545 vs. 300,000,000 (A MUST READ)

[AlabamaNomadRider]

545 vs. 300,000,000

EVERY CITIZEN NEEDS TO READ THIS AND THINK ABOUT WHAT THIS JOURNALIST HAS SCRIPTED IN THIS MESSAGE. READ IT AND THEN REALLY THINK ABOUT OUR CURRENT POLITICAL DEBACLE.

Charley Reese has been a journalist for 49 years.

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 equates to 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 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 Newspaper.

What you do with this article now that you have read it.......... Is up to you.

This might be funny if it weren't so darned true. Be sure to read all the way to the end:

Tax his land,
Tax his bed,
Tax the table
At which he's fed.

Tax his tractor,
Tax his mule,
Teach him taxes
Are the rule.

Tax his work,
Tax his pay,
He works for peanuts
Anyway!
Tax his cow,
Tax his goat,
Tax his pants,
Tax his coat.
Tax his ties,
Tax his shirt,
Tax his work,
Tax his dirt.

Tax his tobacco,
Tax his drink,
Tax him if he
Tries to think.

Tax his cigars,
Tax his beers,
If he cries
Tax his tears.

Tax his car,
Tax his gas,
Find other ways
To tax his a$$.

Tax all he has
Then let him know
That you won't be done
Till he has no dough.

When he screams and hollers;
Then tax him some more,
Tax him till
He's good and sore.
Then tax his coffin,
Tax his grave,
Tax the sod in
Which he's laid.

Put these words
Upon his tomb,
Taxes drove me
to my doom...'

When he's gone,
Do not relax,
Its time to apply
The inheritance tax.

Accounts Receivable Tax
Building Permit Tax
CDL license Tax
Cigarette Tax
Corporate Income Tax
Dog License Tax
Excise Taxes
Federal Income Tax
Federal Unemployment Tax (FUTA)
Fishing License Tax
Food License Tax
Fuel Permit Tax
Gasoline Tax (currently 44.75 cents per gallon)
Gross Receipts Tax
Hunting License Tax
Inheritance Tax
Inventory Tax
IRS Interest Charges IRS Penalties (tax on top of tax)
Liquor Tax
Luxury Taxes
Marriage License Tax
Medicare Tax
Personal Property Tax
Property Tax
Real Estate Tax
Service Charge T ax
Social Security Tax
Road Usage Tax
Sales Tax
Recreational Vehicle Tax
School Tax
State Income Tax
State Unemployment Tax (SUTA)
Telephone Federal Excise Tax
Telephone Federal Universal Service Fee Tax
Telephone Federal, State and Local Surcharge Taxes
Telephone Minimum Usage Surcharge Tax
Telephone Recurring and Non-recurring Charges Tax
Telephone State and Local Tax
Telephone Usage Charge Tax
Utility Taxes
Vehicle License Registration Tax
Vehicle Sales Tax
Watercraft Registration Tax
Well Permit Tax
Workers Compensation Tax

STILL THINK THIS IS FUNNY? Not one of these taxes existed 100 years ago, and our nation was the most prosperous in the world. We had absolutely no national debt, had the largest middle class in the world, and Mom stayed home to raise the kids.

What in the heck happened? Can you spell 'politicians?'

And I still have to 'press 1' for English!?

I hope this goes around THE USA at least 100 times!!! YOU can help it get there! go AHEAD - - - BE AN AMERICAN

[MAS Tequila]

Check out

www.sonsoflibertyriders.com

[nomad561]

Our goverment is out of control. until we remove the ability of people to become "career" politicians,you will always have these problems.

[watchman]

Our forefathers set up this form of Representive Government because at the time the well to do's did not believe that the common man was educated nor intellengent enough to have a true democracy. Also the poor comunication system of the era helped promote the Representive Form of Government adopted. And with any form of Representive Government it is only as good as the representives we elect and send to congress. As long as we elect liars, thieves, and people with immoral caracter and as long as these people allow themselves to be incluenced by their greed and low morals and we allow them to pass laws that gives themselves powers and rights to do as they please without being held accountable, things will not change. IMO, we would be better served if we would hire individuals and bind them to employement contracts to represent us. If these persons did not live up to the contracts they would be fired and incarerated for breach of contract. These people should also have to prove themselves capable of representing us and be paid on a preformance base.

Friends, Romans, Countrymen, lend me your ear. I have not come here to praise Ceaser but to bury him! Yes I believe we have been and are on the same road as ancient Rome. I believe that history does repeat itself and will again right here if we do not learn from the mistakes made in the past and correct them. Truthfully, I believe it is to late to correct things but that is just me. My father who was born in 1907 told me that I would see another American Revolution. But it would be the people against our own government. I hope he was wrong or that I don't live that long.

[jamiep24]

Well, I consider myself a middle of the road conservative. I have come to hate party labels. And we should outlaw "career politicians". We should enforce term limits on every elected official, and especially Supreme Court judges. Nobody deserves that much power. I don't know if I can honestly say that there is one elected official or politician out there who is not crooked. And get rid of all lobbyists, that is he ultimate form of corruption.....In other words, we need a much smaller gov't or one that plays a much smaller role in our lives....One last thing, has anyone ever heard of a high-ranking politician who was not a millionaire? How can these people relate to the other 98% of the population or those they represent if they're never been in our shoes. I live in the poorest district in the United States here i Mississippi. "My" representative is Bennie Thompson who has the most liberal voting record in Congress. He has NEVER voted against any form of spending, EVER! He has also been named to be the Head of Homeland Security. And this guy looks and acts like a bum. But he is now a millionaire who has many aides or employees doing all the work for him. And ya know what? My district looks exactly the same, if not worse, than it did when he took office 12 or 15 years ago. This is a powerful guy in Congress and he's done nothing to help his constituents. They don't care about their districts. It's a complete joke. Jamie

[watchman]

The rich get richer and poor get poorer and the guy in the middle has to hand it out in both directions. Do you have any idea if nothing more than do away will all tax deductions and everyone just pay a straight 10% of what they make for taxes. Nobody gets anything back in tax returns and the government can only spend what they have in the bank. No deficit spending allowed. The bills have to be paid before the congress gets their checks.

[glwilson]

I like the idea that no politician gets paid (or gifted) -- especially after their terms when related to anything governmental (lobbying, consulting, and etc.).

Remove profit... and you remove most crime.

[AlabamaNomadRider]

Waterman and Jamie you guys are so correct. With the way everything is these days you have to have money to run for office. A poor man just can't get enough ad time to ever get elected. As long as we have wealthy politicians things will always be the way they are. They could care less about you and me.

[NRiderUSA]

VIVA LA REVOLUTION!!!!!!!!!

[ken]

As a dyed-in-the-wool Democrat I generally do not like to get into blogs regarding politics because I know that some of you out there are hard-nosed Republicans and have strong opinions about the current administration. Fine. Everyone is entitled to his or her own opinion and I will respect yours if you will respect mine.

That said, the article AlabamaNomadRider posted is very accurate and I agree with it completely. But don’t forget, with the exception of the Supreme Court, all of the others were elected by us, you and me. They were not born into nobility or a ruling class; we elected each and every one of them. And if we are unhappy with them, we have to vote them out. And therein lies the problem. Most Americans believe, rightly or wrongly, that their Senator or Congressman is a good person who brings in the pork and so they reelect them. So who is to blame? We are. I know, it isn’t an easy problem to fix, but that’s the way it is. And our elected officials make the rules and those are the rules that keep them from doing the right thing for you and I.

Now the Swiss have it right. While I don’t agree with the vote they recently made regarding mosques, what I liked is that the citizens of Switzerland voted for the law, not the politicians. The citizens made the decision. Do you think we could ever convince our legislators to let us vote on things? No way.

What we need in the U.S. is greater power for the average citizen. How can we do that? I have one suggestion. Senators and Representatives should be employees of the state that they represent, not federal government employees. Their salary should be determined by the state and any raise would have to be approved by the citizens, not the state legislature. We have elections every two years and any proposed salary increase could be a part of the ballot. Any and all benefits for members of Congress have to be paid for by the state to including travel, per diem costs, staff, and they should have to pay rent and utilities for their offices (although that might be asking too much). AND NO retirement benefits. That would force them to go out and get a real job which in turn would mean term limits. OK, I know this wouldn’t solve all of our problems, but it sure would make the politicians sit up and take notice with the people say something. What to you think?

[macmac]

I want most of them gone for new faces in 2010, and the rest gone in 2012. All new faces... A re-birth. That is an unknown but it might get back to 'We the People' rule, which is anything than we have now.

[Yellow Jacket]

Originally Posted by Ken

As a dyed-in-the-wool Democrat I generally do not like to get into blogs regarding politics because I know that some of you out there are hard-nosed Republicans and have strong opinions about the current administration. Fine. Everyone is entitled to his or her own opinion and I will respect yours if you will respect mine.

That said, the article AlabamaNomadRider posted is very accurate and I agree with it completely. But don’t forget, with the exception of the Supreme Court, all of the others were elected by us, you and me. They were not born into nobility or a ruling class; we elected each and every one of them. And if we are unhappy with them, we have to vote them out. And therein lies the problem. Most Americans believe, rightly or wrongly, that their Senator or Congressman is a good person who brings in the pork and so they reelect them. So who is to blame? We are. I know, it isn’t an easy problem to fix, but that’s the way it is. And our elected officials make the rules and those are the rules that keep them from doing the right thing for you and I.

Now the Swiss have it right. While I don’t agree with the vote they recently made regarding mosques, what I liked is that the citizens of Switzerland voted for the law, not the politicians. The citizens made the decision. Do you think we could ever convince our legislators to let us vote on things? No way.

What we need in the U.S. is greater power for the average citizen. How can we do that? I have one suggestion. Senators and Representatives should be employees of the state that they represent, not federal government employees. Their salary should be determined by the state and any raise would have to be approved by the citizens, not the state legislature. We have elections every two years and any proposed salary increase could be a part of the ballot. Any and all benefits for members of Congress have to be paid for by the state to including travel, per diem costs, staff, and they should have to pay rent and utilities for their offices (although that might be asking too much). AND NO retirement benefits. That would force them to go out and get a real job which in turn would mean term limits. OK, I know this wouldn’t solve all of our problems, but it sure would make the politicians sit up and take notice with the people say something. What to you think?

Ken, while I'm not a Democrat I'm also not a Republican. I guess I would describe myself as an independent conservative constitutionalist.

I just wanted to say I agree completely with your post.

Your idea in your third paragraph is good. Maybe add to it that the politicians can't accept campaign money from any corporations, PAC's, unions or any other organization. Make them all run only on what they can raise from individuals.

[ken]

@ Yellow Jacket...problem with totally banning campaign contributions as you wrote is that then only the rich could afford to run for office. It is, I admit, a damned if you do, damned if you don't situation. I would allow campaign contributions up to $$5000 ONLY from citizens of the U.S. regardless of age (so a family of four could contribute up to $20,000 for example) - No union, PAC, business or other form of groups allowed to contribute in any way, shape or form. All contributions have to be 100% accounted for with open books for public scrutiny. Now the questions is how does one control the soft money? The money that is contributed by business to PACs that back certain candidates. That will continue to be a problem.

Another thing we should add to my paragraph three is that members of congress be banned from accepting any money for any purpose during their term of office...no speaking fees, no free trips by lobbyists, no boon-doggles paid for by big business. They have to live on their salary salary. I also think investments should be put into a blind trust. They need to get back in the real world, paying for things themselves and living from their salaries like most of us.

Of course, all of this is pie in the sky...it ain't gonna happen....they don't become members of congress because they want to help you and me...they want the power, the perks, the recognition. It is a sad thing that our government has become what it is - a legalized criminal organization.

[ivan]

I did my 09 taxes last week. I owe $3100. WTF????
It never happened before. I always got at least $4000 back.
This country is turning into another Soviet Union and people are dumb enough not to see it. Let's spread the wealth until there is no wealth anymore. Everybody will be equally miserable. Good job Mr President!