It really is this simple....

[MS Fowler]

A friend sent me this Charlie Reese piece. I apologize if its old news, but it sure makes sense to me.

545 vs 300,000,000

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 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 theOrlando Sentinel Newspaper.

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


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[LUVMBDiesels]

Exactly...

I say throw them all out. There is no excuse for keeping Congressmen and Senators in office for 40+ years when they only have getting re-elected in mind.

Somewhere along the way it stopped being about We the People and became all about the money...

[Brian Carlton]

Well said.

Very true.

[Botnst]

Vote 3rd party.

[mgburg]

Originally Posted by Brian Carlton

Well said. ... Very true.

Would YOU agree that that is WHAT I'VE BEEN SAYING FOR THE PAST YEAR?

[davidmash]

They are not responsible. We vote them into office, therefore we are responsible. Until the population figures that out, they can do what they want.

[MS Fowler]

Originally Posted by davidmash

They are not responsible. We vote them into office, therefore we are responsible. Until the population figures that out, they can do what they want.

Way too much truth in what you say.

[CSchmidt]

My opinion is they ( the entire 545) need more accountability than just getting re-elected. Their pay should be based on results... run over budget, you don't get paid. Maybe even a penalty. The evaluation should be on the entire group as a whole, not just the party with the majority. Have their retirement based on their ratings during their tenure.

[DslBnz]

Guys, we're NOT the majority. Others WANT to be treated this way. This is the way the country is headed. We can't do much about it if no one listens.

[Honus]

That's a clever article, but I don't think it holds water.

For those who complain about our government, lets see them come up with a simple system for governing 300,000,000 human beings, each with his or her own free will and each acting in what he or she sees as her own best interests.

That's not to say our laws are not too complicated or that we don't have some clowns in Washington, but I don't think it is nearly as simple as the author claims.

[RichC]

Originally Posted by mgburg

Would YOU agree that that is WHAT I'VE BEEN SAYING FOR THE PAST YEAR?

Thats funny, should we link to all the threads that make this untrue ????

You have slathered on the bi partision bull heavier than most here ...

[RichC]

Originally Posted by mgburg

Would YOU agree that that is WHAT I'VE BEEN SAYING FOR THE PAST YEAR?

Thats funny, should we link to all the threads that make this untrue ????

You have slathered on the bi partision bull heavier than most here ...

You have called people unpatriotic if they disagree with what the government is doing.

[RichC]

I have continually been called hippy, unpatriotic, and a few other things that I would get in trouble for saying here on the forum, because I am an actvist.

You won't see me in the streets with a sign.

I donate to charitable intrusts that I agree whith.

I write my resenatives in congress.

I use my coice of things I spend my money on, as a vote for how I want things done.

-----------------------------

We all can bcith and moan, how many of us actually do anyting !!!!

[Brian Carlton]

Originally Posted by mgburg

Would YOU agree that that is WHAT I'VE BEEN SAYING FOR THE PAST YEAR?

No, I would not agree.

[Brian Carlton]

Originally Posted by dculkin

That's a clever article, but I don't think it holds water.

For those who complain about our government, lets see them come up with a simple system for governing 300,000,000 human beings, each with his or her own free will and each acting in what he or she sees as her own best interests.

That's not to say our laws are not too complicated or that we don't have some clowns in Washington, but I don't think it is nearly as simple as the author claims.

In many ways it is applicable.

When these "representatives" spend far more money than the government receives, they put a burden on the future that will be difficult to overcome.

When they allow the banks to extend themselves to the point of insolvency and then toss billions of dollars to prevent a complete collapse of the banking system, they have not upheld their obligation to the American people.

You can argue forever of where and how to spend the dollars received, but the above two statements are irrefutable.