Tag: taxes

How Much the U.S Really Spends to Defend Other Nations From Military Aid to Global Bases and Deploying Navel Fleets

The United States spends hundreds of billions of dollars every year to defend countries that pose no direct threat to its borders. From maintaining troops and bases across Asia and Europe to deploying carrier strike groups in distant seas, Washington shoulders an immense financial burden to uphold what it calls the global security order. Nations such as Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, and Israel depend heavily on U.S. protection — a policy that blends deterrence, influence, and strategic dominance. But few Americans realize just how much this protection actually costs.

A vast network of overseas bases

The U.S. military maintains around 750 overseas bases in more than 80 countries, supporting about 200,000 active-duty troops stationed outside the continental United States. These facilities — from Okinawa and Yokosuka in Japan to Osan and Camp Humphreys in South Korea, Ramstein Air Base in Germany, and Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean — serve as the backbone of U.S. global power projection.

Operating and maintaining these installations costs U.S. taxpayers approximately $55–70 billion annually, according to estimates by the Department of Defense and the Costs of War Project at Brown University. While host nations like Japan and South Korea contribute to housing and infrastructure expenses, the majority of the logistical, training, and personnel costs still fall on Washington.

For example:

  • Japan: The U.S. spends about $5.5 billion per year on operations, personnel, and logistics, even though Tokyo contributes about $2 billion through its “host-nation support” program.
  • South Korea: About $3.5–4 billion per year in U.S. military expenses, partially offset by Seoul’s contribution under the Special Measures Agreement.
  • Germany: Roughly $4–5 billion annually to sustain troops and infrastructure, including bases like Ramstein and Grafenwoehr.

These bases are not only costly but strategically positioned — allowing the U.S. to respond to crises in Asia, the Middle East, and Europe without delay.

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Changes to Food Stamp Program SNAP Coming in November

Federal officials plan to enforce changes to the food stamp program, formally the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), beginning in November.

The changes will cut federal funding for SNAP by $187 billion through 2034, according to the Congressional Budget Office. SNAP gives money to people to buy groceries.

Here are the changes that are coming.

Updated Work Requirements

Under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, the requirements that SNAP recipients work are being changed.

The requirement that recipients work a minimum of 80 hours per month to receive food stamps for more than three months every three years remains the same. While the requirement used to only cover adults aged 18 to 54, it will now be in place for adults who are younger than 65.

Another change regards people with dependent children. Parents with children who are not yet adults used to be exempt from the work requirement. Under the bill, parents will only be exempt if they have one or more dependents aged 13 or younger.

The bill also removes exemptions for people who are homeless, veterans, and individuals aged 24 and younger who aged out of foster care.

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Mexico finances the Cuban regime while Pemex sinks into debt

Between May and August of 2025, Mexico sent more than 3 billion dollars in subsidized fuels to Cuba through the state subsidiary Gasolinas Bienestar, a figure that triples the shipments recorded during the last two years of the previous administration.

This has raised serious questions about transparency, public spending priorities, and possible diplomatic risks, as some of the shipments may have been carried out using a vessel sanctioned by the United States.

Quantity, frequency, and routesIn those four months, 58 shipments of hydrocarbons – including gasoline, diesel, and crude oil – were documented leaving Mexican ports for the Caribbean island.Most of those ships departed from Coatzacoalcos, Veracruz, with only three leaving from Tampico, Tamaulipas.

The shipments are carried out by Gasolinas Bienestar, a Pemex subsidiary created in 2022 with the declared mission of supplying Cuba with subsidized fuel.

Use of a sanctioned vessel

One of the vessels identified on these routes was the Sandino, included in 2019 by the United States Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) on its blacklist for participating in operations linked to the shipment of Venezuelan oil to Cuba.

In August, the Sandino sailed from the Pemex terminal in Laguna de Pajaritos, Veracruz, and arrived seven days later at the “Camilo Cienfuegos” refinery in Cuba.

Financial impact and budget comparison

The more than 3 billion dollars equate to about 60 billion Mexican pesos, approximately the same as the projected budget for the Secretariat of Security and Citizen Protection (SSPC) in 2026.

Gasolinas Bienestar has already reported losses and debt in its first year of operation, attributed to the “gifted” fuel to Cuba.

This increase in shipments occurs while Pemex faces financial and debt challenges, raising concerns about the sustainability of these subsidies.

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Democrats’ Bill Would Let Federal Workers Skip Paying Rent During Government Shutdowns

Since the federal government isn’t currently paying its bills during the shutdown, Senate Democrats think federal workers shouldn’t have to either.

Sen. Brian Schatz (D–Hawaii) and 17 of his Democratic Senate colleagues have introduced a bill that would relieve federal workers and contractors from their obligations to pay rent, mortgages, insurance premiums, and student loan payments during shutdowns.

The bill would also stay eviction and foreclosure proceedings for 30 days after a shutdown ends. Anyone who tries to carry out an eviction or foreclosure of a federal worker or contractor during that time would be guilty of a misdemeanor and subject to fines or even jail time.

“Right now, hundreds of thousands of federal workers, federal contractor employees, and their families don’t know whether they’ll be able to pay rent and make ends meet. Our bill will protect these workers and make sure they aren’t harmed during this shutdown,” said Schatz.

To be sure, this bill is mostly signaling.

Politically, Republicans are not going to advance legislation that would reduce pressure on Democrats to vote to reopen the government.

Practically, the protections it would offer federal workers are unnecessary, at least in the housing context.

It would be odd, and indeed irrational, for a landlord to evict an otherwise good tenant if they miss a full rent payment during a government shutdown that will, in all likelihood, end in a few weeks. That’s particularly true given that government workers are guaranteed back pay once a shutdown ends.

Pursuing an eviction in that context would require a landlord to kick out a tenant who’s going to start paying their bills again soon, and instead incur the costs of the eviction itself, turning over the unit, and finding a new tenant.

Clearly, the reasonable thing to do would be for landlords and their current tenants to work out a deal in such circumstances. We have plenty of evidence that that’s what happens even during even more severe economic shocks.

The COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent shutdowns put a lot of people out of work. Contrary to the predictions of activists, this did not produce a mass wave of evictions—either before or after eviction moratoriums were put in place, and even when promised federal rental assistance was hard to access.

By and large, tenants paid their bills with what funds they had, and landlords worked out deals about how to cover any shortfall.

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California Court Blocks Trump Admin’s Access to SNAP Recipients’ Data

A San Francisco district court temporarily blocked the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) on Oct. 15 from accessing information about food stamp recipients in several states.

California Attorney General Rob Bonta filed a lawsuit jointly with 20 other states against the USDA in July, alleging the agency violated several federal laws and the U.S. Constitution by asking for detailed information about Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) recipients.

“The Trump Administration can try all it wants to strong arm states into illegally handing over data, but we know the rule of law is on our side,” Bonta said in a statement.

“We will continue to vigorously litigate this lawsuit and defend our communities, protect privacy, and ensure that remains a tool for fighting hunger—not a weapon for political targeting.”

The USDA has threatened to cut off some federal funding to states that don’t hand over SNAP data.

California receives more than $1 billion a year to administer the program.

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‘Loyal Public Servants’: Whistleblowers Punished for Exposing Hunter Biden Protection Scheme Reach Settlement

Compensation being paid, and DOJ using ‘this example’ to train federal prosecutors.

Two former FBI officials who were punished under the Biden administration for their efforts to expose a protection scheme for first son Hunter Biden now have reached settlements in their lawsuits.

Hunter Biden, of course, faced both gun and tax charge convictions, cases that could have left him behind bars for years.

Then his daddy gave him a get-out-of-jail free card through a presidential pardon that Joe Biden actually signed, unlike many of his pardons that were issued through autopen signatures.

The settlements were reached for former Supervisory Special Agent Gary Shapley and Special Agent Joe Ziegler who had charged illegal retaliation against them.

The settlements with the IRS and Justice Department (DOJ) “included significant compensation for damages and a requirement for new training for federal prosecutors to deter future whistleblower retaliation.”

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NYC public school staffer skimmed $415K in tax dollars for her private cheerleading team: DA

A former public high school staffer skimmed $415,000 in taxpayer cash meant for students — to fund her own private cheerleading business, Queens prosecutors charged Thursday.

Abi Corbin, 53, worked as a community associate at the East-West School of International Studies, PS 281 in Flushing, when she allegedly ran the scam, from July 2021 through July 2024, the Queens District Attorney’s Office said.

As part of her job, Corbin was responsible for processing work orders to purchase materials for the school, which does not have a cheerleading team, prosecutors said.

Instead, Corbin used the principal’s login information and signature to buy merch for her own business Queens Campus Cheer, according to prosecutors.

“Instead of purchasing necessary educational materials to help students thrive, the defendant is accused of stealing school funds for her own private cheerleading company,” Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said in a statement.

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Dr Oz accuses Democrats of ‘gaslighting’ Americans over $1B in Medicaid payments to illegal immigrants

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz announced Thursday that an internal review uncovered more than $1 billion in Medicaid payments to illegal immigrants across several states, a problem he says the Trump administration is now moving to correct.

“The Democrats have been gaslighting us on this issue of Medicaid funds going to illegal immigrants for quite a while,” Oz said on “Fox & Friends.” 

Healthcare for illegal immigrants has been a major issue prolonging the latest government shutdown, which is now entering its third week. Republicans accuse Democrats of allowing federal health dollars to go to illegal immigrants while standing in the way of efforts to cut government waste.

Oz said his agency’s investigation into the topic is “just getting started” and the latest figure covers only a few states. 

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Democrats Block Legislation To Pay Troops During Shutdown

Democrats blocked the Senate from considering a defense spending bill on Thursday afternoon that would pay military service members during the shutdown.

Senators voted 50 to 44, with just three Democrats breaking with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer to advance a full-year defense appropriations bill. The failed vote comes as Congress is locked in a stalemate to end the 16-day shutdown with Democrats largely refusing to cross party lines and reopen the government.

The defense appropriations bill would fund the Department of War for the upcoming fiscal year and ensure that active-duty troops do not miss a paycheck during the shutdown. The measure also includes a military pay raise.

Military personnel would have gone without pay for the first time in U.S. history on Wednesday if President Donald Trump had not tapped unused Pentagon funding to temporarily cover troop pay.

However, there is no guarantee of future paychecks for military personnel if the shutdown continues into November.

Democratic Sens. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada and Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire joined Republicans in advancing the defense spending bill that would fund troop pay for the entire fiscal year. The funding measure notably passed out of the Appropriations Committee with near unanimous support in July.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune blasted Democrats for filibustering the measure during a fiery speech on the Senate floor.

“After voting last week for an authorization bill to increase troop pay, Democrats just voted against the bill that would actually pay the troops,” Thune said.

“They’re happy to sacrifice any American and evidently any principle to their political goals,” Thune continued. “Democrats like to position themselves as the party of the little guy and the defender of hard-working Americans, but as this vote makes clear, who do Democrats really care about?”

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2 LA men charged with fraud in misuse of public funds meant for combating homelessness

Two Los Angeles-area men faced federal charges in separate criminal cases as they are both accused of fraudulently acquiring public funds that were allocated to address homelessness and build affordable housing, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced Thursday.

Cody Holmes of Beverly Hills was in custody as of Thursday after he allegedly used fake bank records to receive nearly $26 million from the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) for Shangri-La Industries LLC, for which he previously served as a CFO.

The money from Project Homekey was supposed to be used to build affordable housing in Thousand Oaks, but instead, Holmes, 31, spent the money to pay credit card bills and purchase good at luxury retailers, the DOJ alleged.

“Even though the developer received all the money from the state, the developer did not complete the construction of the Thousand Oaks project,” Acting U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli said during a news conference Thursday. “Essentially, he stole the money.”

In a separate case, Steven Taylor, a developer and real state agent, of Brentwood was released on a $3.6 million bond, the DOJ said, after he was charged with bank fraud, identity theft and money laundering.

Federal investigators said Taylor also used fake bank records to obtain loans and lines of credit. The 44-year-old is accused of using the fraudulently obtained funds to flip a Cheviot Hills home and selling it to a homeless housing developer for more than double his original purchase.

“Taylor had contracted to sell the property, which he acquired for only $11 million, fraudulently, to Weingart, a homeless housing developer, that purchased the property for a whopping $27 million in a transaction that was hidden from the victim lender and others,” Essayli added.

Akil Davis, FBI’s assistant director in charge of the Los Angeles Field Office. said Taylor also tried to enrich his business in high-end neighborhoods of Los Angeles.

“Taylor’s actions not only misled banks, but also took advantage of the city and state’s efforts to combat the homelessness crisis, Davis said.

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