It has become increasingly clear that efforts toward real health reform are going to be used as a ruse for many other far reaching changes in the basic tenants underlying the American experiment . . . including our Constitution, notions of individual liberties, rights and responsibilities and our market based, capitalist economic system.  Clearly health reform does not require these things.  Unfortunately, in this hour, we cannot separate health reform from political reform, therefore we will find it necessary, from time to time to comment on these broader issues that will in the end effect health care either directly or indirectly . . . obi jo and jomaxx

The 545 People Responsible For All Of U.S. Woes

Original editorial by Charley Reese first published by the Orlando Sentinel Star newspaper in the early 1980’s
Update and Revision by jomaxx and obi jo

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?

We don’t propose a federal budget. The president does.

We don’t have the Constitutional authority to vote on appropriations. The House of Representatives does.

We don’t write the tax code. Congress does.

We don’t set fiscal policy. Congress does.

We don’t control monetary policy. The Federal Reserve Bank does.

100 senators, 435 congressmen, 1 president and 9 Supreme Court justices – 545 human beings out of 300+ million – are directly, legally, morally and individually responsible for the domestic problems that plague this country.

Members of the Federal Reserve Board were excluced 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.

All the special interests and lobbyists are also excluded 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. 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 legislators responsibility to determine how he votes.

A CONFIDENCE CONSPIRACY
Don’t you see how the con game is played on the people by the politicians? 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 our current Congress persons who blame the previous President for THEIR failures. Who blame the current President for THEIR problems.  And those who now, after decrying the deficits of the past 8 years, are prepared to triple down on the debt.  And for what purpose?  We can only surmise . . . but it does not look good for the nation of dreams built by our Founding Father’s genius, courage and tenacity.

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 appropriations and taxes.

Ms. Pelosi is the speaker of the House. She is the leader of the majority party. She and fellow Democrats, can approve any budget they want. If the president vetoes it, they can pass it over his veto.

REPLACE SCOUNDRELS
It seems inconceivable that a nation of 300+ million cannot replace 545 people who stand convicted — by present and past facts – of incompetence and irresponsibility.

Can you 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 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 we have wars in Iraq and Afghanistan (as well as troops still in Korea, Germany and many other locations), it’s because they want them.

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 it.

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 we the people have the gumption to manage our own employees.