Our current political debacle - by Charley Reese
The 545 people responsible for America's woes: by Charley 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, 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 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.
Confidence Conspiracy:
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 G.W.
BUSH 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? She is
the leader of the majority party. She and fellow Democrats, not the
president, can approve any budget they want. If the president vetoes
it, they can pass it over his veto.
Replace the Scoundrels:
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, 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 IRAQ, it's because they want them in
IRAQ. 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 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 the voters have the gumption to manage their
own employees. We should vote all of them out of office and clean up
their mess.
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