545 People (somewhat political)

[DG Hear]

A refresher course in civics ....
Whether you are a Democrat or a Republican, this is a very interesting article and should give everyone in this country something to think about , mull over, discuss.

About Charlie Reese:

Charlie Reese has been a journalist for 49 years, reporting on everything from sports to politics. From 1969-71, he worked as a campaign staffer for gubernatorial, senatorial and congressional races in several states. He was an editor, assistant to the publisher, and columnist for the Orlando Sentinel from 1971 to 2001. He now writes a syndicated column three times a week for King Features. Reese served two years active duty in the U.S. Army as a tank gunner.


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, WHY do we have deficits?

Have you ever wondered why, 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. For instance, no 'normal human being' would have the gall of any Speaker of The House to stand up and criticize a current 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? The leader of the majority party. He/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 do so.

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 made it unfair.

If the budget is in the red, it's because they put it in the red.

If the Army & Marines are in IRAQ , it's because they put 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 (and believe me, they do!).
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.

Why don't we just vote ALL of them out of office and clean up their mess!

What you do with this article now that you have read it is up to you, though you appear to have several choices.
1. You can send this to others, and hope' they' do something about it.
2. You can agree to 'vote against' everyone that is currently in office, knowing that the process will take several years.
3. You can decide to 'run for office' yourself and agree to do the job properly.
4. Lastly, you can sit back and do nothing, or re-elect the current bunch.

YOU DECIDE, BUT AT LEAST SEND IT TO YOUR FRIENDS AND FAMILY AND SHARE THIS INTERESTING ANALYSIS OF OUR POLITICAL SYSTEM WITH THEM. GOTTA ADMIT..MAKES YOU THINK, DOESN'T IT!

 

[cloudy]

I understand what point he's trying to make, but honestly...the people in office now are not the people who created much of the mess he lists, such as the tax code. That's been in place for how long now?

As far as Iraq goes, the blame for that can be laid straight at your boy W's feet.

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

CLOUDY

We'll see what your tune is in 100 days, when Dubya is gone.

 

[rgraham666]

Yeah, yeah. If we could just get rid of politicians everything would be perfect and wonderful forever.

Here's what George Carlin had to say about that.

"Now, there's one thing you might have noticed I don't complain about: politicians," he explained in a routine that challenged all the premises of today's half-a-loaf reformers. "Everybody complains about politicians. Everybody says they suck. Well, where do people think these politicians come from? They don't fall out of the sky. They don't pass through a membrane from another reality. They come from American parents and American families, American homes, American schools, American churches, American businesses and American universities, and they are elected by American citizens. This is the best we can do folks. This is what we have to offer. It's what our system produces: Garbage in, garbage out. If you have selfish, ignorant citizens, you're going to get selfish, ignorant leaders. Term limits ain't going to do any good; you're just going to end up with a brand new bunch of selfish, ignorant Americans. So, maybe, maybe, maybe, it's not the politicians who suck. Maybe something else sucks around here… like, the public. Yeah, the public sucks. There's a nice campaign slogan for somebody: "The Public Sucks. Fuck Hope."

 

[JagFarlane]

Heres some points on things:

As much as I follow the presidential election, I also keep it at an arms length, particularly the promises. Say for example, the tax cuts being proposed. In reality, a president can propose tax cuts till they're blue in the face. If Congress doesn't want it, then Congress will vote it down. On the opposite end, if Congress really wants something, they have the ability to override the veto.

There is supposed to be a checks and balances in place. However, I wonder who really checks Congress? Lets take a look at a few examples:

For one, amidst the economic strife, Congress took a 5 week vacation. I'm sure everyone remembers that in July voters were screaming for Congress to do something about the energy problems. Congress members were giving speeches testifying to the amount of mail they received from concerned voters in regards to energy. And right in the middle of this, Congress closed its doors and left for 5 weeks. The 5 week vacation was initially meant for a day and age when horses were the major form of transportation, and it could easily mean two or three weeks of travel for some members. Not meant for the day and age where jets allow members to be home that night. But its something that will be unchanged. Some members, most notably Republicans, stayed behind and debated in darkened rooms. This was written off as a political stunt, and when Nancy Pelosi, the Democratic majority leader was inquired, she took the press time as more of an opportunity to bash McCain than to really discuss the energy problem, or if Congress should actually be doing the job they get paid to do.

For two, members of Congress are generally not in session during the election time. They are too busy off trying to get themselves, or their cronies, re-elected. It would be like your current job paying you to take time off to go find a new job, for a couple of months every two years.

For three, the abuse of the languages is rather abundant. For example, want to take the family to a vacation to the Bahamas? Easy as pie, write it off as a "diplomatic trip" and send the bill to the taxpayers.

Do you really think they're going to levy huge taxes on the wealthy? Wow do they have the wool pulled over your eyes. Where do you think most people, who have had that sort of power go when they're done? Yup, they go to lobbyist groups, lawyer firms, and to those same buisnesses that you want heavier taxes on. On the same note, most of them are independently wealthy anyways, so it would be like giving you the option to tax yourself, ain't gonna happen.

Thats why sometimes, its hard for me to listen to these people preach on about what they're going to do. More often than not, it won't happen. Either they'd be shooting themselves, or their friends, in the foot. Esp Presidential Candidate promises, because unless the people keep a very watchful eye on Congress and write thousands of letters in support or hate of new bills, Congress will do what is best for them.

 

[DesertPirate]

Who checks Congress? The President can veto anything if he has the balls. The courts can declare a law Unconstitutional.

Problem 1: When the President and Congress trade favors. Very regular and common for at least 75 years. They try to call it compromise but it is just trading pork.

Problem 2: Courts that try to change law currently called "activist courts". They are there to hold laws to the Constitution and see if they measure up, not change them.

Go back and actually read the constitution and see how much goes on in Washington that is truly wrong and could be prosecuted.

As for what todays Congresscritters have to do with it? How many of those clowns have been there for over 20 years? Way to many! We are not supposed to have a permanent ruling class.

 

[BlackShanglan]

It's tempting to blame that little group of people - especially now, when numerically small cabals of people have managed to create a set of financial circumstances that will cost millions of completely uninvolved people large sums of money.

However, when I step back and look at the problem - "Why can't you come up with a system that is deemed fair, agreeable, and appealing by 300 million people, all of whom would inherently like to receive all of the benefits of modern civilization without being charged for any of them?" - I feel a least a grudging sense of empathy for people faced with an impossible task. That doesn't make me feel any more cheerful when they inevitably solve the problem by splurging, catering to special interests, and engaging in graft and corruption while hoping that they'll be out of office and enjoying their gains by the time the bill comes due, but I do recognize that the public often asks quite unreasonable things.

 

[Selena_Kitt]

Yep, George Carlin had it right. Garbage in, garbage out.

Or maybe Ghandi had it right.

BE the change you want to see in the world.

 

[BlackShanglan]

BE the change you want to see in the world.

I've always liked that phrase. That and his list of things that are destructive without their necessary counterparts -

Wealth without work
Pleasure without conscience
Science without humanity
Knowledge without character
Politics without principle
Commerce without morality
Worship without sacrifice

 

[trysail]

I have to admit that I derive both enormous pleasure and seething rage from the quadrennial silliness of two individuals yelling, screaming, whooping, hollaring and trooping about the countryside promising any and everything under the sun— NONE OF WHICH IS IN THEIR POWER TO DELIVER.

That anyone pays a great deal of attention to their promises is a subject of wonderment to me. It is as much a measure of the general population's gullibility and complete lack of understanding of the political system as any other indicator.

 

[BlackShanglan]

I have to admit that I derive both enormous pleasure and seething rage from the quadrennial silliness of two individuals yelling, screaming, whooping, hollaring and trooping about the countryside promising any and everything under the sun— NONE OF WHICH IS IN THEIR POWER TO DELIVER.

That's the part that always amuses me, as well. Especially when they promise to ride into town and clean out all of those evil Washington insiders who run the place.

Bless them. As if the evil insiders will be found lounging about the meadow drinking sarsaparilla and polishing their nails. I'd love to see the graft, corruption, and backscratching driven out with a bullwhip, but I'm realistic enough to know that it's unlikely to happen when you have to get the beneficiaries of the system to vote it out.

 

[Belegon]

That's the part that always amuses me, as well. Especially when they promise to ride into town and clean out all of those evil Washington insiders who run the place.

Bless them. As if the evil insiders will be found lounging about the meadow drinking sarsaparilla and polishing their nails. I'd love to see the graft, corruption, and backscratching driven out with a bullwhip, but I'm realistic enough to know that it's unlikely to happen when you have to get the beneficiaries of the system to vote it out.

The first priority of any bureaucracy is the survival of the bureaucracy.

It's the way it is.

 

[Zeb_Carter]

I understand what point he's trying to make, but honestly...the people in office now are not the people who created much of the mess he lists, such as the tax code. That's been in place for how long now?

As far as Iraq goes, the blame for that can be laid straight at your boy W's feet.

I humbly beg to differ...

Here is a list that shows that most of the people now in Congress have been there long before the current problem arose.

The bottom two thirds of this page shows when a congressman first took office. Over 50%, by my guestimation have been around since the 90's, a lot of those since the 80's.

So if they didn't want things this way...what?

 

[cloudy]

I humbly beg to differ...

Here is a list that shows that most of the people now in Congress have been there long before the current problem arose.

The bottom two thirds of this page shows when a congressman first took office. Over 50%, by my guestimation have been around since the 90's, a lot of those since the 80's.

So if they didn't want things this way...what?

I mentioned Iraq, which is clearly Bush's doing, and the tax code, which has been around forever, even though it changes slightly year to year.

I have no idea what you're referring to, or what you think I said.

 

[DesertPirate]

The tax code has been modified by every Congress since it was implemented and is now so large that no single person is capable of knowing it.

If printed in a "normal" font it would pretty much fill a 48 foot semi trailer.

 

[Zeb_Carter]

I mentioned Iraq, which is clearly Bush's doing, and the tax code, which has been around forever, even though it changes slightly year to year.

I have no idea what you're referring to, or what you think I said.

Bush just happened to be the dope in office at the time congress voted for the war which he proposed. He can't do anything without them. But congress can do it without him by overriding his veto or not voting yea.

but honestly...the people in office now are not the people who created much of the mess he lists, such as the tax code.

As to the predicament we are in now ... economic, tax code, etc. ... most of congress has been around long enough to be the ones who caused the problems we now face. The new guys might have been able to change things but they went along for the ride and got splinters in their collective asses.

 

[DesertPirate]

Anyone that votes for an incumbent this year is saying they want more of the same!