To make matters worse, Weaver has proposed the idea of race-based home collectivization efforts, specifically targeting white families: “…will mean that families, especially white families, but some POC [people of color] families who are homeowners as well, are gonna have a different relationship to property than the one that we currently have.”

Mamdani quickly defended his new appointee by praising her record of “standing up for tenants across the city and state.” But, if Mamdani has taught us anything, it is that he has little issue with Weaver’s racist and unconstitutional proposals. Mamdani’s own campaign promises included: “[s]hift[ing] the tax burden from overtaxed homeowners in the outer boroughs to more expensive homes in richer and whiter neighborhoods,” as well as forcibly seizing houses and apartments from property owners under the guise of ‘putting bad landlords out of business.’

New York City’s flirting with socialist property seizures seriously ignores history. In fact, socialist dictators have consistently seized homes from the very people they claimed to protect under the guise of the ‘collective good’—ultimately leading to mass displacement, poor living conditions, and even death.

Venezuela: “Expropiese!”

Throughout his reign, Hugo Chávez depicted himself as a warrior for the Venezuelan working class. While his marketing mirrored the propaganda of socialists who came before him, so did his domestic policies. In 2010, Chávez expropriated a number of private apartment complexes on the outskirts of Caracas, accusing builders of price gouging and delays. Residents like Wally Garcia, who had saved for years to buy his home, suddenly found their investments in limbo. Maduro’s government promised to finish the projects and to protect home buyers, but many units remained unfinished and abandoned, often leading to squatters and infrastructure decay.

This policy saw no slowing down under Chávez’s successor: Nicolás Maduro. Under Maduro’s control, colectivos, militant civilian groups supported by the regime, forcibly occupied private residential and commercial properties under the guise of expropriating property of Venezuelans who had “betrayed the country” by fleeing Venezuelan socialism. Despite claiming that these seized properties would be used for social housing initiatives, the colectivos often use them to gain illegal profits, and to extort occupants. Many Venezuelan citizens claim their homes were turned over to sympathizers, friends, and relatives of the Venezuelan regime.

Cuba: “We May Compensate You Later…”

After Fidel Castro’s 1959 revolution, the State seized billions in privately-held assets—farms, mills, houses, hotels—from Cuban families and U.S. owners without compensation. Castro’s communist officials would often announce: “We own this now—we may compensate you later,”—yet that compensation never came, and once privately-held homes and other property still remain in the hands of Cuba’s dictator class. Nicolás Gutiérrez, a Miami-based consultant, still fights for his family’s confiscated properties, as well as thousands of other Cubans’ stolen property which now amounts to approximately $100 billion dollars. Cuban exiles hope diplomatic thaws will bring a restitution, but decades later, they remain empty-handed. Castro’s “collective” ownership turned a once-prosperous island into a crumbling relic, complemented by food rations, routine blackouts, and nonexistent medical care.

China: “You Have Property Rights, Unless…”

China’s 1958 socialist transformation fared no better. CCP authorities seized countless private homes during Mao’s push for collectivization, leaving families like Qian Juping’s petitioning to repossess their homes for decades. Despite codifying Chinese citizens’ right to private property in the nation’s constitution, the CCP often finds ways around this ‘inviolable’ right. In 2020, cities like Shenzhen requisitioned personal property under the guise of fighting Covid—citing emergency powers. Under this dictate, local governments seized private homes, commercial property, public venues, and vehicles suspected of being contaminated, and forced private businesses to produce any materials deemed necessary in fighting Covid.

Collectivization Within the Iron Curtain

Under Stalin’s iron fist, Ukraine suffered one of the worst man-made atrocities ever seen: the Holodomor. In the name of collectivization, Stalin furthered Lenin’s dekulakization policies by seizing farms, livestock, and homes from supposedly wealthy peasants who resisted State interference. Millions of Ukrainians were either deported, executed, or forced onto collectively owned farms. With communists finally in control of the “means of production”—having effectively abolished private property—a man-made famine brought about by grain seizures, food blockages, and travel restrictions soon took the lives of an estimated 4 million Ukrainians between 1932 and 1933.

Under Nicolae Ceaușescu’s rule, Socialist Romania experienced a systematization scheme which planned to raze thousands of villages and force its occupants into collectivized tenement housing. Ceaușescu described this private property as “irrational,” and forced Romanians to watch as their family homes, churches, and historic sites were demolished and replaced with poorly constructed concrete blocks. While Ceaușescu ultimately failed to raze all of Romania’s historic buildings and villages before his 1989 ouster and execution, the scars of his rule remain etched in Romania’s crumbling infrastructure.

Mamdani’s “warmth of collectivism” isn’t innovative, it’s a recycled disaster plan. From Venezuela’s gang-infested apartments, to Cuba’s decaying homes, from Ukraine’s mass graves, to Romania’s forgotten villages, one truth is clear: when the government treats homes as “collective goods,” ordinary citizens end up with nothing.

The post History Repeats Itself: New York Socialism May Pave the Way for Home Confiscations appeared first on Free the People.

Canada’s overregulation comes at the price of our freedom.

Oh Canada! The land of breathtaking nature, crystal lakes, and the Canadian Rockies. Too bad you won’t be able to experience it much longer. As of August 5, the province of Nova Scotia is banning travel and activities in its forests due to a rising concern of climate change and an increase in prevalence of wildfires. Under the ban, people are barred from hiking, camping, fishing, driving vehicles through the woods, and using forest trails. Still feeling like taking an early morning constitutional? You will be fined $25,000 for your civil disobedience.

“We are restricting travel and activities that really aren’t necessary… hiking, camping, fishing, and the use of vehicles in the woods are not permitted. Trail systems through woods are off limits… This situation sucks… I know it’s inconvenient… but we have to stay out of the woods. It’s a small price to pay to avoid the kind of devastation we saw from the wildfires in 2023,” said Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston.

Sucks indeed. The local government’s justifications for these “safety” restrictions are slowly and steadily eroding people’s liberties to partake in the most basic of activities, like simply walking in the outdoors.

New Brunswick, Canada has recently joined in on Nova Scotia’s hiking ban. However, NB Premier Susan Holt has taken it one step further: people are forbidden to go into the woods because they might get hurt, and emergency responders won’t be able to save them.

“If you’re out there walking in the woods and you break your leg, we’re not going to come and get you,” said Holt.

While some may think these are reasonable precautions taken by the government for the ‘greater good’ of the Canadian people, the reality depicts a different story—one where climate alarmism, fearmongering, and government overreach create an environment where your individual rights and liberties are swept aside for whatever the government wants in the moment.

Fearmongering Expands Government’s Powers

Canadian politicians and think tanks alike incessantly warn of the dangers posed by ‘man-made climate change,’ including the heightened risk of wildfires through Canada’s many wooded areas. The Canadian Climate Institute, a government-funded research organization, explicitly states that, “[a]ccelerating climate change, largely from the burning of fossil fuels, makes wildfires bigger, hotter, and more frequent,” and “[o]ur research finds that to keep Canadians safe, governments must play both defence and offence—protecting people and ecosystems while accelerating the transition away from fossil fuels to limit further heating.”

Apart from camping bans and regulating outdoor walks, another way the Canadian government is fighting climate change is by spending $14.4 million in taxpayer dollars on 17 projects to “empower young Canadians to address climate change,” and to prepare themselves for the pending “climate emergency.”

There’s just one problem: the government’s frenzy over “man-made climate change” is simply a trojan horse in its attempt to expand its authority over citizens’ private lives.

According to Premier Houston himself: “Most wildfires are caused by human activity, so to reduce the risk, we’re keeping people out of the woods until conditions improve.” In fact, the most common and widely experienced source of wildfires is not the climate, but various human activities, chief among them being intentional acts of arson. For example, it is estimated that 40 percent of wildfires that affect British Columbia in an average year are human-induced. Meanwhile, in the US, around 85 percent of the nearly 100,000 wildland fires that affect North America every year are caused by human activity, according to data from the National Park Service. A far cry from the impeding climate change disaster government officials want people to believe. The truth of the matter is, that these hiking bans won’t stop arsonists from intentionally setting fires, or prevent lighting strikes—the source of nearly half of all Canadian wildfires.

Unfortunately for Canadians, the facts won’t save them. Getting arrested for unauthorized hiking could land them larger fines and more jail time than arsonists who deliberately start fires in Canadian forests. It’s not about safety, it’s always about control.

Restricting Liberties is Canada’s Black Letter Law, and Won’t Go Away Anytime Soon

Under Canada’s Forests Act, a Minister may at any time, “set aside for any period of time a restricted travel zone in any area of woods upon which no person shall enter for the purpose of traveling, camping, fishing or picnicking, or any other purpose, without a travel permit… A forest travel permit may be cancelled or suspended at any time by the Minister, a conservation officer or other person authorized by the Minister.” You read that right. The Canadian government can, at any time, restrict your ability to go hiking or camping, and can obligate you to purchase a travel permit to do so. After all, walking in the woods is a privilege, not a codified right or liberty.

This shouldn’t be surprising. Canada has recently been more heavy handed when it comes to compelling people to follow its restrictions—including its more illiberal laws. During the trucker convoy protests of 2022, thousands of truckers and their supporters peacefully protested the Trudeau government’s Covid vaccine mandates. How did the government react to these protests? It froze their bank accounts, canceled credit cards, and handed out multi-year criminal sentences, simply for exercising ‘free’ speech.

Since then, there has been no backtracking, redirection, or even an apology from the Canadian government for stifling its citizens’ democratic rights. In fact, it has only doubled down, expanding its hate speech laws which threaten prison time for inciting “hatred,” a term which is loosely defined, if at all.

Canada shows us what happens when a people are overdependent on an ever-expanding bureaucratic government. What may start as free transportation, childcare services, and food assistance, can quickly degrade into hate speech laws and restrictions on where you can walk outside. Once you give an inch of your civil liberties away, there’s no telling how much a government will take in turn.

As economist Friedrich A. Hayek said: “The chief evil is unlimited government, and nobody is qualified to wield unlimited power.”

The post The Nanny State Made Hiking Illegal in Canada appeared first on Free the People.

The European Union is silencing political speech. So much for “Democracy.”

On July 17, Czechia made international news after its president, Petr Pavel, amended the country’s criminal code to criminalize the promotion of communist ideology.

The revised criminal legislation now includes prison sentences of up to five years for anyone who “establishes, supports or promotes Nazi, communist, or other movements which demonstrably aim to suppress human rights and freedoms or incite racial, ethnic, national, religious or class-based hatred.”

Czechia is following in the footsteps of its European counterparts, with many European countries banning certain political imagery, slogans, and even jokes. However, there seems to be a clear imbalance with what political thought is acceptable, and what is considered taboo. While there is practically unanimous consensus in Europe regarding the dangers posed by neo-Nazism and certain other fascist movements, communism is still seen by many—including entire nations—as a permissible political ideology to not only openly express, but also to advocate for, despite the decades of data showing communism to be the deadliest totalitarian ideology in world history.

European Union: Where Censorship Policy is Subjective

The majority of Europe has taken a firm stance against the dissemination of fascist propaganda by heavily regulating or criminalizing fascist symbols. Countries like Germany have established online police forces which monitor online activity to determine whether citizens are sharing prohibited fascist-based content or posts. This type of state-run surveillance has recently been codified within the EU’s Digital Services Act which, among other things, is intended to monitor the online activity of EU citizens which could reflect support for certain banned political ideologies and ‘distasteful’ opinions.

The EU has attempted to calm public apprehension over the recent increase in internet regulation and communication surveillance. Henna Virkkunen, the current Executive Vice President of the European Commission for Technological Sovereignty, Security and Democracy, stated that “[m]any Europeans have living memories of censorship and persecution during the Cold War under communist regimes.” Yet, Virkkunen and countless other EU bureaucrats, are now trying their hardest to replicate the same Iron Curtain tactics they claim to be fighting against.

It’s not as if they don’t have their supporters. There is a growing subset of Western society that not only thinks this sort of censorship is good, but that it will actually bring about a healthier, more peaceful, and tolerant society… eventually.

Support Communist Policies, Suffer Communist Consequences

While scores of college students, out-of-touch academics, and keyboard warriors call for a return to Marxism through these expansive and intrusive censorship policies, it would behoove the citizens of western, free democracies to study the real-world consequences of readily handing over one’s privacy to the State.

It is estimated that the communist ideology, in its variety of forms and practices, has murdered approximately 100 million people globally, which is almost as much as the total number of deaths from World War I and World War II—combined. From Pol Pot’s Khmer Rouge massacres in Cambodia, to Che Guevara’s mass killings of women and minorities, the Marxist ideology has remained consistent in one thing: gain total control, no matter what.

And if you weren’t killed, you were followed.

Under the socialist dictatorship of Nicolae Ceaușescu in Romania, citizens had to wait in breadlines for daily rations. Citizens took care not to speak ill of their leader, or risk receiving an impromptu visit from the Securitate, the secret police force which carefully monitored citizens’ lives and public interactions (sound familiar, UK?). Dissenters were summarily arrested, jailed, and often shipped off to “reeducation” camps, places of torture and abuse where people were stripped of their identities, religion, and personalities in order to create the ideal communist citizen.

The effects of communism are felt even today, with former Soviet satellite states suffering from systematic corruption, bureaucratic bloat, and widespread government inefficiency. The vacuum created by mass killings, intentional starvation, and the creation of multiple cults of personality have left the victims of communism with bitter memories of a very recent totalitarian past.

Unfortunately for them, under the EU’s growing regulatory scheme, we are starting to see a resurgence in Cold War-style surveillance methods in the attempt to monitor, track, and record everything we do on the internet and in real life—and it doesn’t look like it will let up anytime soon.

Sunlight is the Best Disinfectant

We are seeing a global shift towards collectivist policies which gift governments with incredible amounts of power, while the average citizen is left with practically nothing. While countries and international bodies claim that censoring speech, banning political symbols and slogans, and monitoring our every move will make the world a ‘safer place,’ all we get are larger, stronger regulatory machines hell-bent on total control over utterly dependent populations.

While it would be great to live in a world where neither fascism nor communism exists, that just simply is not the case. If we want to successfully combat bad ideas, the solution is not to shut people up, track their every move, and arrest them if they disobey (again, I’m looking at you, UK). If anything, that would only force them down a rabbit hole, and make it impossible to ever get them back out.

Sunlight is the best disinfectant. People should reasonably be allowed to discuss, post, share, and joke about whatever they like. Do you know what’s not reasonable? Handing out jail sentences and fining peaceful citizens for speech considered ‘problematic’ by the current bureaucratic rotation. If we’re trying to prevent dictators, it’s best we don’t become them in the process.

The post This Article is Illegal in the EU appeared first on Free the People.

Socialist Zohran Mamdani calls Capitalism theft. But his radical tax hikes will only hurt the middle class.

NYC Democratic Mayoral Candidate Zohran Mamdani has promised to make the Big Apple more affordable for lower income New Yorkers. How does the 33-year old, self-described democratic socialist plan to make life cheaper? Well, by taxing billionaires and making them “pay their fair share.”

There’s just one problem the billionaire-backed assemblyman doesn’t want you to know about: taxing NYC’s super rich will only push away much needed innovation and business, and lead to higher prices—and taxes—for everyone else.

Socialism’s Cure: Just Hike Up Taxes!

Socialists have long blamed the ultra rich for all of societal woes. From shoddy infrastructure, to low-quality public education, to crime spikes, millionaires and billionaires are the stereotypical scapegoats to justify increasing government regulation. Now, Mamdani is looking to get rid of billionaires altogether, and use a “millionaire’s tax” to fund his ambitious, yet highly unrealistic, social programs.

Mamdani has eagerly shared his views on wealth distribution: “I don’t think that we should have billionaires because, frankly, it is so much money in a moment of such inequality. And ultimately, what we need more of is equality across our city and across our state and across our country, and I look forward to working with everyone, including billionaires, to make a city that is fairer for all of them.”

While his “no cost” childcare program alone is estimated to cost anywhere between $5 to $8 billion a year, it is reasonable to say that Mamdani’s entire platform, from city-wide rent freezes, to government-run grocery stores and free transportation, could cost hundreds of millions—if not billions—in taxpayer dollars.

To match the costs, Mamdani is proposing to increase taxes on the city’s highest-income residents by slapping a flat 2% increase on New Yorkers earning $1 million or more each year. His campaign estimates this would generate $4 billion in incremental revenue. Mamdani also wants to raise the top corporate tax rate from 7.25% to 11.50%, which he claims would add $5 billion to the city’s coffers annually.

This sounds all well and good, but we shouldn’t believe for a second that NYC’s upper class would accept these pay cuts. If anything, they will repeat what they have done in the past: vote with their feet.

Overtaxing NYC’s rich will only come back to bite New Yorkers.

Apart from the fact that Mamdani has no legislative ability to enact these tax hikes himself—as all the power lies with Democrat Governor Kathy Hochul who has yet to pledge her support from the millennial socialist—NYC’s rich won’t go down without a fight, and will most likely flee for greener pastures while the middle-class is left to foot the bill.

New York has suffered a mass exodus of its millionaire residents since 2020. Billionaire hedge fund manager Bill Ackman remarked how Mamdani’s policies would be, “disastrous for NYC [and that] socialism has no place in the economic capital of our country.” This sentiment is shared by David Tepper, another hedge fund manager who, by transferring his residence from New Jersey to Florida, saved over $500 million in taxes. That’s revenue lost by the state, and money gained by business owners who move to more business-friendly states.

This phenomenon is seen nationwide. From 2016 and 2022, California experienced a “taxodus” of high-earning residents after the California Legislature passed Prop 55—a bill which extended California’s 13.3 percent tax rate (the highest in the nation) until 2030. The result? Millionaires left California in droves to states like Nevada, Texas, and Florida, leading to an estimated $1.7 billion loss in revenue. Today, California is still reeling from its $12 billion deficit, and is currently working to cut back on progressive policies and exuberant welfare programs to close in on its enormous debt. So much for “taxing the rich.”

Higher taxes are not only impractical, but inequitable too.

If Mamdani somehow succeeds in passing his extreme tax reforms, we are likely to see yet another exodus of New York’s wealthy elites. The only difference is, the middle and working class residents of NYC will be the ones left to pay for Mamdani’s billion-dollar social policies.

The uncomfortable truth is that wealthy Americans already pay the vast majority of taxes which directly fund these welfare initiatives. Research conducted by @Gieger_Capital presents a startling picture: while Americans who made over $500,000 a year brought in 23 percent of all income earned, they paid 54 percent of all income taxes collected in fiscal year 2024.

In New York specifically, residents who made at least $1 million a year (approximately 86,000 in total) only make up about 0.8 percent of tax filers, yet accounted for 41 percent of the total income taxes collected in fiscal year 2023. Meanwhile, the bottom half of New York taxpayers contributed less than 1 percent. Is Mamdani willing to accept up to a 41 percent cut in New York’s tax revenue by discriminating against his highest revenue producers?

Unfortunately for the majority of New Yorkers, if the millionaires bail once again, they’ll be left with an expensive bill. The top 50 percent of New York taxpayers make up 99.8 percent of the state’s tax revenues. With the ultra-rich either gone or making use of coveted tax loopholes, New York’s middle class remains the backbone of the state’s budget. With ambitious social welfare programs potentially costing billions in taxpayer dollars, New York’s middle class will be obligated to pay for them and to absorb any tax increases which may follow.

Mamdani’s goal to provide government subsidized housing, food, and transport is starting to look like a proper socialist’s dream: promise to tax the rich while eventually forcing the middle class to foot the bill. When will they learn?

The post How a Millionaires’ Tax Would Only Make New York City More Expensive appeared first on Free the People.

Despite promising DOGE cuts and draining the Swamp, Trump’s ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ looks to increase spending in a maneuver that makes you think: “Are there any real Conservatives left?”

Like tens of millions of Americans, I voted for the presidential candidate who promised to drain the Swamp, put money back in our pockets, bring peace, and honor our Constitution.

Trump 2.0 has delivered on promises; from addressing Biden’s migrant crisis, to combating wokeness, to spearheading DOGE investigations, there is no doubt this administration is taking a hands-on approach. However, I notice that a lot of what we’ve seen in the past 130-plus days has been noise, with very little change.

After Trump’s March 4th speech to Congress, I was hopeful for Republicans’ plan to cut wasteful spending, protect Americans, and prioritize our country. After four years of a Biden administration persecuting citizens, fumbling foreign policy, and gaslighting us on a failing economy, this was a breath of fresh air.

But between the ad nauseum TV appearances and Cabinet meetings heaping praise on Trump like no tomorrow, change is taking a backseat to optics. I was hoping for that new era of liberty countless people once prayed for after fleeing dictatorships—my family included.

Unfortunately for us, the Republicans’ ‘One Big Beautiful Bill’ won’t make that dream a reality.

Politicians are more concerned with optics than with creating change.

Since January, Trump has signed 157 (and counting) Executive Orders on issues like the economy, border security, tariffs, and women’s sports. Meanwhile, less than twenty bills have been signed into law—a drop in the ocean compared to how many EOs are left exposed to revocation.

In the same breath, the Republicans’ new ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ does little to actually promote conservative values; it does however add to our crippling national debt and expand federal powers Republicans once strongly criticized as tyrannical.

Representative Thomas Massie (R-KY) called out the Bill as a “ticking time bomb,” that represents “Biden-level spending and increased deficits,” that utterly fails to repeal the ‘Green New Deal’ forced through by the last administration. Senator Ron Johnson (R-WI) says the Bill would increase the deficit by around $22 trillion over the next ten years.

While House Speaker Mike Johnson touts the ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ for cutting $500 billion in funding for ‘Green New Deal’ schemes and transgender surgeries, the Bill does little to roll back Biden’s unconstitutional policies. While conservative estimates calculate that the Bill would increase the cost of the Inflation Reduction Act’s (IRA) energy tax subsidies by $582 billion between 2026 and 2035, the CATO Institute predicted that costs could amount to $4.7 trillion over the next 25 years. That’s billions of our taxpayer dollars going to fund more ‘Green New Deal’ and Obamacare initiatives every single year.

What happened to taking a sledgehammer to the corrupt establishment? What about the Swamp?

There has been much talk on Capitol Hill to codify Elon Musk’s DOGE spending cuts, potentially saving Americans hundreds of billions in bloat discretionary spending. Trump himself has called for “radical transparency” regarding wasteful government spending. Yet despite only needing a simple majority to rescind discretionary spending, Republicans are incapable of living up to their promises; 26 GOP Senators have voted against a reconciliation bill codifying DOGE cuts to programs like USAID and foreign spending. It doesn’t seem we are going to drain the Swamp anytime soon, even with Republican control.

Republicans are failing fiscally, and socially.

Instead of bringing bills to Congress that actually conserve our rights or repeal federal agency overreach, politicians are too busy entertaining laws that would imprison Americans for their speech. A bipartisan-sponsored bill, the IGO Anti-Boycott Act, was set to be voted on in early May, and would have expanded existing, unconstitutional anti-boycott law by making it a federal crime for Americans to participate in internationally-led boycotts against Israeli goods. The punishment? Up to $1 million in fines and up to twenty years imprisonment. Thankfully, the bill was pulled after national outrage from private citizens and politicians alike.

Besides this little bump in the congressional road, there hasn’t really been much action on Capitol Hill to strengthen our constitutional rights and to bring power back to the people.

Since the Republican-led Congress is uninterested in acting on its promise to expand rights like the freedom of speech and the right to bear arms, it’s probable that a Democrat-held Congress could soon sweep in to undo what little progress was made. Deep Blue California and Colorado are already moving to criminalize free speech; when will that be introduced nationally?

While I definitely don’t want a 2024 election do-over, I’m disappointed. From backtracking on a speedy Ukraine ceasefire, to increasing military spending by hundreds of billions, to giving up on draining the Swamp, the Republican establishment has proven itself to be just another big government party.

Neither Republicans nor Democrats have the answer. Libertarianism does.

With Republicans eagerly moving to expand federal powers for their own means, imagine what would happen when a Democrat inevitably retakes the White House. Who will stand up for “the little guy” then?

Everyone is happy to hold onto power—if they can get their hands on it. But when it comes to doing the proper work, of shrinking federal bloat and trimming fiscal fat, our politicians get squeamish, and are quick to forget what made America great in the first place. Gone are the days of leaders who honor the Founding Fathers’ vision of a country where man could determine his own destiny and live his life as he saw fit.

Nowadays, our politicians are trapped in a political rat race where our major parties vie for absolute control while the American taxpayer is forced to foot the bill, no matter the cost. Not sure whether your tax dollars should go to fund forever wars or bloated federal spending? With our Democracy, you can pick both! If the last eight years have taught us anything, it is that Democrats and Republicans are merely different sides to the same exact coin.

It’s about time Americans realized that no politician is going to save them, no matter the slogan, the catchphrase, or the empty promise. The federal government exists for itself, and the only way out of this mess is with less government intervention, not more.

As Ronald Reagan said: “the heart of my philosophy is much more Libertarianism… the conservative, so-called, is the one that says less government, get off my back, get out of my pocket, and let me have more control of my own destiny.”

What I’d give to have a little less government, and a little more freedom… Since neither Republicans nor Democrats seem interested in making that a reality, Libertarianism is starting to look like our last hope to make America great again.

The post This ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ Business Is Turning Me Into a Libertarian appeared first on Free the People.

The West is quick to support “resistance fighters” without considering the immediate, deadly consequences.

The enemy of your enemy… is not your friend. In December of 2024, former President Joe Biden applauded the toppling of Bashar al-Assad’s regime in Syria as a “fundamental act of justice,” and looked forward to working with the new regime to “build a better future for their country.” With Abu Mohammad al-Jolani seizing control and forming a new Islamic government in Syria, American and European politicians began to look forward to rebuilding a “liberated” Syria, one which, unlike its predecessor, would behave more amicably with the West. However, like clockwork, Jolani’s new Syrian government was quick to seize control through violent and merciless force; thousands of Syrian Christians, Alawites, and now Druze, are being gunned down, tortured, raped, and even sold into slavery while Western media now conveniently sticks its head in the sand.

Despite decades of propping up regional “freedom fighters,” why do the U.S. and Western nations never fail at intervening in foreign politics, and consistently work to replace one dictator for a new, more violent, one?

Interventionism—The Foreign Policy That Keeps Failing

Syria’s regime change is nothing new; in fact, it is another prong in a decade-long strategy to oust a leader from power, and install a more Western-friendly head of state. From the CIA’s Operation Timber Sycamore which armed and trained Jihadi rebels to combat Assad, to funding insurgents known for terrorizing Assyrian civilians amidst the fight against ISIS terrorists, to Israel’s attempt to secure a demilitarized zone in Syria, foreign actors have been quick to interject in Syrian politics, even if it means destabilizing the region.

Unfortunately for Syrians, while Assad is out of the picture, a new, more dangerous force has entered the stage: Abu Mohammad al-Jolani, a known al-Qaeda terrorist and jihadi looking to carve out another Sharia state, much like current Taliban-control Afghanistan.

Since Jolani’s rise to power, Syrian minorities have been at the mercy of its extremist rulers. Syrian Christians, along with Alawites, a religious minority in the region, suffered over a thousand dead, as the new Syrian government hunted them down in the streets of cities like Tartus and Latakia. Eye witnesses report on pregnant women, children, and the elderly summarily executed on site, with an rising number of Alawite women and girls abducted and sold into sex slavery—reminiscent of ISIS’ reign just a decade ago.

Now the Jolani-terrorist regime is setting its eyes on the Druze—another cultural and religious minority group systematically targeted by the new regimee—as firefights erupt near the capital of Damascus, resulting in the systematic claiming the lives of over 100 people.

This sort of violent extremism is nothing new. For decades, Syrian minorities have often been threatened with expulsion and death. Having survived under the iron fist of ISIS, locals lived their lives while inundated with slogans like: “The Christians to Beirut and the Alawites to the grave.”

The recent uptick in sectarian killings and jihadist rhetoric brought about by Jolani’s rise doesn’t appear to be slowing anytime soon. Instead of “liberating” the people of Syria like Biden and EU leaders claim to have wanted, we are seeing yet another instance of mass killings, religious cleansing, and the emergence of an ISIS-like regime which falls short of any sort of “democratization” effort. After introducing Sharia and commanding sectarian violence, Jolani is now claiming that it could take up to four years before elections could be conducted in the new Syrian government.

Despite the West’s considerable past involvement, it appears the Syrian situation won’t improve anytime soon.

The Consequences of Inadvertently Funding Extremists Groups

Nearly ten years after President Trump’s phasing out of Timber Sycamore, Syria is now left with more instability, destroyed infrastructure, and forced migration than it began with. Approximately 14 million Syrians have fled their homes since 2011, as the World Bank estimates between $5-7 billion in structural damage throughout the country. Internal fighting continues to yield needless casualties, threatening a peaceful future for remaining civilians. The economic uncertainty and simultaneous rise of Jolani signifies a crucial point in Syria’s contemporary history, and global responses to his rule will determine what happens next.

Some members of the international community and mainstream media are fully invested in legitimizing Syria’s new administration. The United Nations raised the new green, white, and black flag as Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan al-Shibani briefed the UN Security Council last month. His and Jolani’s promise for a “new Syria” is echoed in countless features on BBC, CNN, and the like. Foreign Ministers from France, Germany, and Brussels followed the above pattern of irresponsible endorsement through meetings in Damascus earlier this year. Since then, Jolani’s attended a donor conference hosted by the European Commission, and more recently attended the Antalya Diplomacy Forum in Turkey, a nod to Erdogan’s support for his tenure as Hay’at Tahrir al Sham’s leader in Idlib during the civil war. French President Emmanuel Macron even rolled out the red carpet for a joint press conference in Paris, receiving unexpected mixed responses from an audience eager to hold Jolani accountable for his past.

However, the United States remains cautious, issuing conditions for Jolani and his new cabinet to agree to before rewarding them with sanction relief. From cooperation on counterterrorism efforts to the destruction of chemical weapons storage, the current regime is arguably far from reaching a satisfactory level for America to grant its offered extension of a two-year exemption allowing transactions with Syrian institutions. The future of Syria seems to lie in incentives for its economy, and only time will tell if its jihadist leaders will capitalize on national prosperity, or an expansion of Idlib’s last eight years.

The Goal Is Power, Not Democracy

Unfortunately for the locals, apart from harshly-worded tweets and the obligatory “thoughts and prayers” messages, it doesn’t appear the international community is all too interested in putting an end to the genocide currently underway in Syria. Instead, the West’s decade-long strategy of intervention has effectively begun to balkanize the Syrian state, weakening internal power structures while victimizing the countless minority groups stuck between a bloodthirsty fanatic regime, and Western indifference.

As Jolani’s influence grows in and out of Syria, the chance for survival of minorities in the state slims. While world leaders intend to stabilize the region by funding and training various insurgent groups in the never-ending fight against terrorism and barbarism, the citizens living in regions like Syria are forced to bear the brunt of their decisions, even if it means paying the ultimate price.

War Doesn’t Discriminate

From Iraq to Afghanistan, from Libya to Syria, our politicians have been quick to order regime change and support “freedom fighters” who too often turn out to be worse than their predecessors. While good intentions may be present in these foreign policy decisions, it is glaringly obvious that intervention often leads to power vacuums—and in Syria’s case—thousands of civilian bodies left in the streets as a result.

To add insult to injury, these interventionist measures also damage American lives as well. From Benghazi to the botched Afghanistan withdrawal, American service members have lost their lives thanks to the disastrous political decisions our leaders made while juggling decades-long international conflicts. While security and democracy have been espoused by Western leaders from Washington to Brussels and beyond, it is clear that instability has become a constant in the Middle East, and will continue to be so until the war games cease.

Until then, minority groups in Syria and other failed nations are left at the mercy of global politics, with no one to turn to for help, but themselves.

This article was co-authored by Connor Vasile and Lora Karch. Lora Karch is an independent analyst focusing on geopolitics in the Middle East. Her work has appeared in The National Interest, The Libertarian Institute, and Global Security Review. Find her on X @LoraKarch.

The post Can the West Stop Propping Up Dictators? appeared first on Free the People.

Biden’s preemptive pardons won’t save Democracy; they only strengthen corruption and shield politicians from accountability.

With Trump once again in the White House, media pundits and Democrats are sounding the alarm for what could not only be an opportunity for Trump to “destroy our Democracy,” but to also issue blanket pardons to any and all supporters convicted of crimes or investigated by the previous administration.

And yet, President Biden did exactly that, mere hours before the transfer of executive power on January 20, 2025.

Do As I Say, Not As I Do

Despite repeatedly promising that he would not issue preemptive, blank pardons while in office, Biden has once again gone back on his own word.

Adding to his already bloated record of over 8,000 presidential pardons, Biden has now pardoned additional Biden family members, members of his J6 Investigatory Committee, and Anthony Fauci, for crimes or wrongdoings they may or may not have committed since January 1, 2014.

Biden released a statement justifying his decision: “I believe in the rule of law, and I am optimistic that the strength of our legal institutions will ultimately prevail over politics. But there are exceptional circumstances, and I cannot in good conscience do nothing. Baseless and politically motivated investigations wreak havoc on the lives, safety, and financial security of targeted individuals and their families. Even when individuals have done nothing wrong… and will ultimately be exonerated, the mere fact of being investigated or prosecuted can irreparably damage reputations and finances.”

Despite the fact that, for the past four years, Biden completely weaponized his Justice Department to prosecute peaceful protestors, raid political opponents, and provide preferential treatment, the now-former President claims there can be an exception to the rule of law, if it means protecting ‘innocent’ people—and a pardon would do just that.

Despite his idealism, the law would beg to differ.

Pardons Are For The Guilty

The law is clear: You can’t give pardons to innocent people.

In Burdick v. United States, 236 U.S 79 (1915), the Supreme Court held that a pardon, while an act of grace, does not go into effect until it is accepted by the recipient. Acceptance of a pardon implies an inherent acknowledgement of guilt. The Court also held that while a pardon removes any punishments, it does not outright erase the crime; the pardoned person may still be required to testify on the matter in court.

In other words, a pardon can only be accepted if the recipient acknowledges his or her guilt in a crime, whether that comes in the form of unconstitutionally imprisoning American citizens, conducting dangerous gain-of-function research, or abusing family connections for the purpose of self-enrichment.

Unfortunately for Biden, his Democrat allies agree with this sentiment—especially when it comes to critiquing Trump.

Representative Jamie Raskin (D-MD) commented: “the seeking of pardons is powerful demonstration of the consciousness of guilt or at least the consciousness that you may be in trouble…”

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) once declared that if Trump offered preemptive Presidential pardons to family members and associates, that would signal, “a gross abuse of the presidential pardon authority.”

Senator Adam Schiff (D-CA), when asked if he had ever heard of an innocent person receiving a blanket pardon for all crime, remarked: “No, it’s the President’s [Trump’s] own family—it’s people that had been covering up for the President in addition to his own family…” Schiff also admitted that the act of, “giving preemptive blanket pardons on the way out of an administration […] is a precedent we don’t wanna set.”

Now-pardoned, former-representative Adam Kinzinger once claimed that he wouldn’t want a pardon as, “the second you take a pardon it looks like you’re guilty of something. I’m guilty of nothing…”

While giving pardons has always been a function of the Executive, Biden’s unprecedented blanket pardon scheme, preemptively pardoning individuals who are not even currently under investigation, doesn’t necessarily shout “innocent.” In fact, it establishes a horrible precedent.

In addition to being utterly hypocritical, preemptively pardoning individuals shows the world that a president can absolve his supporters of sin, even before they commit it. Much like the eastern bloc dictators of old, Biden has essentially told American citizens that his government officials are shielded from the rule of law, while everyone else must suffer the consequences. Rules for thee and not for me.

This naturally opens the door to a new problem: the weaponization of presidential pardons to effectively immunize political actors from the rule of law. While Democrats have been crying wolf of a Trump presidency ripping apart the fabric of “American Democracy,” it appears the totalitarians have been hiding in their own backyard all along.

We look to the next four years to see whether this new strain of lawfare will continue, or if our politicians will return to the Founders’ notion of equality under the law.

The post Biden’s 11th Hour Pardons Ridicule the Rule of Law appeared first on Free the People.

With corrupt politicians and never-ending red tape bleeding its citizens dry, it’s only a matter of time before the Big Apple becomes America’s first 15-minute city.

On January 5th, the MTA unveiled America’s first “Congestion Relief Zone.” Under this new regulation, commuters entering Manhattan south of 60th Street will have to pay a tax of $9. The vast majority of New Yorkers won’t be able to avoid this toll during their commutes, as the peak period toll rate applies from 5am to 9pm on weekdays, and from 9am to 9pm on weekends. The MTA and Albany politicians are championing this new addition to New York City’s over-regulated landscape, claiming it will result in 80,000 fewer vehicles driving through Manhattan every day, which they hope will lead to lower traffic congestion and fewer fossil fuel emissions from idling cars, creating a cleaner, safer New York City.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority recognized how bumber-to-bumber traffic was costing upwards of $20 billion a year in lost productivity and thought the best way to alleviate New Yorkers’ financial burden was to charge them more for their daily commute.

But New York politicians are expecting you to thank them. Governor Kathy Hochul (D-NY) was quick to let us know that this new tolling would actually save New Yorkers money—$1,500 a year to be exact—after she compassionately decided to lower the initial proposed cost from $15 per toll, to just $9. If it weren’t for politicians, who would offer us solutions to the problems they themselves created?

Hochul and others are claiming this new toll will also help fund the MTA, which has been hemorrhaging funds and in need of paying off a $33 billion deficit. With the MTA looking to inject taxpayer funds into its bloated $68 billion five-year capital plan, it doesn’t seem as if an infusion of over $6 million a day in “Congestion Relief” tolling will make much of a difference.

Hochul already sees the writing on the wall; despite forcing New Yorkers to pay additional tolls for their daily commutes to work, school, and loved one’s homes, the Governor is flirting with hiking other fees, increasing the payroll mobility tax, and generally making New York more expensive to live in.

Unfortunately for New Yorkers, despite the rise in the cost of living, their hard-earned money is going anywhere but services to make life easier in the Big Apple.

Taxpayer Funds For Everything But New Yorkers

Hochul and other New York Democrats claim the spike in living costs will make New York a safer, healthier, and more prosperous state for all. If that were the case, the state wouldn’t have seen over half a million of its citizens fleeing to free states like Florida and Texas back in 2022. In reality, New York is becoming quite the nanny state; it caters to criminals, illegal migrants, and practically anyone who is not a taxpayer at the expense of working class New Yorkers who are left to foot a hefty bill.

According to the NY State Comptroller, the State spent a total of 1.4 billion in agency funds on “asylum seekers” through December 31, 2024. Meanwhile, the City of New York spent $3.76 billion in Fiscal Year 2024. In fact, in the attempt to free up their overcrowded homeless shelters, NYC’s Department of Homeless Services quietly offered 150 migrant families $4,000 each to resettle into permanent housing, and has even distributed prepaid debit cards for migrants to buy groceries. This Samaritan behavior continues despite the fact that NYC is harboring almost 60,000 illegals who are convicted of or are facing criminal charges. Hochul and her allies see no issue with condoning such behavior by shelling out billions in taxpayer dollars to those who actively break our laws and make our cities less safe.

It must not be an important issue. Despite the numerous, recent viral headlines of subway assaults and murders at the hands of career criminals and illegal aliens, Hochul has been largely silent on the matter. In fact, the Governor and the MTA have both been busy gaslighting the public into thinking New York is America’s safest metropolis, while reality paints everyone else a much starker picture. Need we be reminded of the rampant lawlessness which emerged nationwide since 2020?

The State Knows Best—It’s For Your Safety

New York is certainly becoming one of, if not the worst, places to live in the United States. From untenable rent prices, to costly groceries, to trash-filled streets and violent crime, to an income tax rate that would make the Founding Fathers roll over in their graves, people have had enough. Hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers have fled their home for greener pastures. Meanwhile, New York lawmakers have been busy creating incentives to bring them back: price hikes and punishing law abiding citizens while criminals do as they please. It appears that with each new restriction, toll, and price hike, New York City is starting to look like a 15-minute city, one where you are told where you can go, when, and for what reason.

Hochul and allies tell us how this new congestion relief tolling will help bring about “[l]ess traffic […] cleaner air, safer streets, and better transit” all by “encouraging” Americans to restrict their movement with a commuter penalty. This is not a new idea; 15-minute cities have been championed throughout the world, promising to increase people’s “quality of life,” while reducing carbon emissions. Sound familiar? What better way to bring about a green future than by restricting people’s movement and dictating where they can and cannot go?

Unlike that untenable utopia, American politicians’ constant promises of healthier, safer living fall largely on deaf ears. Despite the news pieces, the skewed data, and the polished press releases, establishment politicians have done anything but make our lives easier.

Having doubts? Just look to New York: they are “safer,” “wealthier,” and more “green” than ever before, and all they have to show for it are overpriced tolls and crime scenes littering their subways.

The post New ‘Congestion Relief Tolling’ Treats New Yorkers Like Guinea Pigs for a Failing Progressive Agenda that Just Won’t Quit appeared first on Free the People.

Donald Trump’s sweep in both the electoral and popular votes points to the ugly elephant in the room: Democrats have abandoned working class and minority voters, while the GOP could offer a future for all.

As a son of two Romanian immigrants who survived communism, I have always been surrounded by sons and daughters of immigrants from every corner of the world; that was the beauty of growing up in New York City. Regardless of who you were, where your roots stem from, or what accent you don, you’re an American now—that’s all that mattered, or at least it did at one point.

Since I could remember, the Democratic Party has crowned itself the party of “the little guy,” the disenfranchised, the oppressed, and the unseen. From Gore to Obama, Clinton to Biden and Harris, every recent democratic presidential candidate ran their campaigns on representing minority groups outside the norm of the “white male voter.” The Democrats proudly claim that they protect minorities from workplace discrimination, violence, microaggressions, and existential threats to democracy, as the champions of diversity and inclusion.

Unfortunately for them, actions speak louder than words, no matter how hard one screams.

Diversity is Celebrated Only When it’s Convenient

There has been a palpable shift in our political culture since 2016. No longer do we have civil, practical dialogues on foreign and domestic policy; we now have ad hominem attacks labeling one side as all Marxists and the other as white supremacists and domestic terrorists. Despite being in power for twelve of the last sixteen years, Democrats have done little to cash in on their promise to protect the voter base they pride themselves on holding. Meanwhile, if you call out the Democrats’ linaction, you will be shamed and labeled a race-traitor, an Uncle Tom, and a misogynist for speaking your mind.

Liberals’ Strategy Shift Abandons Minorities for Power

From Barack Obama abandoning the people of Flint, Michigan who continue to suffer from their toxic water supply, to Joe Biden failing to provide adequate aid to the people of Maui, Hawaii and East Palestine, Ohio after natural disasters left countless homeless and without aid, to Kamala Harris offering a measly $750 to victims of Hurricane Helene, the Democrats don’t seem to care for the “little guy” much. All their talk on being inclusive to “lived experiences” seem to fall short of any practical policy action. It’s almost as if their entire strategy lies solely on “getting Trump.” This shouldn’t be surprising, the Biden-Harris Administration has been worrying more about “misinformation” and their political opponents than bringing down the cost of gas and eggs.

For the past 8 years, Americans have been inundated with never-ending calls from legacy media to protect the nation from the “threat to our democracy” which is Donald Trump. While Americans struggle with constant inflation, a rise in unreported crime, and the potential for escalated world conflict, the media and the Democratic Party have been hard at work painting Trump as the ultimate evil for this country, while evading our pleas to fix the problems we all face here at home.

November 5, 2024, will forever serve as a wake-up call to Democrats. Demonizing half of the country and equating the most popular American politician with Nazis will no longer bring in the votes.

Democrat Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes remarked: “Why are we losing these people? Why are we losing firefighters? Why are we losing cops? Why are we losing blue collar working men? … Because we’re very consistent in our messaging away from them—away from their traditional family values, away from their personal economic concerns and their family’s economic concerns, and that is a hard political pill for Democrats to swallow.”

Exit polls agree. Trump crushed the Blue Wall by winning Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Michigan. Nationally, Trump seized 55% of non-college educated voters, up from 51% in both the 2020 and 2016 elections. He also gained with females, receiving around 45% of the women vote compared to 43% in 2020.

What is so telling about this election cycle is that the Democrats are also losing a substantial share of their minority support—a demographic which has historically been loyal to the Party. Trump easily won Latino men by 10 points, a group Clinton won in 2016 by 31 points, and by Biden in 2020 by 23 points. Harris only won Latina women by 24 points, compared to Clinton’s 44. In fact, Trump won 46% of the national Latino vote, the most of any Republican candidate in modern times. He also received 20% of the black male vote, doubling his returns from 2016 and 2020.

Trump experienced a significant net positive shift in practically every voter base compared to 2020.

Democrats are currently scratching their heads as to why they did so poorly among minorities and women. How could the disenfranchised and oppressed vote for Orange Hitler? This sort of pretentious mindset has plagued the Democratic Party for decades now. Instead of helping Americans where they need it most, whether it be fixing inflation, securing the border, or encouraging job growth, the Democrats would rather play the game of identity politics and bet on their historic support from these communities. Unfortunately for them, it bit them in the rear on November 5th.

I am not my race. I am not my ethnicity. I am not simply a child of immigrants who should automatically vote for the party who “claims us.” I’m an American; I want to see this country and its people succeed. Over 76 million other Americans share my sentiment. With Trump winning both the popular vote and 312 electoral votes, it is clear that Americans from all walks of life are tired of being lumped in superficial boxes by a party that concerns itself more with consolidating political power than actually helping American citizens. The Republican Party is now the true big-tent party, and racial grandstanding no longer has a place in our nation.

The post As a Son of Immigrants, Trump’s Victory Spells a New Hope for Americans Abandoned by the Democratic Party appeared first on Free the People.

It’s Not Incompetence; They Just Don’t Care

With a deficit of $1.6 trillion dollars, one would think Congress is hard at work distributing hundreds of millions to Americans overwhelmed by natural disasters, economic strife, and health emergencies. Considering the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has an annual budget of around $30 billion dollars, the federal government should be more than prepared to deal with any natural disasters, right?

On October 2, 2024, Vice President Harris announced that: “the federal relief and assistance that we have been providing has included—FEMA providing—$750 for folks who need immediate needs being met, such as food, baby formula and the like, and you can apply now for anyone who’s watching this who has been affected. There are FEMA personnel who are going door-to-door to interact personally with folks, especially those who do not have electricity… that aid, if you have electricity, can be applied for online.”

Stranded Americans will receive $750 to get back on their feet—but only after they apply online and confirm their home address.

Despite its immense budget, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas announced that FEMA is strapped for cash and is unable to provide disaster relief throughout the hurricane season. Unfortunately, it’s not as if FEMA has been busy at work elsewhere. The agency has been sitting on a pile of unliquidated funds intended to help victims of previous natural disasters.

FEMA has been doing little to actually provide those billions to afflicted families. To put it in perspective, the disaster relief funds intended for victims of Hurricane Sandy in 2012 were set to be dispersed by 2016—about $5 billion in that disaster relief is still sitting around, unused. In addition, FEMA has recently halted nationwide relief projects intended to rebuild communities hit by natural disasters, with no clear timeline as to when they will resume.

The Fed Busies Itself With Foreign Politics, and Ignores Its Own Citizens

According to FEMA’s 2024 fiscal year awards report, over $640 million have been redirected “to enable non-federal entities to off-set allowable costs incurred for services associated with noncitizen migrant arrivals in their communities.” That’s a $276.2 million increase from 2023’s allocation, which topped off at $363.8 million in FEMA funds.

Even while there are reportedly 13,000 illegal aliens with murder convictions who have been apprehended and released into the United States, and over half a million more with criminal convictions or pending charges, the federal government has no qualms providing over $1 billion in taxpayer dollars to illegals rather than helping American citizens.

Just a week after Hurricane Helene made landfall, Secretary of State Anthony Blinken posted on X: “The U.S. is at the forefront of humanitarian response to the growing crisis in Lebanon, announcing nearly $157 million in assistance today. We are committed to supporting those in need and delivering essential aid to displaced civilians, refugees and the communities hosting them.”

The U.S. government has no problem providing hundreds of millions to Lebanon, and many billions more to the forever-war in Ukraine, but if you try to conduct voluntary rescue trips to save stranded North Carolinians, you will be threatened with arrest.

This isn’t surprising; the government holds a steady track record of ignoring Americans in their times of need. Lest we forget how President Obama abandoned the people of Flint, MI after drinking water allegedly from the city’s own supply. How about when it took President Biden a full year to visit East Palestine, OH for a photo op? Or when the Biden-Harris Administration pledged $12 billion in FEMA relief for Hawaiians who lost their homes to the Maui fires last year? Despite federal promises, many Hawaiians are still homeless and struggling to rebuild their lives. At least they received one-time $700 payments from FEMA…

Harris’ superficial promises of aid are falling on deaf ears. The federal government has shown time and time again that, while it certainly has billions in funds to help Americans suffering from natural disasters and economic turmoil, it simply chooses not to. The Fed’s priorities show, and they are clearly not toward helping American citizens when they need it most.

Maybe the next time a politician makes grand promises like government-subsidized housing aid, or student loan forgiveness in the attempt to garner support, it would be best to remember the words of former President Ronald Reagan: “The nine most terrifying words in the English language are: I’m from the Government, and I’m here to help.”

The post You’re Only Worth $750, According to the U.S. Government appeared first on Free the People.