Author: adler

By Casey Harper (The Center Square)
President Joe Biden released his 2024 budget Thursday that includes a trove of tax hikes, quickly sparking pushback from critics.
The White House said the budget will cut deficits by nearly $3 trillion over the next decade. Critics argued that despite those cuts, the national debt is still soaring, projected to surpass $50 trillion in the next decade.
The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget said despite Biden’s claims, U.S. Gross Domestic Product would increase from 98% at the end of this year to a record 110% by 2033.
“The President’s budget would borrow $19 trillion through 2033 and increase the debt-to-GDP ratio from 98 percent at the end of 2023 to 110 percent by 2033, past the record set in this nation just after WWII,” said Maya MacGuineas, president of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget. “It would spend $10.2 trillion on interest payments on the national debt alone – more than it will spend on defense or Medicaid over the same time period.”
MacGuineas said Biden deserves “real credit” for the cuts he did make but said more is needed.
“Most of this massive borrowing is the result of policies put in place years ago by Democratic and Republican administrations and Congresses alike, but it will require presidential leadership to enact real changes, and this budget does not go nearly far enough to make reining in our dangerous debt levels a top national priority,” she said.
Related: Democrats Vote To ‘Rein In’ Biden’s Executive Orders
Presidents release these budgets annually as guideposts to set the priorities for their agenda since there is little hope the budget will be accepted wholesale.
“It’s built on four key values: lowering costs for families, protecting and strengthening Social Security and Medicare, investing in America, and reducing the deficit by ensuring that the wealthiest in this country and big corporations begin to pay their fair share, and cutting wasteful spending on Big Pharma, Big Oil, and other special interests,” Office of Management and Budget Director Shalanda Young told reporters on a press call.
The budget includes several proposed tax increases, including a minimum 25% tax on anyone with more than $100 million, an increase of the top marginal income tax rate to 39.6%, a hike of the corporate tax rate from 21% to 28%, a billionaire’s tax, and more.
Small businesses raised the alarm about the higher tax rates.
“President Biden’s tax increases will hit small to mid-size businesses,” Karen Kerrigan, SBE Council president and CEO, said. “The sizable increases take aim at many struggling firms as they work to recover, compete, and operate during an unstable and inflationary period.”
The White House has emphasized since Biden took office that any tax increases would only hit the wealthiest Americans. Kerrigan took issue with this claim as well.
“According to reports,” she said. “President Biden’s budget would – among other harmful proposals aimed at business and investors – raise taxes on individuals making $400,000 or more, ‘the wealthy,’ and corporations (again, many small businesses fall within the President’s targeted group of taxpayers) by hiking the top marginal income tax rate from 37 percent to 39.6 percent; increasing the corporate tax rate from 21 percent to 28 percent; doubling the capital gains tax rate from 20 percent to 39.6 percent and imposing a new wealth tax on unrealized gains; increasing the Medicare tax rate on earned and unearned income above $400,000 from 3.8 percent to 5 percent; and expanding the Net Investment Income Tax (NIIT) to include the active income of pass-through business owners and raise the rate from 3.8 percent to 5 percent.”
The budget proposal comes as Congress faces a looming debt ceiling deadline. Lawmakers have to raise the debt ceiling or default on U.S. debt obligations, an unprecedented occurrence that would send shockwaves through the global economy. Republicans want to use the coming cliff to negotiate, but Biden has said he will not negotiate.
Related: IRS Leaked Thousands Of Americans’ Tax Filings; Congress Demands Answers
Republicans also leveled criticism at Biden’s budget, suggesting the debt ceiling battle won’t be easy.
“President Biden just delivered his budget to Congress, and it is completely unserious,” said House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif. “He proposes trillions in new taxes that you and your family will pay directly or through higher costs. Mr. President: Washington has a spending problem, not a revenue problem.”
Democrats defended the budget, pointing again to the reduced deficits and a range of spending proposals to help Americans.
“The Biden budget plan protects Social Security, strengthens Medicare and invests in our children,” said House Minority Leader Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y.
Syndicated with permission from The Center Square.
The post Biden Touts New Budget With Tax Hikes, Critics Push Back appeared first on The Political Insider.

By Bethany Blankley (The Center Square)
A 19-month-old girl died from fentanyl poisoning after being exposed to the lethal opioid unbeknownst to the parents who booked a vacation rental in Florida. Her death occurred in August 2021, but a recently filed lawsuit against Airbnb and others brings to light the reality parents are facing on a daily basis, authorities say: children are dying from fentanyl.
Lydie and Boris Lavenir and their children traveled from the French Caribbean island of Guadeloupe to Wellington, Florida, near West Palm Beach, for vacation. They arrived at their Airbnb rental and after their daughter played and went down for a nap, she never woke up, according to the lawsuit. By the time paramedics arrived, it was too late. The Lavenirs didn’t know their daughter died from fentanyl poisoning until an autopsy was performed.
Their attorney, Thomas Scolaro, told Fox & Friends First they had “plans for a nice, simple family vacation. Everything seemed fine. They put their baby down for a nap after she played in the house for a little bit and then go to wake her up a few hours later, and they were met with a lifeless body. It’s just every parent’s absolute worst nightmare.”
Law enforcement officers were unable to identify the source of fentanyl in the rental, no criminal charges were filed, and the Palm Beach Sheriff’s Office confirmed the case was closed, The Washington Post reported. However, the Lavenirs filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Airbnb, the property owner, the rental manager and a prior renter who allegedly held a party where cocaine was present. Because investigators couldn’t determine how the child ingested fentanyl, her death was listed as accidental, the Post reported.
Without commenting on the lawsuit, an Airbnb spokesperson told several news outlets, “Our hearts go out to the Lavenir family and their loved ones for this devastating loss.”
Related: Karine Jean-Pierre Mocked Over Claims Fentanyl at the Border at Historic Lows: ‘They Think You’re Stupid’
Upon hearing of the child’s death, Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody tweeted it was “heartbreaking” and a result of “[President] Joe Biden’s America – Mexican fentanyl is now so widespread that kids 14 & under are the fastest-growing age group overdosing.”
She’s referring to a recent report published by Families Against Fentanyl that found that children under age 14 are dying from fentanyl poisoning at a faster rate than any other age group in America. It notes that synthetic opioid (fentanyl) poisoning is still the leading cause of death among Americans between ages 18 and 45.
The Laviner’s lawsuit news comes after a 10-month-old last December was saved after being exposed to fentanyl by crawling on grass at a California park and after Hays County, Texas, resident Brandon Dunn testified before Congress last month about his son’s death from fentanyl poisoning.
Because illicit fentanyl is being brought into the U.S. through the southern border, Dunn said, “given the lethality of this drug any amount smuggled in in a backpack or a fanny pack or even in somebody’s pocket can be enough to kill thousands of people. It’s not just a border checkpoint issue. Without immediate medical intervention, a person is not likely to survive. That’s how fast it kills.”
Moody has more than once called on the Biden administration to designate fentanyl as a weapon of mass destruction, leading a coalition of 18 attorneys general calling on the president to take action. They’ve received no response. FAF also called on the Biden administration to classify fentanyl as a WMD and received no response.
On Wednesday, Moody again called on the president, saying, “Biden, do your job, secure the border & protect our children.”
While Florida law enforcement officers are actively thwarting cartel operations facilitating fentanyl smuggling into the state, the volume is greater than their efforts. In just a few months’ time last year, for example, enough fentanyl was seized to kill everyone in Florida.
Related: Arizona Troopers Seize Enough Fentanyl To Kill Nearly 800,000 People
In Texas, law enforcement officials since March 2021 have seized enough fentanyl to kill more than everyone in America. In fiscal 2021 and 2022, U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents seized enough fentanyl to kill five billion people.
Moody’s Dose of Reality, One Pill Can Kill website includes resources to educate the public about the dangers of fentanyl. It’s Fast Facts on Fentanyl toolkit includes a DEA Emoji Drug Code to educate parents about how digital dealers are selling illicit drugs targeting minors through social media apps.
Federal and state law enforcement leaders are urging Americans nationwide to have the life-saving drug Naloxone/Narcan on hand at all times. The generic/brand drug has been proven to reverse an opioid overdose if administered quickly enough. It’s accessible in most pharmacies with and without a prescription and with or without insurance in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.
Syndicated with permission from The Center Square.
The post 19 Month-Old’s Drug-Poisoning Death Reveals Reality Of Fentanyl Crisis appeared first on The Political Insider.

Democrat Rep. Cori Bush turn things for a turn during a recent House committee hearing regarding fossil fuels on Wednesday when she accused one of the witnesses of being a racist.
Before things went off the rails, Bush started her opening statement by first going after the oil industry at large before intentionally derailing the topic by accusing an unidentified witness as being a white supremacist.
“If House Republicans actually cared about preventing an energy and economic crisis from happening, they would commit to investing in renewable energy,” she said. “Unfortunately, there are no serious proposals being offered. Rising inflation, caused by Russia’s violent invasion of Ukraine and COVID-19 related supply chain shortages, combined with dangerous corporate greed and reliance on fossil fuels, has left the United States in a tenuous position.”
From there, she further criticized her GOP peers for bringing in “for-profit think tanks and oil-titans” that aim to allegedly maximize profits at the expense of lower income minorities. 
At that point, she pulled out the race-card.

WATCH Ranking Member @RepCori deliver her opening statement during today’s @GOPoversight absurd hearing to promote Big Oil policies and defend America’s reliance on fossil fuels: pic.twitter.com/IZXpbAUA4P
— Oversight Committee Democrats (@OversightDems) March 8, 2023

RELATED: A Non-Binary Oklahoma Democrat Tried Harboring a Fugitive Who Assaulted a Police Officer – Now She’s Been Censured
Racist Big Oil?
According to Bush during the hearing, “One of these so-called ‘energy experts’ is a philosopher who has previously espoused white supremacist views.”
“For instance, in his 2000 college newspaper, he wrote ‘the African and American studies department has 23 classes and many of these classes African culture is presented not as…” Bush said before another member of the committee began to cut her off.
“Mr. Chairman, I ask the gentlelady’s words be taken down,” said Republican Rep. Lauren Boebert. “She just called the witness a white supremacist.”
“No, I referred to the words, not to the person,” Bush replied.
“The gentlelady is referring to the witness statement and referred to him as a white supremacist, I would like a parliamentary decree having the gentlelady’s words taken down,” Boebert requested.
Boebert continued by asking the chairman if it was “appropriate for ranking members to show respect to the witnesses who are here, present in the room today?”
“I would like that sentiment to be expressed and the members reminded to show respect to our witnesses who are here today.”

RELATED: House Ethics Committee Finds ‘Substantial Reason to Believe’ AOC Improperly Accepted Gifts, May Have Violated Federal Law
What Were The ‘Racist’ Remarks?
Bush was allowed to continue speaking from that point on, “As I was saying, the African and African-American Studies Department, this is the quote, ‘has 23 classes in many of these classes, African culture is presented not as inferior to Western culture, but as one equal footing with it in other departments. The same is done with Latin American, Indian, and American Indian culture’.”
She continued, adding that “When confronted about these views over two decades later, rather than disavow them, he doubled down on this narrative saying, quote, ‘It has nothing to do with skin color. I was arguing that those cultures overall are inferior to Western culture.’ We are not inferior to any culture. Speaking as the descendant of one of those cultures, this is the witness the Republicans invited to discuss issues of energy security.”
Bush was referencing opinions made by Alex Epstein, the president of the Center for Industrial Progress.
What are your thoughts on Bush taking a hearing based on fossil fuels and turning it into a debate regarding race? Let us know in the comments below and across social media.

Now is the time to support and share the sources you trust.
The Political Insider ranks #3 on Feedspot’s “100 Best Political Blogs and Websites.”

The post Progressive ‘Squad’ Member Rep. Cori Bush Calls Witness a ‘White Supremacist’ Out of Nowhere During Hearing on Fossil Fuels appeared first on The Political Insider.

By Bethany Blankley (The Center Square)
Since Gov. Katie Hobbs was sworn into office in January, the number of foreign nationals illegally entering Arizona has increased primarily in the U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s Tucson Sector. And as several factors, including Texas expanding border security efforts, are resulting in illegal border crossings increasing further west, law enforcement officials say Arizona can expect greater numbers.
Arizona’s 378 miles of shared border with Mexico is patrolled by agents in two CBP sectors of Tucson and Yuma. Last month, agents in both sectors combined apprehended 36,296 foreign nationals, up from 33,193 in January.
They also reported 19,698 gotaways last month, up from 13,968 in January, according to preliminary data obtained by The Center Square from a Border Patrol agent. The agent provided the information on condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation. It only includes Border Patrol data and excludes Office of Field Operations data.
Tucson Sector’s 262 shared border miles with Mexico extends from the Yuma County line to the Arizona-New Mexico state line. Yuma Sector’s nearly 182,000 square miles of primarily desert terrain extends from Imperial Sand Dunes in California to the Yuma-Pima County line.
Broken down by sector, last month Tucson Sector agents apprehended 25,371 foreign nationals and reported at least 18,603 gotaways, according to the data.
Related: Allegations Made to AZ Senate Committee Claiming Gov. Katie Hobbs and Other Officials Took Bribes From Sinaloa Drug Cartel
This is up from January, when they apprehended 21,300 foreign nationals and reported 13,257 gotaways.
It’s also up from a year ago, according to preliminary data previously reported by The Center Square. In February 2022, Tucson Sector agents apprehended 22,295 foreign nationals and reported 16,488 gotaways. In January 2022, they apprehended 18,461 foreign nationals and reported 13,250 gotaways, according to the data.
By contrast, Yuma Sector’s numbers overall were down. Last month, agents apprehended 10,295 foreign nationals and reported 1,095 gotaways, according to the data; down from January’s 11,893 apprehensions but up from January’s 711 reported gotaways.
In February 2022, Yuma Sector reported 22,893 apprehensions and 3,134 gotaways; in January 2022, 25,070 apprehensions and 2,516 gotaways, according to the data.
Overall in fiscal 2022, nearly 816,000 foreign nationals were apprehended or evaded law enforcement after illegally entering Arizona, according to Border Patrol data obtained by The Center Square.
Gotaways refers to those who are known and reported to illegally enter the U.S. primarily between ports of entry who intentionally seek to evade capture by law enforcement and don’t return to Mexico. They don’t arrive at ports of entry claiming asylum or making other immigration claims and are mostly single military age men who are considered dangerous, Tucson Sector Border Patrol Chief John Modlin testified before Congress last month.
“The smuggling organizations to our south are very well organized and resourceful,” he said, referring to Mexican cartels. “Each and every person crossing through the Tucson Sector must pay these criminal organizations,” he said. “The migrants we encounter are completely outfitted in camouflage by the smuggling organizations before they cross. Most run from and fight our agents to avoid apprehension. Many are previously deported felons who know they are inadmissible to the United States and many pose a serious threat to our communities.”
Related: Arizona Troopers Seize Enough Fentanyl To Kill Nearly 800,000 People
Due to several factors, including Texas’ expanded border security efforts, illegal border crossings are increasing farther west, including in the Tucson Sector, which reported the greatest number of gotaways last month.
As Texas Gov. Greg Abbott continues to beef up apprehension efforts and the Texas legislature prepares to allocate nearly $5 billion to border security efforts, Hobbs has vowed to defund Arizona’s Border Strike Force, which would negatively impact local law enforcement the most, Jobe Dickinson, president of the Border Security Alliance, told The Center Square.
“Currently in Arizona, Governor Hobbs is recommending cutting funding to the border strike force that helps local law-enforcement supplement Border Patrol’s responsibilities. This makes an easy decision for the cartels to start shifting their smuggling routes, more and more into Arizona,” he said.
With Texas’ operations expanding, Dickinson said, “The cartels run a business. They will choose the path of least resistance in order to lose as little product as possible,” referring to the smuggling of people and drugs from Mexico into the U.S.
Since March 2021, Texas’ Operation Lone Star multi-agency efforts have led to an unprecedented 352,000 apprehensions of illegal foreign nationals and over 25,000 criminal arrests, with more than 23,000 felony charges reported, according to state data.
Syndicated with permission from The Center Square.
The post As Arizona Looks To Defund Border Security, Cartels Move Smuggling Efforts West appeared first on The Political Insider.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre was the object of criticism and derision after falsely claiming fentanyl levels at the border are at “historic lows.”
Fox News reporter Peter Doocy at a recent press briefing addressed a horrific story about two Americans who were killed during a violent kidnapping by what is believed to be members of a Mexican drug cartel.
The two victims were part of a group including two other Americans who came under gunfire as they crossed from Brownsville, Texas, into the Mexican city of Matamoros, Tamaulipas, last week.
“So cartels kill Americans on this side of the border with drugs, and now they’re killing Americans on the other side of the border with guns,” Doocy confronted. “Why is President Biden so comfortable with cartels operating so close to the U.S.?”
Jean-Pierre’s response was to downplay the crisis at the border and claim fentanyl is under control.
“Because of the work that this president has done, because of what we’ve done specifically on fentanyl at the border, it’s at historic lows — historic levels that we have been able to record a number of personnel working to secure the border because of what we’ve been able to do, seizing that fentanyl,” Jean-Pierre said.
“We’ve done it in a historic way. That’s because of what this President has done.”

DOOCY TIME: “Cartels kill Americans on this side of the border w/drugs & now they’re killing Americans on the other side…w/guns. Why is President Biden so comfortable w/cartels operating so close to the U.S.?”
KJP: “Well, let’s be very clear…[fentanyl] is at historic lows” pic.twitter.com/b79tBzU6l6
— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) March 7, 2023

RELATED: Former AG Bill Barr Calls For Military Action Against Drug Cartels Inside Mexico’s Border
Karine Jean-Pierre Blasted Over Claims Fentanyl at Border at Historic Lows
Karine Jean-Pierre’s comments on fentanyl at the border did not escape scrutiny from critics who pointed out she was being just short of honest.
“Possible misspeak? In no way is fentanyl at ‘historic lows’. Seizures and ODs have hit record highs,” Fox News national correspondent Bill Melugin, who has been at the forefront of reporting on the border crisis, tweeted.
It’s possible, of course. But then again, most of Jean-Pierre’s ‘misspeaks’ are intentional. Back in the old days we referred to these as “lies.”
Melugin pointed out that the administration seems to be suggesting that the record number of seizures is a good thing. Because in their minds, not an ounce of it is actually getting into the country if the immense quantities are being seized.

Possible misspeak? In no way is fentanyl at “historic lows”. Seizures and ODs have hit record highs.
KJP appears to be implying that record high seizures are a good thing. It’s a double edged sword. Border officials will tell you they only catch a fraction of what comes… https://t.co/rRU2RYlMEv
— Bill Melugin (@BillFOXLA) March 7, 2023

Fox News host Jesse Watters suggested Jean-Pierre’s comments are a sure indicator that she “needs to get her brain checked.”

JUST IN: @FoxNews host @JesseBWatters says @WhiteHouse @PressSec Karine Jean-Pierre “needs to get her brain checked” after claiming that Fentanyl killing Americans daily is at “historic lows”. Jesse was reacting to the horrific killing of two kidnapped Americans in Mexico. pic.twitter.com/FwCV8LJGnY
— Simon Ateba (@simonateba) March 8, 2023

First, in order to check it, one would have to locate it.
Comedian Tim Young summed it up best, noting they say these things for one particular reason: “They think you’re stupid.”

They think you’re stupid. https://t.co/24rnlm2pvp
— Tim Young (@TimRunsHisMouth) March 7, 2023

RELATED: MAGA Rep. Matt Gaetz ‘Not Kidding’ About Bombing Drug Cartel Fentanyl Labs In Mexico
And Then There’s Reality
Downplaying the border crisis has been a hallmark of this administration. They know it’s being overrun with drugs and illegals and they simply don’t care. It’s intentional.
But the disgusting display by the President and his team has been taken up a notch in recent days.
Aside from his administration falsely claiming fentanyl is at “historic lows,” President Biden was heard laughing about a story about a woman whose two sons died from a fentanyl overdose.

Here’s Joe Biden laughing at the expense of a mother who lost two sons to fentanyl. pic.twitter.com/d2UNDtpxOO
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) March 2, 2023

The mother referred to President Biden as a “horrible human being” and demanded an apology.

Joe Biden laughed about the deaths of this mother’s two sons.
“What a horrible human being. How can he sit there and joke about it?!”
“What kind of a person does that?!” pic.twitter.com/29NdGRg39V
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) March 2, 2023

Jean-Pierre claimed Biden’s comments were “mischaracterized” and the story was little more than “conspiracy theories,” indicating the likelihood of an apology was slim to none.
According to Biden’s own DEA Administrator Anne Milgram, however, cartels are “killing Americans with fentanyl at catastrophic and record rates like we’ve never seen before.”

Biden’s DEA Administrator Anne Milgram: Cartels in Mexico are smuggling fentanyl into the U.S. and “killing Americans with fentanyl at catastrophic and record rates like we’ve never seen before.”pic.twitter.com/UuQMCsZSas
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) September 19, 2022

Overdoses, fueled by a surge in fentanyl, are currently the number one killer of Americans ages 18 to 45.

Now is the time to support and share the sources you trust.
The Political Insider ranks #3 on Feedspot’s “100 Best Political Blogs and Websites.”

The post Karine Jean-Pierre Mocked Over Claims Fentanyl at the Border at Historic Lows: ‘They Think You’re Stupid’ appeared first on The Political Insider.