As I watch from afar, I wonder how Americans can take it. Seriously, American taxpayer largesse pays for untold amounts of charity, though it's coerced from them through tax. I don't know who said it, but he was right: the profits of capitalism pay for the follies of socialism.
How do we measure such things?
It seems that deficits still don't matter to most; in fact, too many people profit from them to force the government to be fiscally responsible.
Even if The Donald gets back behind the Resolute desk after the election, he certainly won't make Congress behave with America's money. He almost certainly will prove Milton Freeman correct. Freeman once wrote, "Nothing is so permanent as a temporary government program."
As Obama's programs became Trump's, Trump's programs became Biden's (and then some). I suspect a Trump 47 presidency will return the favor.
This won't stop until the American people force their government's hand. And, quite frankly, the people aren't angry enough yet. So, the goal of today's piece is to get you angry. And then, I'd like you to pass this piece along to get your friends angry. And then they can pass it to their friends and so on.
You'll sit there in astonishment as you read and ask yourself the same question I've been asking myself:
What's the diameter of the American taxpayer's cornhole?
It's a fair question, though not as bad as asking a woman how old she is. It’s harsh but fair. The way it should be. The last time someone got bent over this hard, Chevy Chase was singing Moon River.
And it's the entire country's tax base!
Take, for instance, this peach of a piece that's no longer available on Ukrainska Pravda:
Credit: @Liz_Churchill10
Luckily, a website called The Intel Drop got to the article before it was unceremoniously taken down. It reads:
Military and civilian authorities in Ukraine's Kharkov Region paid millions of dollars to fake companies for the supply of non-existent building materials to construct defensive fortifications, the newspaper Ukrainska Pravda reported on Monday. With no fortifications built, Russian forces have advanced rapidly through the region.
Russia has seized dozens of towns and villages in the northern part of Kharkov Region after launching an offensive last Friday. According to the latest update from the Russian Defense Ministry, Russian troops had captured the village of Bugrovatka on Monday and are inflicting losses on Ukrainian manpower and hardware near Veseloye, Volchansk, and Liptsi, the latter of which is located just 20km from the outskirts of Kharkov city.
Writing in Ukrainska Pravda on Monday, Ukrainian anti-corruption activist Martina Boguslavets explained that Kharkov's Department of Housing and Communal Services (ZhKG) and Regional Military Administration (OVA) had been given 7 billion hryvnias ($176.5 million) to build fortifications to hold back this advance.
The article continued:
Much of this money was embezzled, Boguslavets claimed. For the supply of wood, the ZhKG and OVA signed contracts worth 270 million hryvnias ($6.8 million) with five companies that were set up immediately after the contracts were announced. No bidding process took place, and at least two of these companies were owned by the same person, Boguslavets wrote.
"Moreover, the owners of these firms do not resemble successful businessmen and businesswomen," she wrote. "They have dozens of court cases, from whiskey theft to domestic violence against a husband and mother; some of them are deprived of parental rights and have had enforcement proceedings for bank loans."
Boguslavets described these business owners as "avatars," placed in charge of the companies either for a small fee or without their knowledge. One of the supposed CEOs, whose firm was paid 52 million hryvnias ($1.3 million), is an agricultural laborer, according to Boguslavets' documents.
"The naked eye can see how a government official mercilessly registers new companies, using for this purpose people who, due to the circumstances, may not be aware of this," she wrote. "And this someone continues to make money on blood."
Ah, it's only $175 million of the $61 billion the House sent to Ukraine, $26 billion for Israel and $8 billion for Taiwan.
As Senator John Blutarsky might have said, "$95 billion down the drain."
But let's not even worry about the money going out of the country. What about the money staying in the country?
Redistribution. The Left loves it. The Big Government Right pretends not to. The Small Government Right and every American breadwinner hates it.
My good friend and ace copywriter at Paradigm, Mohan Garikiparithi, put together a list of all the perks the undocumented migrants get. You know, those people who illegally invade America through the unprotected southern border.
Mohan lives in Kanada, so he's just an innocent bystander taking notes. In case you’re wondering, he entered Kanada by plane.
Let's get into it.
The former Greatest City on Earth(TM) pays over $300 per night for budget hotel rooms to house migrants. According to Bloomberg, the cost of housing migrants is an estimated $4.3 billion between April 2022 and July 2024. Mayor Eric Adams says he must cut city services to afford it. On the bright side, Adams would like these migrants to become lifeguards.
"How do we have a large body of people that are in our city, our country, that are excellent swimmers and at the same time we need lifeguards and the only obstacle is that we won't give them the right to work to become a lifeguard. That just doesn't make sense."
Mayor or Village Idiot? You be the judge!
Governor Whitmer is offering homeowners $500 per month to host illegal immigrants so those new people can vote for her in the next election.
The state of Colorado is purchasing a gym for $4 million to house immigrants. Colorado is also giving stipends of up to $2,000 to host migrants. This is what happens when too many Left Coast skiers invade your polity.
Minnesota introduced guaranteed basic income for migrants in HF 2666 in March. It provides $500 monthly payments for 18 to 24 months to help support an undocumented immigrant's basic needs. I'm sure the residents of Little Mogadishu are pleased as punch, as they won't be paying for it.
Here's a list of other crimes against common sense:
In 45 states, police don't have the authority to ask for immigration status. This is utter lunacy.Twenty states allow illegal immigrants to attend public college at regular in-state fees. (Normally, aliens pay 3x to 4x the in-state fees.)Ten states allow illegal immigrants to get a driver’s license even though they don't have a Social Security Number (SSN). Americans must show an SSN to get one.Asylum seekers can get an SSN even if their papers aren't processed after 6 months.4 million illegal migrants will get work permits and protection against deportation.This isn't some naive bit of compassion or pity. This is bribery, pure and simple. But the Democrats are bribing the invaders, not the natives, for their vote. And you wonder why Democrats are against voter ID?
Of course, this is The State redistributing your money to some stranger who came into America without an invitation. You didn't get asked, but you're paying for it.
I hope the country comes to its senses. From Ukraine to Israel to Taiwan and back to America, citizens are parted from their Treasury. It's your money. You must decide what to do with it.
If you keep leaving the allocation decisions to the government, you won't have much treasure left.
As for your cornhole, keep it tight!
The Daily Reckoning