Latest news with #Varney&Co
New York Post
15-05-2025
- Business
- New York Post
Kevin O'Leary rails against ‘anti-American' GOP tax plan: ‘It's gotta get fixed'
One popular investor and entrepreneur has aired his grievances with the proposed tax plan in President Donald Trump's 'big, beautiful bill.' 'This is anti-American. It's against small business. I've never seen anything like it. You want to talk about [a] big, beautiful bill? This is a big, ugly piece of that bill. It's gotta get fixed,' Kevin O'Leary said Tuesday on 'Varney & Co.' 'For small business[es], I'm their advocate,' he added. 'So I read all these bills.' The Trump White House did not respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment at the time of publication. The O'Leary Ventures chairman put the onus on the end of the pandemic-era Employee Retention Credit (ERC), which gave government money to businesses that kept Americans employed throughout COVID. 'That program's over. They want to give new powers to the IRS to audit all those small businesses for up to nine years. That's unprecedented. Why would we want to do that to small business?' he posited. 'So many of these audits would occur after the period where they don't have their records,' O'Leary expanded. 'This is war on small business.' Kevin O'Leary claimed that GOP's proposed tax plan is 'anti-American' and would hurt small businesses. Photo byHouse Republicans released a portion of Trump's tax agenda late on Friday evening, bringing them one step closer to completing the commander-in-chief's federal budget proposal. The legislation draft includes an increased child tax credit (CTC), a higher threshold for estate tax liability and codifying the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. The full legislation is expected to advance through the Ways & Means Committee this week before reaching the president's desk by July 4. Notably absent from the rough draft was legislation around state and local tax (SALT) deduction caps, a new millionaires' tax bracket, eliminating taxes on tips, overtime wages and Social Security checks for retirees. House Speaker Mike Johnson speaking to reporters at the Capitol amid negotiations over the GOP's budget bill on May 15, 2025 Photo byBut O'Leary insists some changes must be made before the president puts pen to paper and makes the plan law. 'I read it and said, 'This can't be right. Why would they do this?'' he said. 'It's outrageous that they would attack small business like this, and unprecedented to get powers to the IRS like this because it won't stop there.' 'They're looking to save money. I get it, ERC saved millions of businesses,' O'Leary clarified. 'And some people claimed it was fraudulent. Sure, there's fraud in every government program. But 95% of these businesses deserve that money and are still in business because of that money. And now somebody says, give the IRS power to go rip into them. That's not okay.' Fox News' Elizabeth Elkind contributed to this report.
Yahoo
12-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
'Dirty Jobs' Star Mike Rowe Issues Alarming Warning
Mike Rowe, the host of the popular television show "Dirty Jobs" and CEO of the MikeRoweWorks Foundation, appeared on Fox News recently to sound the alarm about a concerning issue in the workforce. In particular, Rowe is worried about the large portion of able-bodied, working-age men who are not only unemployed, they've given up looking for work. "There are able-bodied men in their working ages not only not working, but not looking," Rowe said last week on "Varney & Co." "That, to me, is one of the greatest alarm bells going on in the country. We've never seen that before, not in peacetime anyway." Rowe cited economist Nicholas Eberstadt's book "Men Without Work," which estimates that more than 7 million working-age men have left the workforce entirely. The Discovery Channel star has been beating the drum on this matter for a while, including on Fox News in March and in an interview with Dr. Phil last fall. Rowe told Varney the problem is exacerbated by what he feels is an overemphasis on higher education, which has an adverse effect on the skilled labor market. "Compare that to the open positions, and then just sprinkle on $1.7 trillion of student loans that are still outstanding," Rowe said. "You can see we've still got our thumb on the scale." "We're still pushing a lot of kids toward a very expensive path, while the skills gap widens," Rowe added. "The skills gap is real, but there's a will gap as well." Rowe, 63, has long been an advocate for pushing trade careers as a viable alternative to four-year degrees, and says he is encouraged by the trends he's seeing in Gen Z, loosely referred to individuals born between 1997 and 2012. "The four-year degrees are trending down in that cohort," Rowe said. "There's a lot more interest in electricians, and plumbers, and steamfitters, and welders and pipefitters."
New York Post
10-05-2025
- Business
- New York Post
It's ‘no question' that cannabis drinks are effecting alcohol sales, ‘Bar Rescue' host declares
A head-turning new trend is hitting bars across America, and it is likely to have a major impact on the spirits market, according to 'Bar Rescue' host Jon Taffer. Cannabis-infused drinks are gaining popularity as an alternative for consumers embracing an alcohol-free lifestyle, and although the effects on the market are too early to tell, Taffer asserts there is 'no question' it is shaking up the industry. Advertisement 'There's clearly a trend in that direction… And there's no question cannabis is affecting the spirits industry,' Taffer said Wednesday during an appearance on 'Varney & Co.' CBD-infused beverages are a steadily growing category. In 2021, cannabidiol products generated $5.3 billion and by 2026 are projected to increase to $16 billion, according to Statista. This year, the cannabis market in the U.S. is anticipated to exceed $45 billion. Advertisement However, Taffer noted an existing hurdle, spotlighting that many states do not permit the sale of alcohol and cannabis in the same environment. 'There's clearly a trend in that direction… And there's no question cannabis is affecting the spirits industry,' Jon Taffer, host of 'Bar Rescue,' says. Dasha Petrenko – Cannabis-infused drinks are gaining popularity, and challenging alcohol sales. Dasha Petrenko – Minnesota is one of the few states that currently allows the sale of hemp and low-dose THC beverages at breweries, and in some cases, even offers on-tap options. Advertisement California has taken a strict stance on beverages containing THC. The state's Department of Alcohol Beverage Control issued an industry advisory stating that alcohol-licensed businesses may not carry or sell hemp products. Despite the red tape, some celebrities have hopped into the market, including country music legend Willie Nelson.
Yahoo
22-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Trump Energy secretary: Clean energy tax credits a ‘big mistake'
Energy Secretary Chris Wright railed against clean energy tax credits Tuesday, defending the Trump administration's efforts to increase manufacturing powered by coal, natural gas and oil. His criticism of financial incentives for citizens' use of renewable energy came during a morning appearance on Fox Business's 'Varney & Co' and coincided with Earth Day — which is typically hailed as a time to champion environmental protections. 'I think it's a big mistake,' Wright told host Stuart Varney, referring to energy tax credits. 'That term 'clean energy' is just a marketing term. There's no clean energy. All energy sources involve trade-offs,' he continued. 'Solar and wind take over 100 times more land, 10 times more steel and cement and heavy materials to produce. There's no clean energy; there's just different trade-offs.' The Internal Revenue Service currently provides a residential credit to help fund the cost of clean energy improvements — those that seek to curb greenhouse gas emissions — installed from 2022 through 2032. Qualifying expenses include solar electric panels, solar water heaters, wind turbines, geothermal heat pumps, fuel cells and battery storage technology. Wright pegged the credit as an effort to make politicians 'feel good' with few accomplishments. 'These variable weather-dependent energy sources are heavily subsidized, which means there's jobs to build those things in certain communities and politicians think that feels good,' he said. 'But at the end of the day, the result of them has been more expensive electricity in the United States, less reliable grid and the continual outsourcing of energy-intensive jobs out of our country.' 'Like this is absolutely the wrong direction, and President Trump got elected to stop that nonsense. Bring back common sense. People want affordable products,' Wright continued. 'They want reliable electricity. They want manufacturing jobs in the United States.' Later in the segment, Wright also suggested global warming could be a positive factor for humans on Earth. 'Ten times more people die of the cold every year than die of the warm. So a little bit warmer planet means a little less risky for human beings,' the Energy chief said. 'Of course, there's positives to global warming and there's negatives too.' Researchers have noted an extreme rise in the melting sea ice in Arctic regions leading to the destruction of livable landmasses in Greenland and West Antarctica, which has posed threats for humans and animals, as an example of global warming, according to the World Wildlife Fund. The speed and magnitude of the sea-level rise could cause persistent challenges for coastal regions including widespread loss of agricultural land, infrastructure and livelihoods, the conservation organization explained. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
The Hill
22-04-2025
- Business
- The Hill
Trump Energy secretary: Clean energy tax credits a ‘big mistake'
Energy Secretary Chris Wright railed against clean energy tax credits on Tuesday, defending the Trump administration's efforts to increase manufacturing powered by coal, natural gas and oil. His criticism of financial incentives for citizens' use of renewable energy came during a morning appearance on Fox Business's ' Varney & Co ' and coincided with Earth Day — which is typically hailed as a time to champion environmental protections. 'I think it's a big mistake,' Wright told host Stuart Varney, referring to energy tax credits. 'That term 'clean energy' is just a marketing term. There's no clean energy. All energy sources involve trade-offs,' he continued. 'Solar and wind take over 100 times more land, 10 times more steel and cement and heavy materials to produce. There's no clean energy; there's just different trade-offs.' Currently the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), provides a residential credit to help fund the cost of clean energy improvements — those that seek to curb greenhouse gas emissions — installed from 2022 through 2032. Qualifying expenses include solar electric panels, solar water heaters, wind turbines, geothermal heat pumps, fuel cells and battery storage technology. Wright pegged the credit as an effort to make politicians 'feel good' with few accomplishments. 'These variable weather-dependent energy sources are heavily subsidized, which means there's jobs to build those things in certain communities and politicians think that feels good,' he said Tuesday. 'But at the end of the day, the result of them has been more expensive electricity in the United States, less reliable grid and the continual outsourcing of energy-intensive jobs out of our country.' 'Like this is absolutely the wrong direction, and President Trump got elected to stop that nonsense. Bring back common sense. People want affordable products,' Wright continued. 'They want reliable electricity. They want manufacturing jobs in the United States.' Later in the segment, Wright also suggested global warming could be a positive factor for humans on Earth. 'Ten times more people die of the cold every year than die of the warm. So a little bit warmer planet means a little less risky for human beings,' the Energy chief said. 'Of course, there's positives to global warming and there's negatives too.' Researchers have noted an extreme rise in the melting sea ice in Arctic regions leading to the destruction of livable landmasses in Greenland and West Antarctica, which has posed threats for humans and animals, as an example of global warming, according to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). The speed and magnitude of the sea-level rise could cause persistent challenges for coastal regions including widespread loss of agricultural land, infrastructure and livelihoods, the conservation organization explained.
