Written in 1984; still applies today...

[Exterminator]

545 vs. 300,000,000 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? He is the leader of the majority party. He 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 cannot 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 a foreign country it's because they want them in a foreign country ...

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!

[Locutus]

Great piece. 

[libby]

 

545 vs. 300,000,000 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? He is the leader of the majority party. He 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 cannot 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 a foreign country it's because they want them in a foreign country ...

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!

Great piece. 

[RC]

Yet 90 plus percent are reelected each time.  Why?

[Palehorse]

Yet 90 plus percent are reelected each time.  Why?

Because the sheep bleat and believe the propaganda instead of doing a little bit of homework and figuring out the truth for themselves. Why? Because it is easier for them and they can sit on their large posteriors eating bon-bons.

[Anne]

I think it is because one is as bad as the next one and 'the devil you know is better than the one you don't'. The new guy promises things you know he/she can't deliver and the old guy promises to do better.

[duke jupiter]

I think it is because one is as bad as the next one and 'the devil you know is better than the one you don't'. The new guy promises things you know he/she can't deliver and the old guy promises to do better.

Well said and accurate.

Best regards,
Duke (forked tongues everywhere) Jupiter

[followsthewolf]

Man who speaks with forked tongue should not have licked a razor blade.

[Locutus]

Yet 90 plus percent are reelected each time.  Why?

RC, we've been talking about this for a long time around here.  I posed this exact same question here on another board in this forum:

http://theunknownzone.dailynuisanceproductions.com/index.php?topic=18400.0

Something is going to have to change, and it's in our hands, as members of the electorate, to change it.  If we don't change as a populace, we're simply doomed to a continued state of ineffective leadership in the federal government.  It will continue to be a place where personal careers, lobbyists, and money, all replace the best interests of the people who sent them there. 

It's one thing that we all agree on around here.  And for all of us to agree on something is rare. 

[RC]

RC, we've been talking about this for a long time around here.  I posed this exact same question here on another board in this forum:

http://theunknownzone.dailynuisanceproductions.com/index.php?topic=18400.0

Something is going to have to change, and it's in our hands, as members of the electorate, to change it.  If we don't change as a populace, we're simply doomed to a continued state of ineffective leadership in the federal government.  It will continue to be a place where personal careers, lobbyists, and money, all replace the best interests of the people who sent them there. 

It's one thing that we all agree on around here.  And for all of us to agree on something is rare. 

Part of the problem is that most people think their congressman is doing a good job.  They will say it is the other guys that are the problem.  With the exception of gun rights our congressman is as far left as any of the liberals and perverts that make up the MA group.

[Locutus]

Part of the problem is that most people think their congressman is doing a good job.  They will say it is the other guys that are the problem.  With the exception of gun rights our congressman is as far left as any of the liberals and perverts that make up the MA group.

Agreed.   I've always maintained that what you describe is exactly what the problem is.  Rather than seeing one's own elected officials as being part of the problem, most people think theirs are fine and dandy, and the representatives of others the problem. 

I think we've arrived at the point where every last one of them is a problem, and they all need to go. 

[libby]

Where are you going to find an honest politician -- one who cannot be corrupted?  And, let's don't forget that there will always be people who are not politicians whose votes can be bought.

When I was a girl, I remember hearing the husband of one of my cousins say that he was doing some work for a well- known and liked lawyer/politician in our county in southern WV. I was skeptical because the fellow talking was not a high school graduate and worked on the railroad, so I asked him what his job was, and he said, without the slightest hesitation or embarrassment, "I pass out likker so people will vote for him."

[Palehorse]

Where are you going to find an honest politician -- one who cannot be corrupted?  And, let's don't forget that there will always be people who are not politicians whose votes can be bought.

. . .

Quite right. However, "greasing the rails" by enabling corporations and the wealthy to contribute to their campaigns without limitation does nothing to help the situation, but rather nurtures it. $$ = influence upon our legislative process, and reduces the status of the individual vote and will of the private citizens of this nation to the status of toilet paper. (Perhaps even less).

And as for the individual citizens decision to "sell their vote"; enacting legislation that is draconian toward the citizens of this nation helps ensure that their votes can be bought easily. It facilitates this by reducing their quality of life to desperate levels wherein they will "do anything" to get some food in the stomachs of their children, a roof over their head, a fire in the furnace,. . . etc. 

[RC]

Quite right. However, "greasing the rails" by enabling corporations and the wealthy to contribute to their campaigns without limitation does nothing to help the situation, but rather nurtures it. $$ = influence upon our legislative process, and reduces the status of the individual vote and will of the private citizens of this nation to the status of toilet paper. (Perhaps even less).

And as for the individual citizens decision to "sell their vote"; enacting legislation that is draconian toward the citizens of this nation helps ensure that their votes can be bought easily. It facilitates this by reducing their quality of life to desperate levels wherein they will "do anything" to get some food in the stomachs of their children, a roof over their head, a fire in the furnace,. . . etc. 

What "desperate level", the food stamp,obama phone babies get it all for free they are living the high life on my dime.  That how obama got his reelection , they voted themselves all the freebies that he will give them. It is the people not  taking anything from the government that need help , not the lowlife pill heads and assorted other misfits, perverts, and ner-do wells that are destroying society.

[The Troll]

What "desperate level", the food stamp,obama phone babies get it all for free they are living the high life on my dime.  That how obama got his reelection , they voted themselves all the freebies that he will give them. It is the people not  taking anything from the government that need help , not the lowlife pill heads and assorted other misfits, perverts, and ner-do wells that are destroying society.

  Get a life RC (meathead).  The reason your damn Republican Party didn't win was because you didn't have a good candidate.  They were all meatheads like you.  People living on your dime.      Just how much money are you giving cheapskate.  Probably not much, living on your dime.    Is that why we have so much poverty in this country is because of poor people are living on your dime.  Give me a break.