Tag: taxes

Gavin Newsom’s ‘Free’ Diapers Cost More Than 3 Times Costco Diapers

The “free” diapers that failed Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) is handing out will cost taxpayers more than three times as much as Costco diapers.

One person who deals in baby products says it could be as high as eight to ten times as much.

Why?

Because this isn’t about giving new mothers 400 free diapers. Rather, it is about Newsom using a government program to funnel millions of taxpayer dollars to the nonprofit organization Baby2Baby, which is led by an executive who sits on the board of California Partners Project, which was co-founded by Newsom’s insufferable wife, Jennifer Siebel-Ocasio-Rodham Newsom.

As a not-so great American once said, the math ain’t mathing…

According the far-left Los Angeles Times, in its first year, the “state plans to distribute 40 million diapers.”

We also know that the cost of this program in year one is $20 million.

So, the state will pay 50 cents per diaper.

And yet, California is lousy with Costco stores, where you can buy diapers for 16 cents each.

If that’s the case, why is Gavin Newsom forcing taxpayers to pay 50 cents per diaper for Baby2Baby to distribute them when he could simply have maternity wards hand these 100,000 new mothers a Costco coupon for 400 free diapers, which would cost the taxpayers about a third as much?

Did I mention that the top executive at Baby2Baby is pals with Newsom’s insufferable wife?

You see, that’s how the government grift works. That’s how corrupt politicians pay off their pals. It’s all hidden in a compassionate-sounding government program when it’s really a taxpayer-funded payoff.

Allow me to speculate for a moment…

Baby2Baby probably pays a wholesale price for diapers that is much less than 16 cents each. Sure, there’s staff salaries and delivery costs, but come on… 50 cents each? Amazon can deliver them for half that. That leaves a lot of money left over for, say, massive presidential 2028 campaign contributions or direct kickbacks to Mr. and Mrs. Governor.

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A $1.5 Trillion Military Budget Is a Gift to the Grifters

Last week “Secretary of War” Pete Hegseth insulted Americans by claiming that a 50 percent increase in the US military budget – from an incomprehensible one trillion dollars to an impossible one and a half trillion – was a “fiscally responsible investment.”

“Thanks to President Trump’s $1.5 trillion defense budget, this War Department has moved from bureaucracy to business,” he said last Thursday.

In a way he was right, though. The huge increase is much more about “business” than what is needed to protect the United States from potential invasion.

But it isn’t the kind of “business” that most supporters of free markets would applaud. On the contrary, this is the business of transferring massive amounts of wealth from the struggling middle and working classes to the well-connected Beltway elite based on lies and scare tactics.

The US mainstream media is crucial in manufacturing the fairy tale that if we don’t mortgage our children’s and grandchildren’s future to finance this obscene military budget, we will be attacked or invaded by some evil foreign power.

It’s not difficult to do a little research and see why the mainstream – and even some “independent” – media outlets push these scare tactics: they are owned or funded by giant corporations with close ties to military contractors.

This unhealthy relationship is known as “corporatism” – the intermingling of pseudo-private companies with the government. It is the precursor to actual fascism, where the government takes a stake in such companies.

We’re getting there faster than most Americans understand.

The whole scam is not about protecting the citizens of the United States. It’s about protecting the US empire overseas, which actually harms the citizens of the United States.

Yes, they rob us to fund their empire and lie to us that it keeps us safe. Nothing could be further from the truth. Our constant military interventions on virtually every continent of the globe only build resentment among the rest of the world’s population. Anyone who thinks people overseas welcome US bombs has been watching too much Fox News or reading too much Washington Post.

And what do we get for the most expensive military on earth – larger than the combined militaries of the next dozen or so countries? Not much. Iran’s military budget is less than one percent of ours, yet Iran destroyed or disabled every US military base in the Middle East.

It turns out that Iran has destroyed dozens of multi-million dollar US spy drones – and several near-billion dollar spy radar stations – with their own drones costing mere thousands of dollars each.

The US surprise attack was supposed to make Iran cower and beg for mercy, but it did the opposite: it showed that despite the trillions extorted from Americans for the most expensive military on earth, the US military can no longer win the wars that US presidents illegally force them into fighting.

The US military continues to fight World War II – with massively expensive aircraft carriers that do not dare get close to combat – while warfighting has evolved into something entirely different.

The only good thing about the Iran war is that it demonstrates how much the special interests have lied to us about the need to continue our suicidal military spending increases.

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Oz: Chinese Government Involved in Fraud, Suspect Russia, Cuba as Well

On Monday’s broadcast of the Fox News Channel’s “Jesse Watters Primetime,” CMS Administrator Mehmet Oz discussed fraud and said that “We’ve got the Chinese government involved in a big fraud ring in New York” in addition to suspected fraud that the Russian and Cuban governments are involved in.

Guest host Kayleigh McEnany asked, [relevant exchange begins around 2:25] “[L]ast time, when I spoke with you, you talked about the Cuban government possibly being involved in some Florida fraud, but it’s bigger than that. There are many foreign [governments] that are getting taxpayer dollars and taking advantage of taxpayers, tell me about what you found.”

Oz responded, “Well, we’ve got Russian government involvement, we believe, in Los Angeles. We’ve got the Chinese government involved in a big fraud ring in New York. And, of course, the Cuban connection that you mentioned was pointed out to me by the former mayor of Miami, Francis Suarez, who pointed out that we’ve got twice as many durable medical equipment suppliers — they sell wheelchairs and canes — twice as many as there are McDonald’s in South Florida and the owners all seem to be Cuban and they flee back to Cuba with the money when we come after them.”

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Caught On Tape: California Billionaire Tax Architect Admits Wealth Confiscation Could Go Even Further

One of the co-authors of California’s controversial ‘one-time’ tax on billionaires appeared to suggest that the levy could extend beyond a single imposition.

Marxist economics professor Emmanuel Saez, who hails from France, made the comment during a Tuesday debate against economist Arthur Laffer at the University of California, Berkeley.

“I don’t think it’s going to be a one-time tax. Because you can’t surprise billionaires more than once,” Saez said. “Even then, maybe some of them were expecting something like this. So, it’s going to be a debate about this time, you know, a permanent wealth tax at a low rate that’s going to last for a number of years.”

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Pedophile in NJ Women’s Prison, Who Horrifically Abused His 7-Year-Old Daughter, Demands Nude Witchcraft Rituals and Marriage to Male Accomplice in Insane Settlement Negotiations

A biological male convicted of human trafficking his own 7-year-old daughter across the country, repeatedly sexually assaulting her, and filming the abuse to produce and distribute child sexual abuse material, is now housed in New Jersey’s only women’s prison.

To make the situation even sicker, he is demanding a taxpayer-funded settlement that would allow him to perform nude outdoor Wiccan rituals and marry his male co-defendant while behind bars.

Matthew Volz, who uses the name “Marina Volz,” is serving a 25-year sentence with 25 years of parole ineligibility after pleading guilty in November 2021 to multiple first-degree charges, including human trafficking, aggravated sexual assault, conspiracy to commit human trafficking and aggravated sexual assault, and endangering the welfare of a child through the creation of child pornography.

The crimes committed against this child by Volz and his accomplices are horrific, and reader discretion is advised.

In December 2018, Volz traveled to Oregon with co-defendant Adam Romero, who uses the name “Ashley Romero,” to take custody of his biological daughter from her mother, who was a drug addict.

The pair brought the child back to their home in Franklin Township, New Jersey, where they operated what prosecutors described as a “family-owned transgender pornography production studio specializing in amateur, BDSM and taboo fetish content.”

Volz and Romero sexually assaulted the girl, both individually and together, and filmed the abuse to sell to other sickos.

The child was subjected to torture-like conditions, including neck collars, a cage in the basement, and sex toys, according to a report from Reduxx.

Reduxx reports, “Some of the media found by police featured Romero sexually abusing the girl with another man. Romero lived in the residence with Volz and with two other individuals; Sean Allen, who had also sexually abused the child on film, and Dulcinea Gnecco, who acted as a domestic assistant.”

“The two other men in the home were also convicted for their roles in the sexual abuse of the child. Sean Allen, 54, was handed a 12-year sentence for his role in the crimes, and Dulcinea Gnecco, was also charged on four counts of child endangerment and received a 5-year sentence.”

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TRUMP’S AMBASSADOR TO BELGIUM DROPS A NUKE ON EUROPE’S GREEN NIGHTMARE: U.S. Ready to Fork Over Up to $10 BILLION to Supercharge Belgian Nuclear Power – Trump Personally Backing the Deal as Continent Wakes Up to Reality!

In a bombshell interview that has European globalists clutching their windmills and solar panels, U.S. Ambassador to Belgium Bill White just laid it all out: America is offering to finance up to 50 percent of the cost of building new nuclear reactors in Belgium — potentially $10 billion in U.S. investment that will deliver American technology, American engineering, and American energy dominance straight to our NATO ally.

White, a Trump loyalist hand-picked for the job, didn’t mince words with Belgian newspaper La Libre. Washington is all-in on helping Belgium reverse decades of suicidal “green” phase-out madness. Two American nuclear powerhouses — Westinghouse and GE Vernova — are ready to supply the reactors, the full engineering package, and the know-how.

And get this: President Donald J. Trump is “personally and fully behind the project.” Once permits are secured, White says a new reactor could be up and running in just five years. Five years. That’s lightning speed compared to the endless delays, cost overruns, and regulatory sabotage that have plagued Europe’s flirtation with unreliable wind and solar.

This isn’t charity. This is strategic payback — and smart business

Belgium’s new right-leaning government under Prime Minister Bart De Wever has already moved to nationalize the country’s entire nuclear fleet from French giant Engie, halting decommissioning plans and signaling a full-throated return to nuclear power. After years of leftist climate hysteria that shut down perfectly good reactors and left Europeans freezing in the dark while paying through the nose for Russian and Middle Eastern energy, reality is finally hitting home.

And who’s stepping up to lead the renaissance? America.

Westinghouse’s AP1000 reactor — a Generation III+ beast with revolutionary passive safety systems — is ready to take center stage. No pumps, no external power needed for 72+ hours of blackout protection. Fewer valves, fewer pipes, massive modular construction in factories. It’s already proven in the U.S. (Vogtle 3 & 4), China, and beyond.

GE Vernova brings its small modular reactor (SMR) expertise with the BWRX-300 for flexible, rapid deployment. This isn’t experimental — it’s battle-tested American excellence.

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Husbands With Two or More Wives Get Increased Benefits

The Department for Work and Pensions has increased the benefits paid out to households in polygamous marriages from April. The Express has the story.

The DWP has confirmed in its benefits uprating list that “additional spouses” in “polygamous marriages” are being given a 4.8% boost to their benefits from April, which would most likely be for husbands with multiple wives.

Those who are classed as an “additional spouse” in a polygamous marriage and are above state pension age were in 2025–26 able to claim an additional £119.50 per week of Pension Credit or Housing Benefit, with no given limit on the number of separate additional spouses who can claim in one household, other than the overall benefits cap per household per year.

From April 2026, this has been increased to £125.25 per week per additional spouse, a 4.8% increase in line with wage growth, which is how Pension Credit is automatically increased each spring, which is another £5.75 per week, or £299 extra per year.

The money is less than that person would be able to claim if they lived alone (£238 from April 2026), but is still extra money for a three-person household’s income compared to a two-person marriage.

The rule is not new, but the amount given to second wives is still being increased each year.

Although bigamy is illegal in the UK, the act of marrying more than one person at a time – polygamy – is not illegal if the marriages took place overseas.

This is legal where a person has married multiple wives (or husbands) overseas while legally living in a country where this is legally allowed, and then moved to the UK legally afterwards.

In that circumstance, a person now legally living in the UK, who legally married more than one spouse while living overseas, can then see their second, third and even fourth wife (or husband) all claim an additional £125.25 each per week, as long as that additional spouse came to the UK legally in their own right.

The DWP’s benefits and pension rates 2026 to 2027 document states: “If the claimant is a member of a polygamous marriage and all of the members of the marriage have attained pensionable age on or after April 1st 2021, for the claimant and the other party to the marriage [the allowance per week is now] £363.25.

“For each additional spouse who is a member of the same household as the claimant [the allowance per week is now] £125.25.”

It is understood the DWP believe the number of claimants to be small although it has not been able to provide a number for how many second or third wives do claim the benefit.

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More States Enact New Laws Curbing Teachers Unions

New organized labor reforms signed into law by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis last week require a majority of members to be present for teachers union certification or recertification votes, increase fines for illegal strikes, and establish merit-based pay for educators.

In Idaho, after July 1, teachers unions will be prohibited from collecting dues directly from members’ paychecks, using paid time off for union activities, or recruiting new members during school hours.

A similar law in Arizona, which also bans teacher strikes and prohibits organized labor members from using any school property—even email addresses—for union activities, will be decided on by voters in the November election.

“They can’t consume taxpayer-funded resources during the school day,” said Rusty Brown, special projects director for the Freedom Foundation policy organization, which assisted state legislators with those measures and helps teachers opt out of union membership.

These ideas are expected to gain ground throughout the nation in the months and years ahead, Brown told The Epoch Times.

Individually, the Freedom Foundation’s Teacher Freedom Alliance has so far helped more than 272,535 teachers opt out of union membership, including more than 50,000 in 2025 alone, according to data provided to The Epoch Times. This includes educators in red and blue states.

At the state level, Oklahoma lawmakers have advanced legislation that would allow teachers to withdraw from a union at any time and would terminate “closed shop” provisions that prevent teachers from accessing alternative labor or professional organizations, such as the Teacher Freedom Alliance.

Brown calls this an “equal access and an end to a monopoly and captive audience bill.” Alternative organizations can offer teacher liability insurance and other benefits at a fraction of the price that traditional unions charge, he said.

Brown said he believes that the legislation could pass before Oklahoma’s session ends later this month, but the member withdrawal proposal probably won’t go through this session.

Alabama state lawmakers will consider legislation similar to Oklahoma’s next session, he said.

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Steve Hilton Catches Leftist Grifters Paying Illegals to Campaign for a Dem with Your Tax Dollars

Steve Hilton said a new investigation from Cal DOGE uncovered what he described as a corruption scandal involving California gubernatorial candidate Xavier Becerra and the taxpayer-funded immigrant advocacy organization CHIRLA.

Speaking outside CHIRLA offices in Santa Ana, Hilton said the organization receives nearly all of its funding from California taxpayers while also engaging in political activity tied to Becerra’s gubernatorial campaign.

“So this is our latest investigation from Cal DOGE, and it’s the latest corruption scandal involving having a Becerra. And it’s all connected to this organization, CHIRLA,” Hilton said.

Hilton said CHIRLA endorsed Becerra in April and pledged to support his campaign for governor.

According to Hilton, the endorsement raised concerns because the organization receives public funding.

“We are standing outside the CHIRLA offices in Santa Ana in Orange County. This organization is almost entirely funded by you, the California taxpayer,” Hilton said.

“Nearly all of the money to fund CHIRLA comes from taxpayers, and we will lay out the details of that in a moment.”

Hilton said Cal DOGE reviewed documents connected to CHIRLA’s political operations and claimed those records showed the organization using illegal immigrants in campaign-related efforts.

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Former NFL Player Sentenced to Prison for $197M Medicare Fraud

The Department of Justice announced that former NFL player Joel Rufus French, 47, was sentenced to 16+ years in prison and ordered to pay $110,753,619 in restitution after a years-long scheme to bilk Medicare and the Civilian Health and Medical Program of the Department of Veterans Affairs (CHAMPVA) out of nearly $200 million.

He also forfeited approximately $17 million that the government seized from bank accounts and other assets.

French was an All-American tight end at Ole Miss before briefly playing in the NFL for the Seattle Seahawks and the Green Bay Packers.

According to the DOJ, French, who owned a marketing company and was the beneficial owner of eight durable medical equipment (DME) companies, was selling patient information and sham doctors’ orders for orthotic braces that patients did not want or need.

Assistant Attorney General Colin M. McDonald of the Justice Department’s National Fraud Enforcement Division. shared, “Fueled by lies, bribes, and overseas telemarketers, this corrupt scheme preyed on senior citizens and disabled veterans to flood the country with unnecessary medical devices — and then billed the taxpayer for it.”

“Today’s sentence makes clear that if you target America’s elderly, sick, or vulnerable — and rob America’s purse doing so — you will be targeted and brought to justice.”

“The defendant orchestrated a brazen, yearslong scheme that preyed on elderly patients and the families of disabled and deceased veterans to steal millions from Medicare and CHAMPVA.”

Acting Deputy Inspector General for Investigations Scott J. Lampert of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS‑OIG) added, “By hiding behind overseas call centers, sham telemedicine companies, and straw‑owned DME suppliers, he exploited some of the most vulnerable people these programs were created to protect.”

“This lengthy sentence underscores the seriousness of his crimes and sends a clear message: HHS‑OIG and our law enforcement partners remain steadfast in safeguarding taxpayer‑funded programs and ensuring those who seek to defraud them will be found, stopped, and held accountable.”

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