May 1, 2013
This article was first published by the
Orlando Sentinel Star newspaper
The 545
People Responsible For All Of U.S. Woes
BY Charley
Reese
(Date of
publication unknown)-- -- -
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 235 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 but 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 legislation's responsibility to determine
how he votes.
A CONFIDENCE
CONSPIRACY
Don't you see
how the con game that is played on the people by the politicians? 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 Tip O'Neill, who stood up
and criticized Ronald Reagan 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 appropriations and taxes.
O'neill is the
speaker of the House. He is the leader of the majority party. He and his fellow
Democrats, not the president, can approve any budget they want. If the
president vetos it, they can pass it over his veto.
REPLACE
SCOUNDRELS
It seems
inconceivable to me that a nation of 235 million cannot replace 545 people who
stand convicted -- by present facts - of incompetence and irresponsibility.
I can't think
of a single domestic problem, from an unfair tax code to defense overruns, that is not traceable directly to those 545
people.
When you
fully grasp the plain truth that 545 people exercise 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 Lebanon, it's
because they want them in Lebanon.
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 it.
Above all, do
not let them con you into the belief that there exist 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 they have the gumption to manage their own employees.
This article was first published by the
Orlando Sentinel Star newspaper
Happy
Wednesday!
Happy May
First!
Aloha.