Charley Reese's final
column for the Orlando
Sentinel...
He has been a
journalist for 49 years.
He is retiring and
this is HIS LAST COLUMN.
Be sure to read the
Tax List at the end.
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?
John Boehner. 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 Iraq and Afghanistan
it's because they want them in Iraq and
Afghanistan ...
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 the Orlando Sentinel
Newspaper.
What you do with this article now that you
have read it... is up to you.
This might be funny if it
weren't so true.
Be sure to read all the way to the
end:
Tax his land,
Tax his bed,
Tax the
table,
At which he's fed.
Tax his tractor,
Tax
his mule,
Teach him taxes
Are the rule.
Tax his
work,
Tax his pay,
He works for
peanuts
anyway!
Tax his cow,
Tax his goat,
Tax his
pants,
Tax his coat.
Tax his ties,
Tax his
shirt,
Tax his work,
Tax his dirt.
Tax his
tobacco,
Tax his drink,
Tax him if he
Tries to
think.
Tax his cigars,
Tax his beers,
If he
cries
Tax his tears.
Tax his car,
Tax his
gas,
Find other ways
To tax his ass.
Tax all he
has
Then let him know
That you won't be done
Till
he has no dough.
When he screams and hollers;
Then
tax him some more,
Tax him till
He's good and
sore.
Then tax his coffin,
Tax his grave,
Tax
the sod in
Which he's laid...
Put these
words
Upon his tomb,
'Taxes drove me
to my
doom...'
When he's gone,
Do not relax,
Its time
to apply
The inheritance tax.
Accounts Receivable
Tax
Building Permit Tax
CDL license Tax
Cigarette
Tax
Corporate Income Tax
Dog License Tax
Excise
Taxes
Federal Income Tax
Federal Unemployment Tax
(FUTA)
Fishing License Tax
Food License Tax
Fuel
Permit Tax
Gasoline Tax (currently 44.75 cents per
gallon)
Gross Receipts Tax
Hunting License
Tax
Inheritance Tax
Inventory Tax
IRS Interest
Charges IRS Penalties (tax on top of tax)
Liquor
Tax
Luxury Taxes
Marriage License Tax
Medicare
Tax
Personal Property Tax
Property Tax
Real Estate
Tax
Service Charge Tax
Social Security Tax
Road
Usage Tax
Recreational Vehicle Tax
Sales Tax
School
Tax
State Income Tax
State Unemployment Tax
(SUTA)
Telephone Federal Excise Tax
Telephone Federal
Universal Service Fee Tax
Telephone Federal, State and
Local Surcharge Taxes
Telephone Minimum Usage Surcharge
Tax
Telephone Recurring and Nonrecurring Charges
Tax
Telephone State and Local
Tax
Telephone Usage Charge Tax
Utility
Taxes
Vehicle License Registration Tax
Vehicle Sales
Tax
Watercraft Registration Tax
Well Permit
Tax
Workers Compensation Tax
STILL THINK THIS
IS FUNNY?
Not one of these taxes
existed 100 years ago, & our nation was the most
prosperous in the world.
We had absolutely no national
debt, had the largest middle class in the world, and Mom
stayed home to raise the kids.
What in the heck
happened? Can you spell 'politicians?'
I hope this goes
around THE USA at least 545 times!!! YOU can help it get
there!!!
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