I got this in an email but it really makes you think

[lorihadams]

Here is the email I received from a friend of mine. Do with it what you wish, just thought I would share.

545 vs 300,000,000
EVERY CITIZEN NEEDS TO READ THIS AND THINK ABOUT WHAT THIS JOURNALIST HAS SCRIPTED IN THIS MESSAGE.
READ IT AND THEN REALLY THINK ABOUT OUR CURRENT POLITICAL DEBACLE.

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 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?
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 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 darned 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 T ax
Social Security Tax
Road Usage Tax
Sales Tax
Recreational Vehicle Tax
School Tax
State Income Tax
State Unemployment Tax (SUTA)
Telephone Federal Excise Tax
Telephone Federal Universal Ser vice FeeTax
Telephone Federal, State and Local Surcharge Taxes
Telephone Minimum Usage Surcharge Tax
Telephone Recurring and Non-recurring 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,
and 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 hell happened? Can you spell 'politicians?'
And I still have to 'press 1' for English!?

I hope this goes around THE USA at least 100 times!!! YOU can help
it get there!!!
GO AHEAD - - - BE AN AMERICAN!!!

 

[farmerlor]

Actually the federal deficit in 1909 was 29.5 million. At the time the federal budget called for 377 million to be spent on defense and 3.7 million for healthcare. And I for one, am getting really tired of the whole "and Mom stayed home with the kids" thing as being the epitome of National Security and perfect American dream.
So yeah, it made me think, it made me think that the journalist is another one of those "ah, whatever happened to the good ol' days" whiners who can't get with the program and help move forward instead of constantly looking behind.

 

[FarmerChick]

LOL--I wasn't sure how to reply to this.

Yes I agree with alot. I have my moments of ranting like everyone. The whine of it all just like this email you posted.

But I also know that we elect those 545 people to represent us.

And the "blame in the end" shifts right down to you and me and every single American.



And alot I didn't like---Mom stayed home to raise the kids. Well many a Mom wants a career. Should she not have it?

And then----vote them all out of office and clean up this mess?
HOW---have no government? just not feasible.




yea a good old American rant. as usual which in the end solves nothing and truly doesn't help anyone.


we all know a fix is needed, a rant is not the answer.


quote: "What you do with this article now that you have read it.......... Is up to you. "

What will I do with this email---I would delete it and not think twice over that decision.

 

[Ldychef2k]

Words on a page never "fix" anything. It is the actions taken by an informed populace as a result of those words...such as "We, the People"...that produce change.

The power of the written word should not be diminished. It inspires the hearts and minds of people who otherwise might sit idle in the face of dangerous change.

That is what is happening across the nation, and there are not a few people who are getting quite nervous about it. Nervous enough to try and violate First Amendment rights. (Such as the man who had his microphone shut off over the weekend when he questioned what was being said by Al Gore.)

 

[patandchickens]

I'm sorry, but to be blunt, I think that (the email thing pasted into the initial post) is an incredibly stupid "analysis".

What, so we are to believe that virtually every bunch of 454 people that has ever been elected just *happens* to personally want deficit spending, an unfair tax code, and periodic wars, and be a general sociopathic meanie?

Yuh huh.

Deficit spending exists mainly because peoples' -- THE People's -- wishes exceed their means. It is exacerbated by the difficulty, in a large and complex government, of eliminating waste and duplicate programs and useless programs and so forth. Anyone who thinks it would be EASY to sweep all those wastes of money out the door should TRY it. It ain't that simple, although it could certainly be improved on.

Everybody agrees that the tax code is unfair, however everyone feels it is primarily unfair to THEM (and can point to a reasonable justification for feeling so). The lower tax brackets are taxed "unfairly" because even a lower tax rate takes away so much when they started with so little to begin with; the upper tax brackets are taxed "unfairly" because they bear a larger proportional tax than others; and the middle class is taxed "unfairly" because the poor and the rich should be bearing a larger share of the burden than they are Thus, since all possible competing interests believe (on average) that they are being treated unfairly, there is no likelihood of any directional movement on that account; and in any case, when there *is*, people just CONTINUE thinking they're being taxed unfairly.

Wars happen for a whole suite of reasons, some of them arguably good (like saving large numbers of innocent people from having horrible things done by a tterrible regime) and some of them definitely not (financial gain). But if the American people are really overwhelmingly against a particular war, we are not there, at least not for long.

The writer of that piece seems to radically overestimate the degree to which his personal views (or any other one particular set of views) are shared by the majority of the American public.

Also, look:

most of the American politicians who've ever LIVED have been voted out of office. It is all lots of fun to say "kick the bums out and replace them!" but... with whom? Who are all these people who are going to behave so radically differently in office?

Certainly some individual politicians could be replaced with others who have different views/ethics/motives/etc, but honestly, I see no (ZERO) evidence that the main reason the country is the way it is today is because there is some special weird corrupt breed who have taken over politics.

Most of the problems are perfectly understandable and are *inherent* in the system. You work against them, you try to roll back the tide as much as possible, but a lot of this stuff is BUILT INTO THE RULES OF THE GAME, it is built into the way society and gov't are set up, and you cannot expect to avoid it entirely no matter WHO is sittin' in the big chairs.

JMHO,

Pat

 

[me&thegals]

As always, well put, Pat.

Most of us don't *enjoy* taxes, but I challenge anyone who abhors them to live a life completely untouched by benefits made possible through taxes. Possibly someone on this site could do so, but I bet 99.99% of people who gripe about taxes enjoy their benefits every moment of their lives.

 

[dragonlaurel]

I grew up in Orlando and read Charley Reese sometimes. He has common sense. That is getting harder to find than it used to be. If you don't like the way the government is doing things, Vote. But be smart about it. Look up their records on how they have voted on stuff so far, to try to get past the campaign rhetoric and see what they actually Do.
We also need the line item veto to be a law.
It would make it hard for them to pass B.S. bills by attaching them to something that is a good idea. When the politicians get the bill they have to either say no to the good part or say okay to both parts, sometimes.

 

[VT-Chicklit]

It wasn't until the past 100 years, that the career politician came into existance. The last 60 or so years they have become the norm in Washington. Until then, you had people that were elected for a term or two and then they went back to their businesses or jobs. It has gotten to the point that their main priority is staying elected and not the common good of our country. Greed and graft rule in Washington with a little bit of tawdry sex added to the mix. They buy votes with our money and line their pockets and the pockets of their cronies. As long as they bring home some "bacon" for their state, they get re-elected. Unfortunately it may be impossible to find 56 people Congress that hold the countries best interest above their own.

 

[patandchickens]

VT-Chicklit, if you were to go out there and successfully run for and then HOLD public office, even "just" as a State representative or senator (more-local offices do not entirely count for this purpose, for various reasons, but would be better than nothing), you would have a muuuuuuch different and more reality-based view of what things are like and WHY.

Most of the things being mentioned here as bad features of government are in fact STRUCTURAL to the system and pretty much unavoidable (although they can be allowed to happen more or controlled mroe carefully).

The politicians I've known have been earnest, sincere people of as much honesty and honor as any other person around, and they do their best.

Governing a country of however-many hundred million people in 50 separate states from umpty-gazillion different cultural, ethnic and philosophical backgrounds is just NOT an easy job, DOES require a considerable amount of compromise for anything at all to get done, and WILL NEVER EVER please most if any people.

Armchair quarterbacking is fun, but...


Pat

 

[Big Daddy]

Kind of a silly e-mail. At least he read his civics book in school. He doesn't seem to realize the impact that lobbyists have in DC. They say a Senator has to raise 20,000 per day to run a reelection campaign. Those lobbyists run DC. If you don't vote the way your contributors want you to vote, you lose your campaign money and you don't get reelected. Campaign reform is the solution.

Correct me if I'm wrong. Doesn't the incumbent party usually run their incumbent again without a primary? So who are you going to vote for if you're a Democrat and the incumbent Democrat is doing a crummy job? It's unlikely you will vote for the Republican. Generally the 2 parties have extremely different ideologies. So the system makes it difficult to throw out the bums. Add to that the fact that most people are clueless about politics and vote based on TV ads or scare tactics. It's not a very effective system and is not likely to change.

As far as the old days. I'm 51 and I never experienced all the wonders of the old days. Be honest everyone. How many of you lived in the old days? Politics have always been dirty from the history books I've read. It's always been about power and influence. If it was about conscience, the dems would have refused to pay for the Iraqi war when they gained power in 2006. They knew that Bush would keep our boys over there without any ammo and when they all got killed he would blame it on them. So they kept writing the checks. I would love to be able to be friends with a Senator and listen to all the stories of what really controls the decisions that are made.