Tag: taxes

California Dems Cook the Books on $2 Billion, Then Try to Make Filming Their Fraud Illegal

Max Bonilla publicly accused California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration of making a $2 billion calculation error in the state budget and then mischaracterizing the issue after it was identified.

Bonilla said the discrepancy involved accounting related to the California Public Employees’ Retirement System, commonly known as CalPERS, and described how the error affected projected employer contributions.

“Governor Newsom’s office made a $2 billion calculation error in regards to the state budget and then lied about it to the public, and they actually covered this up for months.”

He said the handling of the issue raised concerns about transparency and competence within the administration.

“This should be disturbing to you, with all the fraud that’s going on across the United States of America, it shows you how incompetent they are. Shows you that they can’t even do basic math, and they can’t even be transparent to the public when it really comes down to it.”

Bonilla said officials referred to the issue as a revision rather than an error, which he criticized.

“And instead of calling this an error, they’re calling it a revision. And that, my friends, is revisionist history.”

According to Bonilla, the accounting problem involved double-counting employer contributions to CalPERS, the retirement system that provides benefits to public employees after they leave service.

Keep reading

Zohran Mamdani Robs Taxpayers to Fund Tax Consumers

New York’s socialist mayor, Zohran Mamdani, announced this week that he is making good on his campaign promise to tax the rich. Like all socialists, Mamdani claims that the rich do not pay their “fair share,” a claim contradicted by the data.

In effect, wealthy taxpayers pay almost all of the taxes in New York City, while the lower 50% not only pay almost nothing but also receive government benefits. The lower 30% of NYC residents do almost no work. This is supported by Census Bureau data showing that the lowest income quintile in New York City earns a mean household income of just $12,294, equivalent to roughly 14 hours per week at New York’s minimum wage of $16.50, which is already nearly double the federal minimum wage of $7.25.

According to the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance, millionaires paid 44.6% of all personal income tax collected in tax year 2024, while the top 200,000 taxpayers paid 51.9%. Millionaires also accounted for over 75% of all reported capital gains in the state that year. Meanwhile, the bottom 50% of taxpayers paid just 0.2%. According to 2023 data from the NYC Independent Budget Office, the top 1% of city income tax filers paid approximately one-third of all city income tax revenue, with a threshold of at least $906,677 in income.

“When I ran for mayor, I said I was going to tax the rich. Well, today we’re taxing the rich,” Mamdani declared in a video filmed outside 220 Central Park South, where Citadel CEO Ken Griffin owns a four-floor penthouse purchased for $238 million. On April 15, Mamdani and Governor Kathy Hochul jointly announced a pied-à-terre tax, French for “foot on the ground,” an annual surcharge on one-to-three-family homes, condominiums, and co-ops valued above $5 million whose owners maintain a primary residence outside New York City.

Mamdani argued that such properties are often left vacant while still benefiting from rising real estate values, calling the arrangement “a fundamentally unfair system that hurts working New Yorkers.”

Yet the non-resident owners he targets are, by definition, not drawing on city services. The revenue he proposes to extract from them would flow not to working New Yorkers but to welfare programs serving those who don’t work, transferring wealth from tax producers to tax consumers.

Keep reading

Spanberger Rips Up Confederate Heritage To Separate Virginians From Their History

Seemingly not content to just destroy her state’s rule of law and election system, Democrat Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger has declared war on Virginia’s heritage and, more specifically, those who dedicate themselves to preserving it.

The newly minted governor signed a bill on Monday that revoked tax exemptions from several Confederate heritage organizations, including the state’s divisions of the Sons of Confederate Veterans and the United Daughters of the Confederacy (UDC). Spanberger also recently signed a bill that ceases the production of specialty license plates bearing the likeness of Robert E. Lee.

“Governor Spanberger’s signing of this bill is a proud moment and an important step forward for Virginia,” state Delegate Alex Askew, who sponsored the bill and has campaigned for it for several years, stated. But the question is: A step forward toward what? A Virginia that hates its own history, that curses those men of the past who built the state and made it what it is today?

Spanberger’s signature represents, as The New York Times put it, part of “a yearslong Democrat-led push to shake off the state’s legacy as the capital of the 11 Southern, slaveholding states that seceded from the country in the 1860s.”

And indeed it has been a years-long campaign by the left to erase Virginia’s, and America’s, history. The era that began with the inauguration of President Barack Obama in 2009 and reached its fever pitch during the fiery George Floyd riots of summer 2020 saw the slow but sure disappearance of Confederate history from the public sphere. Even some Republican politicians found a convenient scapegoat in long-revered Southern symbols.

During a BLM riot in Richmond, Virginia, in May 2020, extremist agitators attacked the headquarters of the United Daughters of the Confederacy with “incendiary devices.” The building, deeded to the organization by the state in 1950, was filled with countless Civil War-era documents and artifacts. The resulting fire and destruction caused $4.1 million in damage to the building and its contents, according to a lawsuit filed by the UDC. The wanton vandalism that night also extended to the multiple Confederate monuments on Monument Avenue, including the famous equestrian statue of Robert E. Lee that was removed in 2021.

The UDC was founded by Southern women in 1894 to “honor their family members and ancestors who served in the Confederate military or contributed to the Southern war effort.” And because of this, Virginia’s Democrats seek to strike back for the sin of honoring their ancestors through charitable work. The new law is intended to cripple an organization that mostly dedicates itself these days to civic engagement of a decidedly nonpolitical sort — helping homeless shelters and food banks.

And, of course, the radical leftists didn’t stop at Confederate monuments. Statues and memorials to the Founding Fathers, Christopher Columbus, and Teddy Roosevelt all came under attack during the heyday of race wokeness. Many of the memorials and museums that escaped physical attack were otherwise “contextualized” into oblivion with asides and nitpicks that drilled into patrons’ heads that America’s ancestors were very bad people.

Keep reading

Philly mayor yells at public, asks ‘how dare’ they question how much she wants to tax

n one of the most out-of-touch examples I’ve seen of Democrats in recent weeks, we’ve now got Philadelphia mayor Cherelle Parker yelling at her constituents over a new tax she wants on each and every ride-sharing journey: if enacted, all Uber and Lyft rides would have an additional dollar tacked on (to support the dying city education system), which in a substantial number of instances, wouldn’t be a miniscule tax. (The average cost of a rideshare in Philadelphia is somewhere between $16 and $24, or 6.25% and 4%, respectively.)

Parker wonders “how dare” the citizens and voters question how much she wants to take out of their pockets for others’ expenses.

Just so we’re all clear, this same woman just marched against “kings” a few weeks back, and even showed up as a featured speaker (via video) for her city’s protest…now imposing unpopular taxes by royal decree.

For context, under Cherelle Parker’s “leadership,” the public school system is facing a $300-million deficit, which according to the superintendent, “is driven by salary increases… rising charter school payments, and higher healthcare costs.” Entry-level teaching positions start around $54,000—in a school district where a whopping 85% of kids don’t test at or above a “proficient” level in their studies, according to the “Nation’s Report Card” data. Ironically, you may remember that Parker is the same woman who in 2025, made headlines when she couldn’t even spell “Eagles,” as in the Philadelphia Eagles. Her city’s own NFL team. A five-letter word. “E-L-G-S-E-S!”

Keep reading

Kathy Hochul Faces Backlash After Reversing Course on Taxes Amid NYC Proposal

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul is facing criticism after backing a new tax proposal targeting wealthy property owners in New York City, a move that critics say contradicts her earlier pledge not to raise taxes, as reported by The New York Post.

The controversy centers on a proposed pied-à-terre tax that would apply to certain high-value secondary residences in the city.

The plan, which has been discussed in Albany for years, gained renewed attention after Hochul signaled support for it in recent days.

The proposal would target roughly 13,000 second homes in New York City valued at $5 million or more.

According to the governor’s office, the surcharge is expected to generate at least $500 million annually, with the revenue intended to help address the city’s estimated $5.4 billion budget deficit.

Hochul’s shift comes after months of pressure from Mayor Zohran Mamdani and members of the Democratic Socialists of America, who have pushed for higher taxes on wealthy residents and corporations.

Keep reading

Dr. Oz on Insane Fraud: After Stopping Payments to 450 Hospices in CA, NOT ONE Has Asked for Reinstatement of Funds

In March, investigative journalist Nick Shirley released video on uncovering $170 million in fraud in California.

“We uncovered over $170,000,000 in fraud as these fraudsters live in luxury with no consequences,” Nick Shirley said.

“California’s version of Medicaid called ‘Medi-Cal’ has more than doubled since 2022 from $108 billion to a proposed $222 billion in 2026. Their population, however, has not grown exponentially. However, their spending has,” Nick Shirley said.

“There has been a 1,000 percent increase in hospice care in Los Angeles County,” Nick Shirley said. It’s estimated that the fraud in California could be in the hundreds of billions of dollars.”

Nick Shirley visited ‘hospices’ in Los Angeles and ‘daycares’ in San Diego.

In early April, California Attorney General Rob Bonta (D) announced his office had charged 21 suspects in a $267 million hospice fraud ring in Southern California.

A Trump administration Fraud Task Force also conducts raids against healthcare fraudsters across the southern part of the state. Eight people were arrested and charged with over $50 MILLION in fraud.

Keep reading

“Mamdani Mart” Exposes The Inefficiency Of Socialism In One Chart

Andreessen Horowitz’s a16z New Media published the most popular charts of the week on financial markets, but the most revealing one came at the end of the note: a comparison suggesting that New York City’s first grocery store, which will soon be run by unhinged socialists, will be structurally less efficient than private-sector supermarkets.

But who cares when it’s not taxpayer monies?

According to the New York Post, Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s proposed city-owned grocery store in East Harlem would require roughly $30 million in taxpayer funding.

At just 9,000 square feet, the project implies a construction cost of about $3,000 per square foot – an exceptionally and alarmingly high number by grocery industry standards. 

From an economic standpoint, the “Mamdani Mart” underscores a familiar pattern: state-directed supermarkets often fail to achieve the cost discipline, operational efficiency, and scale seen in private-sector chains.

This story has played out time and again in the U.S., as unhinged left-wingers have experimented with socialism:

The end result is Cuba.

Keep reading

Zohran Mamdani to Introduce New York City to Exciting New Innovation of… Trash Cans – By 2031

New York City’s new democratic socialist (communist) Mayor Zohran Mamdani took a moment this week to tell people of the city about an exciting new invention called rat-proof trash bins, which he will be implementing by the year 2031.

You absolutely could not make this up.

Couldn’t he put these bins all over the city by say… this coming week if he wanted to? Who needs a five-year plan to put out trash cans?

WABC News in New York reports:

Containerized trash is expanding to six more New York City districts by the end of 2027, as the Mamdani administration targets citywide containerization by 2031.

Businesses and low-density residential buildings are already required to put their trash bags in containers for pickup.

Over the next year, the Sanitation Department will distribute large Empire Bins to all residential buildings with 30 units or more in the six districts.

Officials say 6,500 large Empire garbage bins will be rolled out for more than 3,500 buildings in this expansion.

They can be only opened by building staff with a keycard, or by sanitation workers…

Mayor Zohran Mamdani said in a statement, “In the wealthiest city in the wealthiest nation in the history of the world, no New Yorker should have their sidewalks covered in garbage. By finishing the job on containerization, we will ensure New York City’s streets remain the envy of the world. We have the plan, we’re investing the money and we’re delivering on the promise of clean, healthy streets for every neighborhood.”

He actually did an announcement about this.

Keep reading

DOJ says Mamdani would be sued if he tries requiring white neighborhoods to pay higher property tax

he U.S. Justice Department said it would sue New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani if he tries requiring white neighborhoods to pay higher property taxes.

Harmeet Dhillon, U.S. assistant attorney general for the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division, was responding to a socal media post about a New York Post front page from the NYC mayoral campaign.

“This is illegal. If it happens, expect a lawsuit. Or many,” she wrote.

Earlier this month, Mamdani released details of his current tax plan, which includes requiring luxury second homes to pay higher property taxes.

Keep reading

Air National Guard Leaders Urge Congress To Fund Dozens Of New Fighter Jets Annually To Reverse ‘Oldest, Smallest, Least Ready’ Air Force

Leaders of the Air National Guard are pressing Congress to dramatically accelerate fighter jet procurement, warning that the U.S. Air Force is operating at historic lows in age, size, and readiness.

In a letter sent earlier this month to key congressional appropriators, adjutants general from 22 states with Air National Guard fighter units called for funding at least 72 new fighter jets in the fiscal 2027 budget, with an optimal target of 108 aircraft per year across the entire Air Force.“

The United States Air Force is the oldest, the smallest, and the least ready in its 78-year history,” the letter states. “We must build a fighting force that will win,” reports Stars and Stripes.

The signatories argue that simply shifting older “legacy” fighters from active-duty units to the Guard and Reserve does not constitute true modernization. “Cascading legacy fighters from the active component to the reserve component is NOT recapitalization,” they wrote.

Specific Procurement RequestsThe generals are urging Congress to approve multiyear procurement authority for:

  • A baseline of 48 F-35A Lightning II and 24 F-15EX Eagle II fighters per year.
  • Scaling up in future years to 72 F-35As and 36 F-15EXs annually, reaching the 108-aircraft target.

These new jets would replace aging fleets of F-15C Eagles, A-10 Thunderbolt IIs, and F-16 Fighting Falcons still in service.

Keep reading