Opinion
I am more than just a “wallet”.
I am more than just a wallet.
I am a son, a brother, a husband, a father and a grand-father. I am a home owner, a tax payer, and a resident of Red Deer, of Alberta, of Canada and of earth. I am a regular joe.
So why do I feel ignored by our political leaders? Why do they keep talking about my wallet?
My wallet is pretty thin compared to those, fat wallets, that the accountants said the tax system favors. Political leaders keep talking about cutting taxes and services and I realize that very few of the cuts negatively affect the people making the promises.
I have always thought about the level of importance by people on various issues. If I thought money would provide as much happiness as a grandchild’s smile then I might be more worried about my wallet.
Now that I am thinking about my wallet, I appreciate that Alberta’s economy is leading the country in growth for another year. But my wallet-thinking acquaintances are screaming doom and gloom and calling for change. Will they ever be happy?
I sense that wallet-thinking, means children riding on a school bus sometimes 45 minutes twice a day. Heart attack victims travelling great distances for health care. Seniors being separated, by great distances, in their final years. Long commutes for children involved in sports or extra-curricular activities.
When April 30 comes around, I still get bothered by the taxes remitted, but for the 364 other days of the year I seldom think about it.
I believe that I have a blessed life, and I would want everyone else to be able to have one, too. If that makes me a socialist, or a much maligned left-winger, then so be it.
Just remember that I am more than just a wallet.
Business
Musk vs. The Swamp: Will He and Trump Make Real Cuts?
From StosselTV
Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) are here – but will they be able to fix our budget crisis?
Our government is $36 trillion in debt, yet it keeps wasting money on absurd projects like $118,000 to study if metal fingers can snap (spoiler alert: they can’t) and $700,000 to research parrot mating habits. It also spends more than a TRILLION in subsidies to state and local governments. Meanwhile, Washington sits on 300,000 buildings, many of which are unused, and land worth TRILLIONS of dollars. Yet instead of selling, it keeps buying more.
Chris Edwards of the Cato Institute says the first thing DOGE should cut are the subsidies to state and local governments. Then, they should slash the $180 billion a year spent in subsidies for corporations. But even if Musk’s new DOGE eliminates these expenses, the real culprits (Medicare and Social Security) are off limits.
So will DOGE be enough? Our new video above takes a look.
After 40+ years of reporting, I now understand the importance of limited government and personal freedom.
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Libertarian journalist John Stossel created Stossel TV to explain liberty and free markets to young people.
Prior to Stossel TV he hosted a show on Fox Business and co-anchored ABC’s primetime newsmagazine show, 20/20. Stossel’s economic programs have been adapted into teaching kits by a non-profit organization, “Stossel in the Classroom.” High school teachers in American public schools now use the videos to help educate their students on economics and economic freedom. They are seen by more than 12 million students every year.
Stossel has received 19 Emmy Awards and has been honored five times for excellence in consumer reporting by the National Press Club. Other honors include the George Polk Award for Outstanding Local Reporting and the George Foster Peabody Award.
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To get our new weekly video from Stossel TV, sign up here: https://www.johnstossel.com/#subscribe —————————
Business
CIA Offers To Payout Entire Agency: REPORT
From the Daily Caller News Foundation
By Hailey Gomez
The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) reportedly offered payouts to its entire workforce Tuesday, according to The Wall Street Journal.
The CIA has apparently become the first intelligence agency to offer its employees a way out, as they were reportedly offered a bid to quit their jobs in exchange for roughly eight months of pay and benefits, the outlet reported. Trump administration officials told the outlet that the move is a signal to help those who oppose President Donald Trump’s agenda find other work.
In addition to the offer, the WSJ reported that an aide to CIA Director John Ratcliffe said the agency is freezing its hiring for job seekers with conditional offers, with some expected to be rescinded if the agents don’t have the background necessary for the agency’s new direction.
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“Director Ratcliffe is moving swiftly to ensure the CIA workforce is responsive to the Administration’s national security priorities. These moves are part of a holistic strategy to infuse the Agency with renewed energy, provide opportunities for rising leaders to emerge, and better position the CIA to deliver on its mission,” a CIA spokesperson told the Daily Caller News Foundation.
Ratcliffe was confirmed as the CIA’s new leader on Jan. 23, after the Senate approved him in a 74-25 vote. In his opening remarks during his confirmation process, Ratcliffe said he would adhere to the CIA’s core mission and focus on threats from the Chinese Communist Party.
“We will collect intelligence — especially human intelligence — in every corner of the globe, no matter how dark or difficult,” Ratcliffe said in his testimony. “We will produce insightful, objective, all-source analysis, never allowing political or personal biases to cloud our judgement or infect our products. We will conduct covert action at the direction of the president, going places no one else can go and doing things no one else can do.”
The move from the CIA comes a week after the U.S. Office of Personnel Management released an email on Jan. 28, showing that millions of federal employees were offered deferred compensation through Sept. 30, provided they submit their resignation notices by Feb. 6.
“If you choose to remain in your current position, we thank you for your renewed focus on serving the American people to the best of your abilities and look forward to working together as part of an improved federal workforce,” the email said. “At this time, we cannot give you full assurance regarding the certainty of your position or agency but should your position be eliminated you will be treated with dignity and will be afforded the protections in place for such positions.”
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