fairly to closing this gap is an essential prerequisite for resolving this issue and for discussing any further matters, particularly those with financial implications.” Germany is threatening to withhold approval of the EU’s 2028–2034 budget unless countries that have already expressed opposition to additional Ukraine financing agree to participate.

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Parents win settlement after being punished for protesting ‘transgender’ male

A New Hampshire school district will shell out $275,000 to settle a lawsuit after it punished family members of a soccer player for wearing “XX” wristbands during a game.

The settlement also affirms the rights of spectators to quietly protest during games.

“Plaintiffs have a First Amendment right to silently wear pink wristbands bearing the XX symbol on the sidelines, in the spectator’s area, or in the parking lot of any Bow District sporting event,” the declaratory judgement states.

The school district also acknowledged that it “violated Plaintiffs’ First Amendment rights when it barred Plaintiffs from wearing the wristbands at the girls’ varsity soccer game on September 17, 2024.”

Controversy erupted after the plaintiffs, who included the parents and a grandparent, chose to wear the wristbands at a game two years ago. The family members did not interrupt the game, harass the gender-confused player, or otherwise cause a disturbance.

Still, school officials stepped in to violate the family members’ First Amendment rights.

As the Institute for Free Speech explained:

School officials, accompanied by a police officer, confronted them. The referee halted play until one spectator removed his wristband, and school officials later issued trespass orders barring [the plaintiffs] from school grounds, preventing them from attending their children’s games and other school activities for a time.

While First Amendment jurisprudence does allow for school district officials to regulate speech when it could cause a “material disruption,” attorneys failed to argue that the spectators were causing trouble.

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Prison inmate wins $150K in unanimous verdict after being housed with trans cellmate who allegedly sexually assaulted her

A former prison inmate has won a federal civil rights case against the Washington State Department of Corrections (DOC), which she accused of forcing her to room with a biological male who assaulted her, according to her lawyer.

Mozzy Clark said in a lawsuit initially filed in U.S. District Court in Tacoma in December 2024 that corrections officers did not take her seriously when she complained that a transgender-identifying inmate who had been transferred from a men’s prison had been harassing her. Her lawyer, David Pivtorak, announced that a jury unanimously awarded her $150,000 in the case.

“A unanimous federal jury in deep-blue Tacoma just awarded my client $150,000 for violation of her constitutional rights in this case,” the lawyer wrote.

“We are also scheduled to go to trial in February against the Department of Corrections in state court on her negligence claims,” he added.

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Bernie Sanders’ Plan Shows Democrats Have No Intention of Addressing Affordability

Spend, spend spend.

Tax, tax, tax.

That’s what the next two years are going to look like for a lot of Americans who voted for Democrats after believing their affordability argument. Sen. Bernie Sanders proves this, with his litany of agenda items that include Medicare for All, an inflationary minimum wage of $20, and more.

And 70 percent support voter ID, yet Democrats don’t want that.

All that means more taxes, more inflation. If you like paying $10 for a gallon of milk or a dozen eggs, this is your jam.

Sanders also wants to expand Social Security benefits by at least $2,400 a year by taxing the “wealthy” even more.

He also wants to expand Medicare by lowering the eligibility age and adding coverage for dental, vision, and hearing. Your taxes will cover that, of course. And imagine all the fraudsters just itching to start fake Medicare dental offices and vision clinics.

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Here’s What Democratic Socialism Would Really Cost Americans

here is a powerful appeal to the promise of government-provided health care and other social programs without premiums, deductibles, or copays. But there are questions that politicians promoting Democratic socialism rarely answer, specifically, what will it actually cost and how will we pay for it? If we want to understand what these promises mean for middle-income families, we need to look beyond the sales pitch and examine the numbers.

Abdul El-Sayed, Michigan senator-elect, recently said of universal health care: “it is guaranteed health insurance from cradle to the moment you pass away. It comes without premiums or co-pay for deductions. It guarantees you care when you need it. This is a level of security we have never known in the United States.”

Any country that has adopted some version of national health care proves it does not work as the advocates promise. In fact, it is paid for through substantial taxes, requires some fees and co-pays, and means long waits for many of the medical procedures.

What would Democratic socialists’ programs cost and how would they be paid for? Advocates will argue that taxing the rich can pay for these programs. However, studies have repeatedly shown that the additional revenue from taxing high-income earners would fall far short of covering the costs. Even substantially higher taxes on the wealthy cannot close a funding gap of this magnitude, leaving middle- and lower-income taxpayers to shoulder much of the burden.

The U.S. is not paying for the programs it already has. For fiscal year 2026, federal spending was $7.4 trillion and revenue was $5.4 trillion, leaving a deficit of $2 trillion. To pay for our current expenses solely through increased revenue would require an increase of approximately 37 percent in taxes; doing so solely through spending cuts would require roughly a 27 percent decrease in spending. Adding the Democratic socialist programs would add a minimum of $8 trillion annually to spending, according to a Cato Institute study, and require a 166 percent increase in overall taxes to pay for all of the current and new programs.

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Israel Is ‘Rich Enough’ To Buy US Weapons Without Financial Aid, Rubio Says

The White House is much too late in belateldy ‘discovering’ this talking point, but admin officials continue to say that it’s time for Israel to stand on its own and begin purchasing weapons without relying on US financial assistance.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Monday stated, “Israel is now prosperous and rich enough to be able to be a sales country. They can buy weapons from us, but we no longer have to provide the financing.“

Coming off Republicans getting clobbered in the midterms, and with Israel being increasinly unpopular among the American electorate, Rubio followed by adding that “it’s something the Israelis themselves have offered us.”

When asked whether this could be something to take effect in 2027, Israel replied, “Well, that’s what the president said we’re going to do. So, ultimately, I think they could if they wanted to, yeah, absolutely.”

“On the question of financing, I think Israel has clearly graduated beyond that,” he said, alluding to Israel being a wealthy enough nation.

Just before last week’s midterm elections, President Trump had abruptly proposed ending nearly $4 billion in annual American assistance to Israel.

He floated this in acknowledgement that the Iran war angered most Americans, and that public opinion on Washington’s historic and ongoing support to Israel has fallen precipitously.

But obviously it’s all too little, too late – as Republicans have been punished at the polls. Many pundits who were once strong MAGA supporters have complained that Trump had effectively abandoned ‘America First’ principles.

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Another $50B pledged for First Nations after $113B in settlements

The federal budget tabled Nov. 5 sets aside roughly $50 billion for Indigenous communities, mostly over the next 10 years.

In his budget speech before the House of Commons, Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne framed the spending as part of reconciliation, saying, “building a strong and united Canada also means continuing the important work of reconciliation.”

The budget money is for programs, separate from the settlements. The largest piece is about $32 billion for First Nations housing and infrastructure, including $11 billion for housing and $18.5 billion for a new on-reserve infrastructure program, both starting in 2027–28.

The financial commitment comes two weeks after a Fraser Institute study, Compensation for Past Treatment of Indigenous People, estimated that Ottawa has already paid out $113.2 billion in today’s dollars since 1974 to settle Indigenous lawsuits, specific claims and class actions, most of which has been paid during the past decade.

“Most Canadians are not aware of the enormous payments Ottawa has made to First Nations to settle legal claims and class action lawsuits,” stated Fraser Institute senior fellow Tom Flanagan in the release following the study.

Here in B.C., the study puts the total at nearly $17.0 billion:

  • $13.4 billion from class-action settlements: $8.0 billion in payments to individuals and $5.4 billion to First Nations and other groups
  • $3.0 billion in specific claims

Nationally, specific claims (negotiated settlements over past breaches of treaties or the Indian Act) cost $29.4 billion across 801 settlements between 1974–75 and 2025–26.

In 1974, there were two settlements worth $1.8 million. In 2024–25, the peak year, there were 69 worth $7.3 billion. Last fiscal year saw 30, worth $2.7 billion.

The bigger bill is class actions. Nine have been settled since 2007, for a total of $83.2 billion: $49.4 billion to individuals and $33.8 billion to First Nations and other organizations. The $113.2-billion total doesn’t include treaties signed outside B.C.

Flanagan says the number of claims, and what taxpayers pay, “should be going down, not up, but that is not the case.” He also says the figures should prompt the question of whether these “efforts are improving the wellbeing of indigenous populations in Canada.”

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Report: NYC Group Handing Condoms to Prostitutes Gets Millions in Taxpayer Funds

A nonprofit in New York City is accused of making a sex trafficking problem worse by giving condoms to prostitutes in the Roosevelt Avenue corridor.

A van belonging to the AIDS Center of Queens County was seen recently on 41st Avenue where workers doled out the condoms, the New York Post reported Monday.

The area, known as the “Market of Sweethearts,” has long been a problem for neighbors who want the illicit activity stopped and their community cleaned up.

A leader of the local group called the Restore Roosevelt Avenue Coalition said the organization receives daily complaints about the issues.

“Residents call us every day about crime, drugs, brothels, and street walkers,” Rosa Sanchez explained. “Instead of more enforcement, public money is being used to supply free condoms to the same people turning tricks on our residential blocks and trespassing in building lobbies. There are already condoms in every pharmacy and bodega. This is lunacy.”

On the AIDS Center of Queens County website, the nonprofit said all of its services are provided at no cost.

“The nonprofit has more than $40 million in active contracts — at least $34 million with the city and $10 million with the state — to provide supportive housing, prevent HIV and sexually transmitted diseases and adolescent pregnancy, and offer syringe exchange to drug abusers and other health care programs,” the Post article reads.

Meanwhile, the New York State Department of Health website said it has a “condom program.”

“The AIDS Institute has provided free condoms and other safer sex materials to organizations serving sexually active New Yorkers with or at risk for HIV and STIs since 1983. The effort was enhanced in 2007 with the on-line New York State Condom Program (NYSCondom),” their site says.

In September the Post reported the number of prostitutes increased and prostitution-related arrests dropped by 60 percent in the Roosevelt Avenue area since socialist Mayor Zohran Mamdani (D) took office.

According to Exodus Cry, the scourge of sex trafficking would end if men stopped buying sex because the practice is a “result of male demand for prostitution,” their website reads.

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Democrats Set to Reject President Trump’s $1.5 Trillion Defense Budget Request

Most Democrats were already opposed to an increase and are set to reject the requested $1.5 trillion defense budget, Bloomberg reported Sunday.

Now, after their party won majorities in the U.S. House and Senate during the midterm elections, Democrats are “signaling they will block any efforts to push it forward,” the outlet continued:

At the same time, Republican lawmakers returning to the lame-duck session before the new Congress is seated in January may not be able to muster the support or political will to ram through the massive defense spending package, especially amid the Pentagon’s unpopular war against Iran that cost many of them their jobs.

“We must push for the development of a more realistic and sustainable approach to our national security — one that does not require a defense budget in excess of $1 trillion or one paid for with draconian cuts to critical domestic programs,” Representative Adam Smith of Washington, the incoming chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, said in a statement after the election.

President Trump said in January the 2027 military budget should be bumped to $1.5 trillion, Breitbart News reported.

He explained the proposed increase would support what he called the “Dream Military” that would ensure America stayed safe and secure:

He linked the feasibility of the higher budget figure to revenue generated from tariffs, claiming that “tremendous numbers” from tariff income had made the larger figure viable. “Because of Tariffs, and the tremendous Income that they bring, amounts being generated, that would have been unthinkable in the past … we are able to easily hit the $1.5 Trillion Dollar number,” Trump wrote. He added that this approach would also allow for “pay[ing] down Debt” and providing a “substantial Dividend to moderate income Patriots within our Country.”

Trump later said there was an interest in increasing defense spending, adding that states should handle more of the domestic spending, according to Breitbart News.

“We’re fighting wars. We can’t take care of day care. It’s not possible for us to take care of day care, Medicaid, Medicare — all these individual things. They can do it on a state basis. You can’t do it on a federal,” he noted.

“We are delivering on President Trump’s commitment to expand American military dominance for decades to come. Previous administrations underinvested in our military while our enemies grew stronger and more dangerous, so we are now changing the game,” Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said upon release of the president’s fiscal year 2027 budget. “This budget builds this arsenal without compromising readiness that will ensure we remain the world’s premier fighting force, we protect the homeland, and we create peace through strength now and into the future.”

A CNN exit poll suggested Tuesday that a majority of midterm voters said the Iran War and high gas prices factored into their vote, and President Trump acknowledged Wednesday that the conflict with Iran cost Republicans votes in the midterm elections.

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