We have been following California’s hidden-money scandal, in which bureaucrats in the state Parks Department concealed $54 million for more than a decade, even as the Department was shutting down 70 parks, the state facing budget deficits of $16 billion, and politicians stumping for huge tax increases. One legislator wanted to know how much…
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Millions of Americans are bracing for fiscal cliff fallout, looking for jobs, postponing purchases and cutting back on spending. Not so Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla Motors. As the Los Angeles Times noted, Mr. Musk just plunked down $17 million for a 20,248-square-foot Bel-Air mansion with a gym, seven bedrooms, 10 bathrooms, tennis court,…
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On January 3, 2013, President Obama signed, via autopen, the fiscal cliff deal, in which President Bush’s 2001 and 2003 income tax cuts were made permanent for all but those individuals earning more than $400,000 per year or families earning more than $450,000 per year, who are now required to pay the Clinton-era 39.6%…
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Most American voters want to see the federal government make spending cuts across the board, but those same voters doubt such cuts will take place, according to a recent Rasmussen Poll. The survey found that only 39 percent of likely voters think it is somewhat likely that government will significantly reduce spending while 57…
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On December 21, U.S. President Barack Obama issued an executive order giving all federal workers except the U.S. Postal Service a holiday on December 24. The Los Angeles Times estimated the cost of the shutdown at $100 million and noted that in addition to Christmas Eve, federal employees got, count ’em, 10 paid holidays…
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On December 26, one day after Christmas, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner broke a blockbuster story. On New Year’s Eve, December 31, 2012, the United States will reach its $16.4 trillion borrowing limit and will have to undertake “extraordinary measures” to avoid default. The debt ceiling had been troubling Steven Mufson of the Washington Post…
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On Sunday, December 30 2012, President Barack Obama claimed that financial markets would be negatively affected by the failure of the U.S. Congress and his administration to reach a rushed, last-minute deal to extend President Bush’s 2001 and 2003 tax cuts for the middle class: Low income tax rates first put in place under…
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While California was closing parks and state employees giving themselves unauthorized vacation buyouts, the state Parks Department was concealing nearly $54 million for more than a decade. A Democratic legislator denounced this “deceit and thievery” and wondered how much more money state employees had stashed away. In the Parks Department, it’s at least $3.9…
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With so many Americans shifting their focus away from Washington D.C. to the holiday season, it would be very easy to have missed the following interview from CNBC with a member of the U.S. Senate on the state of the fiscal cliff negotiations in the nation’s capitol (via The Blaze) Click here for the…
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The November election made California the highest-tax state in the nation by raising the state income tax to 13.3 percent, an increase of 29.13 percent. Governor Jerry Brown claimed the increase would boost revenues by some $6 billion and solve the Golden State’s budgetary woes. But according to state Controller John Chiang, total state…
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