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.

A 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 ALONE 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 pe ople, 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!!!

I received this in an e-mail today. I don't know who this Reese guy is, too lazy to google him. But. he at least can verbalize a few of my thoughts. What do you all think, does he have a legitimate point?

The fella is spot on. People don't realize that it's BOTH political parties who are responsible for our current fiasco.

NAFTA, for example, was something created during the Reagan administration. It slithered its way through the Bush I administration, and was signed into law by Bill Clinton in 1993. It was lauded as a great triumph in global free trade policy by both Democrats and Republicans, and was even called a "great success" by Hillary Clinton in her autobiography despite the fact she held NO public office at the time.

So now- being that Hillary NOW wants to run for President- she decides to rail against the "failure" that is NAFTA because of the scores of American jobs that have left for more cost-efficient pastures? I have to wonder how much MORE profit she will make by engineering deals with her corporate buddies and their shadow businesses... just like what she and hubby did with their back-door deals in China.

NAFTA is a great success. Free trade policies are absolutely essential. Read your history. It was imposition of tarriffs and barriers to trade which created the depression.

The current fiscal mess is due to spending and entitlements. Until we get a handle n those dragons, we don't have a prayer. I'm just glad I'm older and won't have to stick around to deal with the mess too much longer.

The news today is that there has been a one year moratorium on earmarks proposed. McCain, Clinton and Obama all seem to be on board and McCain is supposed to make a floor speech about that shortly.

Taxes tie into it. Low taxes, paradoxically, stimulate economic growth and bring in higher revenues. Part of the mess is the market's nervousness about the current round of tax cuts expiring. We need the tax cuts extended and expanded and, hopefully, made permanent. If I earn $1000 at work, I take home $700 due to taxes. That is a 30 percent tax load. That is acceptable, but more than about 2 percent more would start to cause me real pain.

We can influence the political monkeys through several means, our vote, our correspondence and our financial contributions. If you see candidates that promote fiscal and defense responsibility, support them or support their party. I do.

The thing about defense is this: A nuke or two dropped on us will do us serious financial damage. If we don't keep a handle on the current world conflicts, we're going to suffer. The candidate that will talk fiscal, environmental, social and defense sense will get my vote. People who obstruct our ability to successfully defend this country will not have my vote. End of story.

GS

right on willy