During a recent visit to Minnesota, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent sat down for an interview with journalist Christopher Rufo. When asked about the annual cost of fraud to the federal government, Bessent estimated the figure at between $300 billion and $600 billion — roughly 10% of the U.S. government’s yearly budget.
“That’s not my number, that’s the General Accounting Office,” Bessent said. “So, it’s about 10% of the federal budget, 1 to 2% of GDP.”
“And, if we can narrow that number, President Trump asks for a $500 billion increase in the defense budget to fortify the 10, 20 years of neglect … If we can get rid of this fraud, waste, and abuse, we can finance a safer, sounder U.S. without taking on more debt.”
But where will the campaign funds for the Left come from if we end the fraud? How will the Democrats ever save democracy if the fraud is cut off?
California Dems chase billionaires out of the state. California has proposed a ballot initiative that would impose a one-time 5% tax on the assets of California residents worth more than $1 billion. The initiative would be voted on in November but would be back dated to January 1, 2026.
Venture capitalist Chamath Palihapitiya says California’s proposed billionaire tax is accelerating an exodus of ultra-wealthy residents, a shift he argues will worsen and not solve the state’s budget deficit.
Palihapitiya, who has been tracking capital flight from the Golden State, said California has so far lost an estimated $1 trillion.
“We had $2T of billionaire wealth just a few weeks ago. Now, 50% of that wealth has left – taking their income tax revenue, sales tax revenue, real estate tax revenue and all their staffs (and their salaries and income taxes) with them,” Palihapitiya wrote on X on Sunday.
Socialism at work. California will have to get the needed revenues from someone else. I guess the middle class will just have to suck it up and send more money to the corrupt politicians in California.
It’s the open secret that the radical left’s so-called “grassroots” outrage is usually nothing more than a paid astroturfing operation. And now, thanks to Fox News host Laura Ingraham, we have the evidence to prove it.
While Ingraham was reporting from Minnesota, a leftist protester repeatedly shouted “shame” at her.
Ingraham calmly asked a simple question that every hard-working American wants to ask these people: “Do you have a job?”
Without thinking, the leftist inadvertently spilled the beans: “I’m getting paid right now!”
Ingraham’s reaction to the admission was priceless. She simply smiled and gave the protesters a thumbs-up.
Just who is paying these people to interfere with, impede and obstruct the lawful enforcement of the nation’s laws?