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!
08-27-10
This from Charlie Reese (formerly of the Orlando Sentinel)
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)
General Excise Tax
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
Transient Accommodation 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 hell happened? Can you spell ‘politicians?
08-27-10
08-09-10
Taken from Seth Godin’s blog this morning—worth sharing:
The number one reason people give me for giving up on something great is, "someone else is already doing that."
Or, parsed another way, "my idea is not brand new." Or even, "Oh no, now we’ll have competition."
Two big pieces of news for you:
1. Competition validates you. It creates a category. It permits the sale to be this or that, not yes or no. And this or that is a much easier sale to make. It also makes decisions about pricing easier, because you have someone to compare against and lean on.
2. There are six billion people in the world. Even if your market is hand-made spoke shaves for left-handed woodworkers, there are more people in your market than you can ever hope to track down.
There are lots of good reasons to abandon a project. Having a little competition is not one of them. Even if it’s Google you’re up against.
08-09-10
Thanks to Alena Watts for sharing this article on the power of a handwritten note.
http://www.tampabay.com/news/business/workinglife/article1110497.ece
07-27-10
A friend of mine wrote this morning of being stranded at La Guardia for a canceled, early flight. Up at 4am. Rushing to the airport. Discovering the flight was canceled.
Why didn’t Delta call? Email? Smoke signal? Something? There really is no excuse for an airline not to inform passengers of these kinds of things.
07-20-10
To all my southern friends – those born here and those transplanted – no matter how long it took y’all to get down here and all y’all others who just wish you were here!
Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised. Proverbs 31:30
Southern Women
Southern women know their summer weather report:
Humidity
Humidity
Humidity
Southern women know their vacation spots:
The beach
The riva
The crick
Southern women know everybody’s first name:
Honey
Darlin’
Shugah
Southern women know the movies that speak to their hearts:
Fried Green Tomatoes
Driving Miss Daisy
Steel Magnolias
Gone With The Wind
Southern women know their religions:
Baptist
Methodist
Football
Southern women know their cities dripping with Southern charm:
Chawl’stn
S’vanah
Foat Wuth
N’awlins
Addlanna
Southern women know their elegant gentlemen:
Men in uniform
Men in tuxedos
Rhett Butler
Southern girls know their prime real estate:
The Mall
The Country Club
The Beauty Salon
Southern girls know the 3 deadly sins:
Having bad hair and nails
Having bad manners
Cooking bad food
More Suthen-ism’s:
Only a Southerner knows the difference between a hissie fit and a conniption fit, and that you don’t “have” them, you “pitch” them.
Only a Southerner knows how many fish, collard greens, turnip greens, peas, beans, etc…, make up “a mess.”
Only a Southerner can show or point out to you the general direction of “yonder.”
Only a Southerner knows exactly how long “directly” is, as in: “Going to town, be back directly.”
Even Southern babies know that “Gimme some sugar” is not a request for the white, granular sweet substance that sits in a pretty little bowl in the middle of the table.
All Southerners know exactly when “by and by”is. They might not use the term, but they know the concept well.
Only a Southerner knows instinctively that the best gesture of solace for a neighbor who’s got trouble is a plate of hot fried chicken and a big bowl of cold potato salad. If the neighbor’s trouble is a real crisis, they also know to add a large banana puddin!
Only Southerners grow up knowing the difference between “right near” and “a right far piece.” They also know that “just down the road” can be one mile or twenty.
No true Southerner would ever assume that the car with the flashing turn signal is actually going to make a turn.
A Southerner knows that “fixin” can be used as a noun, a verb, or an adverb.
Only Southerners make friends while standing in lines – and when we’re “in line,” – we talk to everybody!
Put a hundred Southerners in a room and half of them will discover they’re related, even if only by marriage.
In the South, “y’all” is singular and “All y’all”is plural.
Southerners know grits come from corn and how to eat them.
Every Southerner knows tomatoes with eggs, bacon, grits, and coffee are perfectly wonderful, that red eye gravy is also a breakfast food, and that fried green tomatoes are not a breakfast food.
When you hear someone say, “Well, I caught myself lookin’,” you know you are in the presence of a genuine Southerner!
Only true Southerners say “sweet tea” and “sweet milk.” Sweet tea indicates the need for sugar and lots of it – we do not like our tea unsweetened. “Sweet milk” means you don’t want buttermilk.
And a true Southerner knows you don’t scream obscenities at little old ladies who drive 30 mph on the freeway. You just say, “Bless her heart” and go your own way.
To those of you who are still a little embarrassed by your Southerness: Take two tent revivals and a dose of sausage gravy and call me in the morning. Bless your heart!
And to those of you who are still having a hard time understanding all this Southern stuff, Bless your heart, I hear they are fixin’ to have classes on Southern’ness as a second language!
Southern girls know men may come and go, but friends are fahevah!
Now.Shugah, send this to someone who was raised in the South or wish they had been! If you’re a Northern transplant, bless your little heart, fake it. We know you got here as fast as you could.
07-17-10
When I was a kid one of the mind games we’d play on folks was to ask if they have the 4th of July in England or Canada or Japan. A lot of people would fall for it and say, “No.” Of course, the answer is that the 4th of July happens in every country and every year—not just the US.
But NO ONE ELSE has the celebration of the 4th of July like we do. NO ONE ELSE can claim the day as the birthday of their nation. NO ONE ELSE can call it by its rightful name: Independence Day. Only the United States of America can do this.
It’s hard for us to imagine (and easy to forget) that over that weekend, in the hot summer of 1776, a small group of patriots acted on their love of country and passion for liberty, affixing their signatures to what could well have been their death warrant: the Declaration of Independence. Risking literally everything they had as well as their lives, they proclaimed that these United States are and ought to be an independent nation, that we should no longer be ruled by a tyrant thousands of miles away, that men, by reason of their Creator’s design, had rights that NO ONE can take from them, and that the sole purpose of government was to protect these rights.
These were great men with great courage and great vision. They believed, as I do, that America was and still is a “city set on a hill, a shining example of what can and should be, a beacon of freedom” for others to follow and to imitate. Our country is far from perfect. We certainly have our share of problems and failures. But America is a country like no other—exceptional in every way; from her founding to her present, America is different, special, destined to do good in the world.
This weekend, take the time to reflect on what it means to be an American. Read the Declaration of Independence. Don’t let anyone tell you that America is just “another nation among nations” because it simply isn’t true.
07-01-10
Older Articles |
Newer Articles
