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 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.
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
7 comments:
Good post Papa Frank. The obvious reaction is to throw the bums out but the problem is that there are just more bums behind them. It takes a "special" kind of person to run for Congress or the presidency. Decent people need not apply. I have followed politics for 30 years and there has been one politician I have actually respected, Paul Henry. I have liked a few, I like the Bush's, as an example.
Paul Henry though seemed to be an honorable man. I grew up as a Democrat because my family is. He is the man that drew me to the GOP and I have never looked back. He had the highest percentage of in-district contributions in COngress, in the high 90's. He seemed level headed and seemed to be concerned about the issues of the people of his district. Sadly, he died of a brain tumor at a fairly young age, 40's I believe.
Since then, I have believed that they are all, even the ones I like, mostly full of manure.
Chuck-The BIGGER problem is the congressional and senatorial aides...they come with the office.
There needs to be a mass firing of every aide in every department and congress and the White House...
The aides do most of the grunt work, finagelling, compromises, etc. that occurs.
Clean the offices!
tmw
Well said Merry
"If the Marines are in Lebanon.."
That certainly resonates with me. Good post.
Replace them with whom?
That's where it gets a little sticky. While it is true that any number of these bobos need to take a dixie, until we can form coalitions and engage in rational discourse in this country we are nothing bu puppets dangling from the strings.
Excellent essay, PF.
We deserve who we vote for. While only 9% of the American people have confidence in Congress, better than 80% are happy with their senators or representative. Makes you wonder if Americans are drinking kool aid.
Are there any who should stay? I'll assign myself a Herculean task, name a Republican I could support. Hmm......................... and the answer is Chuck Hagel.
In fact if you go back and get the facts and not the campaign rhetoric it was Hagel who was the lone voice saying that Fannie and Freddie had their hands in the till and their thumb on the scale. McCain signed on to that sixteen months after the bills initial failure when the damage was already done.
Chuck Hagel seems to be a decent principled guy. So we can't throw them all out, even the opposition.
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