545 PEOPLE
By Charlie Reese
Politicians are the only people in the world who create problems and then campaign against them.
Have you ever wondered, if both the Democrats and the Republicans are against deficits, WHY do we have deficits?
Have you ever wondered, if all the politicians are against inflation and high taxes, WHY do we have inflation and high taxes?
You and I don't propose a federal budget. The president does.
You and I don't have the Constitutional authority to vote on appropriations. The House of Representatives does.
You and I don't write the tax code, Congress does.
You and I don't set fiscal policy, Congress does.
You and I don't control monetary policy, the Federal Reserve Bank does.
One hundred senators, 435 congressmen, one president, and nine Supreme Court justices 545 human beings out of the 300 million are directly, legally, morally, and individually responsible for the domestic problems that plague this country.
I excluded the members of the Federal Reserve Board because that problem was created by the Congress. In 1913, Congress delegated its Constitutional duty to provide a sound currency to a federally chartered, but private, central bank.
I excluded all the special interests and lobbyists for a sound reason. They have no legal authority. They have no ability to coerce a senator, a congressman, or a president to do one cotton-picking thing. I don't care if they offer a politician $1 million dollars in cash.
The politician has the power to accept or reject it. No matter what the lobbyist promises, it is the legislator's responsibility to determine how he votes.
Those 545 human beings spend much of their energy convincing you that what they did is not their fault.
They cooperate in this common con regardless of party.
What separates a politician from a normal human being is an excessive amount of gall. No normal human being would have the gall of a Speaker, who stood up and criticized the President for creating deficits. The president can only propose a budget. He cannot force the Congress to accept it.
The Constitution, which is the supreme law of the land, gives sole responsibility to the House of Representatives for originating and approving appropriations and taxes. Who is the speaker of the House? Nancy Pelosi. She is the leader of the majority party. She and fellow House members, not the president, can approve any budget they want. If the president vetoes it, they can pass it over his veto if they agree to.
It seems inconceivable to me that a nation of 300 million can not replace 545 people who stand convicted -- by present facts -- of incompetence and irresponsibility. I can't think of a single domestic problem that is not traceable directly to those 545 people. When you fully grasp the plain truth that 545 people exercise the power of the federal government, then it must follow that what exists is what they want to exist.
If the tax code is unfair, it's because they want it unfair.
If the budget is in the red, it's because they want it in the red .
If the Army & Marines are in IRAQ , it's because they want them in IRAQIf they do not receive social security but are on an elite retirement plan not available to the people, it's because they want it that way.
There are no insoluble government problems.
Do not let these 545 people shift the blame to bureaucrats, whom they hire and whose jobs they can abolish; to lobbyists, whose gifts and advice they can reject; to regulators, to whom they give the power to regulate and from whom they can take this power. Above all, do not let them con you into the belief that there exists disembodied mystical forces like "the economy," "inflation," or "politics" that prevent them from doing what they take an oath to do.
Those 545 people, and they alone, are responsible.
They, and they alone, have the power.
They, and they alone, should be held accountable by the people who are their bosses,provided the voters have the gumption to manage their own employees.
We should vote all of them out of office and clean up their mess!
(Charlie Reese is a former columnist of theOrlando Sentinel Newspaper).
By Charlie Reese
Politicians are the only people in the world who create problems and then campaign against them.
Have you ever wondered, if both the Democrats and the Republicans are against deficits, WHY do we have deficits?
Have you ever wondered, if all the politicians are against inflation and high taxes, WHY do we have inflation and high taxes?
You and I don't propose a federal budget. The president does.
You and I don't have the Constitutional authority to vote on appropriations. The House of Representatives does.
You and I don't write the tax code, Congress does.
You and I don't set fiscal policy, Congress does.
You and I don't control monetary policy, the Federal Reserve Bank does.
One hundred senators, 435 congressmen, one president, and nine Supreme Court justices 545 human beings out of the 300 million are directly, legally, morally, and individually responsible for the domestic problems that plague this country.
I excluded the members of the Federal Reserve Board because that problem was created by the Congress. In 1913, Congress delegated its Constitutional duty to provide a sound currency to a federally chartered, but private, central bank.
I excluded all the special interests and lobbyists for a sound reason. They have no legal authority. They have no ability to coerce a senator, a congressman, or a president to do one cotton-picking thing. I don't care if they offer a politician $1 million dollars in cash.
The politician has the power to accept or reject it. No matter what the lobbyist promises, it is the legislator's responsibility to determine how he votes.
Those 545 human beings spend much of their energy convincing you that what they did is not their fault.
They cooperate in this common con regardless of party.
What separates a politician from a normal human being is an excessive amount of gall. No normal human being would have the gall of a Speaker, who stood up and criticized the President for creating deficits. The president can only propose a budget. He cannot force the Congress to accept it.
The Constitution, which is the supreme law of the land, gives sole responsibility to the House of Representatives for originating and approving appropriations and taxes. Who is the speaker of the House? Nancy Pelosi. She is the leader of the majority party. She and fellow House members, not the president, can approve any budget they want. If the president vetoes it, they can pass it over his veto if they agree to.
It seems inconceivable to me that a nation of 300 million can not replace 545 people who stand convicted -- by present facts -- of incompetence and irresponsibility. I can't think of a single domestic problem that is not traceable directly to those 545 people. When you fully grasp the plain truth that 545 people exercise the power of the federal government, then it must follow that what exists is what they want to exist.
If the tax code is unfair, it's because they want it unfair.
If the budget is in the red, it's because they want it in the red .
If the Army & Marines are in IRAQ , it's because they want them in IRAQIf they do not receive social security but are on an elite retirement plan not available to the people, it's because they want it that way.
There are no insoluble government problems.
Do not let these 545 people shift the blame to bureaucrats, whom they hire and whose jobs they can abolish; to lobbyists, whose gifts and advice they can reject; to regulators, to whom they give the power to regulate and from whom they can take this power. Above all, do not let them con you into the belief that there exists disembodied mystical forces like "the economy," "inflation," or "politics" that prevent them from doing what they take an oath to do.
Those 545 people, and they alone, are responsible.
They, and they alone, have the power.
They, and they alone, should be held accountable by the people who are their bosses,provided the voters have the gumption to manage their own employees.
We should vote all of them out of office and clean up their mess!
(Charlie Reese is a former columnist of theOrlando Sentinel Newspaper).
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3 comments:
I do like the comments overall, however I'm not certain it is as simple as that bigger scheme of things. The reason those types of men are in there is because people like us let them be (as mentioned), and the reason we let them be is because they lie and tell us they're going to change things. So the answer is not to continue blaming "them" (whoever "they" are), but to blame US for being dupes. (I suppose that's the point, right?) Let's listen to what prospective office holders tell us... those specific things they will try to do to help the country, not false vague promises that almost every politician tries to give. Let's judge them by their character more than any one thing. Then decide whether they understand what things need fixing and how to fix them. If they are saintly figures but haven't the intelligence to figure out how to make a difference, their presence is (to be redundant) not going to make a difference! With those two things in mind, we can empower OURselves to change things. It's obvious that men with agendas do seek governmental positions that give them power to change/corrupt laws and we need to realize this. We can't stand idly by as this type of people get into office. I propose working on the local and state levels first. Making sure local and state officials are good, wise, and honest is the surest way for us to ensure that national leaders will be the same. It makes sifting out the bad guys on Capital hill a lot easier when you've got good men coming into contact with them on a frequent basis. Then, it would be helpful to create a new forum for ensuring that more voters have more contact with potential national figures so we can discern for ourselves what type of men and women they are. The current media do not help us much since we cannot tell whether they are liars or not, and we can never really get clear, concrete answers about anything specific in the sporadic soundbites that are interspersed among all the various news networks. I don't think it's just a matter of "holding those scoundrels accountable," it's a matter of coming up with real solutions to practical problems of catching those scoundrels and actually finding good men to replace them. With the present communication systems, that is highly unlikely. We need better media power to help us, not those who practically buy into all the same stuff that the politicians do. Read Noam Chomsky's "manufacturing consent" (first 50 pgs of newest edition) to see why the present media establishment has helped create a systemic problem... not one we can solve by simply paying more attention.
Paulio--I appreciate your comments and suggested reading material. What I think we really need is a way to have the average voter truly step up and take an active (and not passive) part in the election process. In other words, we all need to be better informed regarding the credentials of those running for office before going to the voting booth. We as a society also fall short in the acceptance of less than acceptable results from our leaders. For example, Huckaby has proposed that our congressmen get paid for results--similar to how we are paid in the private sector. Specifically, if they do not balance the budget, their salary drops. He also recommends term limits to three--I agree wholeheartedly to both of these. Think of the professional politicians who not only serve lifetimes, but a lot of times stand in the way of good men and women who would bring real needed change to Washington. Again, thanks for your comments and I hope to you from you again!
As I see things fail, I started writing my Senators, which I will continue to do, but I now have The White House website close at hand. If enough people flood the website with comments, at least he'll know where WE stand. At the moment, that's all we can do. Paulio's comments are very good, but that's a long term solution and we are currently in the ditch!
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