This is the simplest, most understandable and truest explanation of the woes of the nation and who caused them, as well as how to cure them. This should be sent to every person in the U.S., including the '545'.
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 why, if both the Democrats and the Republicans are against deficits, we have deficits?
Have you ever wondered why, if all the politicians are against inflation and high taxes, 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?
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 Marines are in IRAQ, it's because they want them in IRAQ.
If 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 the Orlando Sentinel
Miss Jodi's Search Engine
Custom Search
Subscribe To
Posts
Comments
My Blog List
About Me
- Miss Jodi
- Jeff and I have been married for 11 years. He recently got a new job and will be home every day. After about 10 years of having him on the road, this is both a welcome and scary change. I am mostly a stay at home mom, but I am also a Licensed Kindermusik Educator and I operate my own program in Story City. I have also just begun a new job as the Interim Director of Childrens Choirs at our church. I don't have a whole lot of free time right now, but when I do have a few moments, I like to watch movies (especially classics) and listen to music. I am finally getting caught up on reading! Before the kids came along I used to do a lot of acting. Mostly local theater, but some industrial shows too. Those were fun because there was a paycheck involved! I did several voice overs for radio commercials and I sang for a few jingles, etc. Now the only paycheck I ever see is for singing in the occasional funeral. I am the "Very Proud Leader" of Girl Scout Troop 610. They are awesome Junior Girl Scouts and I am so excited for them!
3 comments:
I think most of these 545 people don't care what happens to the rest of us.
I would like to think they do care. Maybe if we keep reminding them who they work for!
It's understandable why people love this piece so much when we feel helpless to change our government.
However, it’s grossly inaccurate and is little more than a smokescreen that shields the real source of our debilitating problems.
Did you catch the glaring and crippling fallacy underlying the entire argument? Implicit in the argument is the clear—though veiled—assumption that the American form of government is an aristocracy. Obviously, it is not—it is, in the immortal words of Abraham Lincoln, a government “of the people, by the people, and for the people.”
Who elects those 545 people? Who is truly responsible? Ironically enough, in an effort to find a source of responsibility, Mr. Reese flagrantly ignores the only true source of responsibility in a constitutional republic: We the People.
So who is really to blame for our pressing problems? The millions of common citizens who aren't educated enough to elect virtuous, courageous, and wise leaders. It's the millions of American families who have failed to raise up those essential leaders in their own homes.
It's the millions of Americans who hold their politicians to a higher standard than they hold themselves to—they sure want their politicians to understand the Constitution, but they don't understand it themselves.
It's the millions of Americans who complain about high taxes, yet then turn around and accept government programs and benefits in the name of "Everyone else is doing it," and/or "I'm just getting my taxes back."
It's the millions of average Americans who claim that the Federal Reserve is evil—without even understanding how it works and what should replace it. It's the millions of Americans who vehemently denounce inflation and deficits while racking up their own credit cards and consuming more than they produce on a daily basis.
It's the millions of Americans who were publicly appalled at Bill Clinton's misdeeds in the Oval Office yet who are secretly addicted to pornography.
It's the millions of common citizens who rage against the criminality of illegal immigration while consciously and deliberately violating the rule of law themselves on a daily basis.
It's the millions of Americans who forcefully proclaim their willingness to fight and die for America—while being unwilling to LIVE for her by becoming liberally educated.
All nations get the government that they deserve—these 545 people are nothing but a reflection of the majority of American citizens. As John Adams wrote, "If worthless men are sometimes at the head of affairs, it is because worthless men are at the tail, and the middle."
Who is to blame? Every one of us American citizens who are hypocritical, complacent, and ignorant. Complaining about 545 people is a great way to stir the pot and incite discontentment—and a really poor way to actually get to the heart and root of our problems to start doing something about them.
We the People are responsible. Until we change, our 545 representatives will never change. The answer isn't to change them—it’s to change ourselves through education, dedication, humility, gratitude, and love.
Post a Comment