California Governor Gavin Newsom (D) is proposing to fight inflation by spending an additional $18.1 billion from the state’s budget surplus, adding money to the economy at a time when there are “too many dollars chasing too few goods.”
In a plan unveiled Thursday, Newsom’s office released several spending proposals to help Californians with high prices. Many of these are simply redistributive policies that spread money among key Democratic political constituencies, such as nursing staff:
$11.5 Billion for Tax Refunds to Help Address Inflation. As the entire country faces increasing costs due to inflation, Governor Newsom proposed getting $400 checks to every eligible registered vehicle owner, capped at two checks per individual.
$2.7 Billion for Emergency Rental Assistance. Governor Newsom is proposing significant state funds for qualified low-income tenants who requested rental assistance before March 31, helping these Californians get the support they need.
$1.4 Billion to Help Californians Pay Past-Due Utility Bills. As Californians continue to face difficulties in paying for utility bills, this investment expands upon last year’s utility relief program to continue this vital support – $1.2 billion for electricity bills and $200 million for water bills.
$933 Million for Hospital and Nursing Home Staff. Providing up to $1,500 to hospital and skilled nursing facility workers who have been delivering care to the most acute patients during the COVID-19 pandemic and saved thousands of lives.
$750 Million for Free Public Transit. Governor Newsom is proposing incentive grants to provide three months of free public transportation for communities throughout the state.
$304 Million to Make Health Coverage More Affordable for Middle-Class Families. This extends health insurance premium assistance under Covered California for families of four earning up to $166,500 annually, upwards of 700,000 Californians.
$439 Million to Pause the Diesel Sales Tax. Bringing relief to the commercial sector and drivers, Governor Newsom is proposing a 12-month pause in the sales tax rate for diesel fuel that would provide upwards of $439 million in relief.
$157 Million to Waive Child Care Fees for Low-Income Families. Making state-subsidized preschool and child care more affordable, benefitting 40,000 low-income California families with savings of up to $595 per month.
In addition, Newsom announced that California’s statewide minimum wage of $15 per hour will rise automatically to $15.50 after an inflation provision in the state’s minimum wage law was triggered for the first time since its passage six years ago.
The state’s budget surplus was recently projected to be $68 billion, thanks in part to $26 billion in funding from the federal government for the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite fears of a shortfall in 2020, the state — like others — has a windfall.
Earlier this year, California Democrats allowed the state’s gas tax to continue to increase, and it is scheduled to rise 3 cents in July.
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of the recent e-book, Neither Free nor Fair: The 2020 U.S. Presidential Election. His recent book, RED NOVEMBER, tells the story of the 2020 Democratic presidential primary from a conservative perspective. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.
At least half of US President Joe Biden’s 22.3 million followers are fake, an independent audit of the social media platform has found.
On Wednesday, Newsweekreported an analysis using software company SparkToro’s audit tool calculated that 49.3% of Biden’s users are “fake followers.”
According to SparkToro, “fake followers” are “accounts that are unreachable and will not see the account’s tweets (either because they’re spam, bots, propaganda, etc. or because they’re no longer active on Twitter).”
The new information further complicates the deal already in the works to sell Twitter to potential buyer Elon Musk, who has raised questions over the company’s claim that only 5% of users are spam bot accounts.
Responding to Newsweek‘s report Wednesday, Musk remarked, “Interesting,” and added, “So … [checks calculator] … that would be like 10 times more than 5%.”
So … [checks calculator] … that would be like 10 times more than 5%
On Tuesday, Musk announced the deal was put on hold, tweeting, “My offer was based on Twitter’s SEC filings being accurate. Yesterday, Twitter’s CEO publicly refused to show proof of <5%. This deal cannot move forward until he does.”
20% fake/spam accounts, while 4 times what Twitter claims, could be *much* higher.
My offer was based on Twitter’s SEC filings being accurate.
Yesterday, Twitter’s CEO publicly refused to show proof of <5%.
While Musk initially offered to purchase Twitter for $54.20 a share, the company’s stock price has dropped precipitously to $36.84 weeks after the offer.
Replying to Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal’s lengthy thread Monday claiming it’d be impossible to calculate the actual number of bots on the platform, Musk responded with a poop emoji and commented the figures are necessary to market the company to advertisers.
Former President Donald Trump urged Dr. Mehmet Oz on Wednesday to declare victory in the Republican Senate primary election, even as votes are still being tallied in the close race.
“Dr. Oz should declare victory,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social media platform. “It makes it much harder for them to cheat with the ballots that they ‘just happened to find.’”
Donald Trump – Truth Social – 5/18/2022
Trump’s message indicated he was concerned that Oz’s opponent David McCormick had a chance of pulling ahead as more ballots are counted.
The former president endorsed Oz in the race and even held a rally for him in Pennsylvania.
Oz is currently leading the tally with 413,227 votes while McCormick is a close second with 411,048 votes.
It is unclear when all of the votes will be counted in the state, as some counties are still counting mail-in ballots, overseas ballots, and military absentee ballots.
The McCormick team believes they are receiving a greater percentage of absentee ballots than Oz, allowing them to pull ahead and win the race.
“Based on how many uncounted absentee ballots there are and the margin by which Dave has won them so far, that’s why we are confident of victory,” McCormick’s consultant wrote on social media. “Dave will win this race.”
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) warned of increased political violence from pro-abortion extremists before and after the Supreme Court releases an official ruling that could potentially overturn Roe v. Wade, according to an unclassified memo obtained by Axios.
“Law enforcement agencies are investigating social-media threats to burn down or storm the Supreme Court building and murder justices and their clerks, as well as attacks targeting places of worship and abortion clinics,” the outlet reported.
The memo was allegedly circulated by DHS’s intelligence arm on May 13, and says the threats that arose after Politico published a leak of the Dobbs draft opinion “are likely to persist and may increase leading up to and following the issuing of the Court’s official ruling.”
Law enforcement investigates social-media threats to burn down or storm Supreme Court … kill justices and clerks … attack places of worship, abortion clinicshttps://t.co/vOnBxJBE55
The left-leaning news outlet claimed that abortion-related violence has “historically been driven by anti-abortion extremists,” though it did not mention the more than 63 million estimated deaths of unborn children since the Court’s 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling declaring abortion to be protected by the U.S. Constitution.
“Some racially or ethnically motivated violent extremists’ embrace of pro-life narratives may be linked to the perception of wanting to ‘save white children’ and ‘fight white genocide,’” the memo reportedly claims.
“But the memo warns that this time, extremist acts could come from abortion-rights proponents as well,” Axios added.
Indeed, pro-abortion activists tracked down the addresses of conservative Supreme Court justices and have been protesting outside their homes in an attempt to intimidate them and subvert the Democratic process. Pro-abortion militants have also vandalized pregnancy centers, including the headquarters of the pro-life group Wisconsin Family Action, which was likely set on fire with a Molotov cocktail.
“If abortions aren’t safe then you aren’t either,” graffiti painted on the side of the building read.
Early Sunday morning, a leftist group attacked WFA’s office in Madison, throwing two Molotov cocktails into the office, after breaking windows, and then proceeded to light a fire. The arsonists posted graffiti that read, “If abortions aren’t safe, then you aren’t either.” pic.twitter.com/H1csPzv5Kz
— ✰✰Wisconsin Family Action✰✰ (@WIFamilyAction) May 9, 2022
Additionally, pro-abortion activists have been targeting churches — Sacred Heart of Mary Church in Boulder, Colorado had its windows broken and front doors spray-painted over. A group of radical pro-abortion activists also blocked the entrance to Manhattan’s Basilica of Saint Patrick’s Old Cathedral days after the leak.
Pro-choice activists protest outside NYC Church, the Basilica of Old St. Patrick in New York, in opposition to a pro-life faith group that routinely tries to deter patients seeking abortions at the nearby Planned Parenthood.
The DHS did say that “…advocacy…does not constitute domestic violent extremism…” according to Axios.
“The mere advocacy of political or social positions, political activism, use of strong rhetoric, or generalized philosophic embrace of violent tactics does not constitute domestic violent extremism or illegal activity and is constitutionally protected,” the memo allegedly reads.
A DHS spokesperson told the outlet the department “is committed to protecting Americans’ freedom of speech and other civil rights and civil liberties, including the right to peacefully protest.”
President Joe Biden’s White House has condemned much of the vandalism but indicated sympathy for the pro-abortion cause.
“We know the passion, we understand the passion, we understand the concern,” former White House press secretary Jen Psaki said during a May 9 press conference, referring to the perpetrators and their apparent support for legal abortion.
The Biden administration has also encouraged “peaceful” protests outside the homes of Supreme Court justices, despite the fact that such protests aim to intimidate the judiciary and appear to be illegal.
Katherine Hamilton is a political reporter for Breitbart News. You can follow her on Twitter.