Charley Reese's Final column!

[paperburn1]

This should be on the front page of every newspaper.


Charley Reese's Final column!

A very interesting column. COMPLETELY NEUTRAL.
Be sure to Read the Poem at the end..

Charley Reese's final column for the Orlando Sentinel... He has been a journalist for 49 years. He is retiring and this is HIS LAST COLUMN.

Be sure to read the Tax List at the end.

This is about as clear and easy to understand as it can be. The article below is completely neutral, neither anti-republican or democrat. Charlie Reese, a retired reporter for the Orlando Sentinel, has hit the nail directly on the head, defining clearly who it is that in the final analysis must assume responsibility for the judgments made that impact each one of us every day. It's a short but good read. Worth the time. Worth remembering!

545 vs. 300,000,000 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?( John Boehner. He is the leader of the majority party. He 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. [The House has passed a budget but the Senate has not approved a budget in over three years. The President's proposed budgets have gotten almost unanimous rejections in the Senate in that time. ]

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 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 and Afghanistan it's because they want them in Iraq and Afghanistan ..

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 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 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
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 heck happened? Can you spell 'politicians?'
I hope this goes around THE USA at least 545 times!!! YOU can help it get there!!!

GO AHEAD. . . BE AN AMERICAN!!!

[MSimon]

PB,

You are leaving out the support and connivance of the voting public.

[KitemanSA]

I doubt there is any connivance, and since the system only allows for support, of course they are going to get it. I mean its not as if we could actually vote AGAINST the buggers, is it?

[GIThruster]

That totally ROCKED!

[paperburn1]

PB,

You are leaving out the support and connivance of the voting public.

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!

maybe not

[MSimon]

That totally ROCKED!

But you - with your favorite big government program - one that is not quite 100 years old - are an enabler.

The only way you can credibly (which is to say enlist others) get a small government is to give it ALL up.

"I want smaller government except for..." is not going to work. Almost everyone has an "except for..." and they are all different.

[GIThruster]

Simon, you are laboring under the false impression that you are something other than transparent and childish. That is what comes from years of drug abuse. Take it from me, you haven't convinced anyone. Only people sympathetic you your ideas are cheering you on. You have yet to make a salient point in the druggie debate and I find it very slight possibility you ever will. What you propose is perhaps the greatest source of evil the modern world has ever seen--far worse than fascism. You would have billions sell their souls for the chance to get high. You're certainly not going to make me feel bad about my position against.

[paperburn1]

PB,

You are leaving out the support and connivance of the voting public.

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!

maybe not, see above quote from original

edited to clarify

[Diogenes]

Teenage Marijuana Use May Hurt Future IQ

In a study of more than 1,000 adolescents in New Zealand, those who began habitually smoking marijuana before age 18 showed an eight-point drop in IQ between the ages of 13 and 38, a considerable decline.

http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/health/2012 ... future-iq/

[palladin9479]

Pretty good PB. It places the blame squarely where it belongs, on the elected officials. Also like how it denotes that Congress, not the President, is responsible for the finances of the US Government. Notably the House of Representatives, which happens to be Republican right now. The President can make all the grand gestures, stately speeches, and written pieces of paper he wants, it's Congress who actually decides what the US Government does.

[Diogenes]

Pretty good PB. It places the blame squarely where it belongs, on the elected officials. Also like how it denotes that Congress, not the President, is responsible for the finances of the US Government. Notably the House of Representatives, which happens to be Republican right now. The President can make all the grand gestures, stately speeches, and written pieces of paper he wants, it's Congress who actually decides what the US Government does.

Educate yourself little boy.

[Diogenes]

Pretty good PB. It places the blame squarely where it belongs, on the elected officials. Also like how it denotes that Congress, not the President, is responsible for the finances of the US Government. Notably the House of Representatives, which happens to be Republican right now. The President can make all the grand gestures, stately speeches, and written pieces of paper he wants, it's Congress who actually decides what the US Government does.

While i'm thinking about it, one example is probably not nearly enough for you.



http://pandodaily.com/2013/01/09/young- ... o-survive/



http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2013-01-1 ... eady-broke



http://washingtonexaminer.com/michael-b ... PLYfCc8B8F


http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/artic ... state.html



http://blogs.wsj.com/photojournal/2013/ ... ia-square/


http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/fina ... idens.html



http://www.thenews.com.pk/article-82997 ... at-homes--


http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/13/sunda ... .html?_r=3&


http://reason.com/blog/2013/01/07/barac ... ending-pro


http://www.nber.org/bah/2012no1/w17536.html



http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/09/ ... JP20120930


http://seekingalpha.com/article/789821- ... t-17-years


http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2013/jan ... s-so-deep/


http://frontpagemag.com/2013/dgreenfiel ... -pensions/


http://rt.com/usa/news/san-bernardino-b ... crime-003/


http://www.freep.com/article/20121209/N ... xperts-say


http://pointsandfigures.com/2013/01/11/ ... ving-away/


http://cafehayek.com/2013/01/adam-smith ... elves.html


http://www.wired.com/business/2013/01/t ... -inventor/


Or you can have the whole thing in one big public service link.



Get a f****** clue you ignorant moonbat.

[MSimon]

Pretty good PB. It places the blame squarely where it belongs, on the elected officials. Also like how it denotes that Congress, not the President, is responsible for the finances of the US Government. Notably the House of Representatives, which happens to be Republican right now. The President can make all the grand gestures, stately speeches, and written pieces of paper he wants, it's Congress who actually decides what the US Government does.

Educate yourself little boy.

You know this sort of ad hom strikes me as uncalled for. Little man.

And it does seem that those ways of pointing out your disagreement do reduce your stature. And are usually resorted to when you are losing an argument.

You are better than that. Aren't you?

And are you really trying to change minds or are you just stroking the already convinced?

The conservatism you represent is dying out. I know you don't like it. But all you do with those kinds of attacks is move the people you are trying to convince (lurkers etc.) into opposition.

If you are an engineer I would assume a willingness to make peace with the world as it is. i.e. design for the actual environment.

Now I personally take no umbrage at your attacks. I'm an old usenet hand and can give as well as I get when so inclined. But others are not quite so forgiving.

So take this from Simon the Moderator (vs Simon the Commenter). Tone it down.

===

And I might add that the commenter is correct. The House of Representatives is controlled by Republicans (your party as I understand it) and they are spending out of control. Look at the Katrina debacle. Republican House Members took most of the pork out of the Katrina bill. Yet the leaders of the House put it all back (and maybe more).

And funny that you (a staunch prohibitionist) would quote from a staunch anti-prohibitionist venue. I AM amused.

We ARE getting the Government we deserve. I still don't understand how police can solve a medical problem. And funny enough we have already tried such a program (police tasked with solving alcohol addiction) and failed. You represent the triumph of hope over experience. Your adherence to supporting the drug cartels (prohibition) weakens your case for all the other points you make. - You see I can attack your position without resorting to name calling (although I'm not above it when I so choose - see above). So try to show some restraint and tone it down.

[Diogenes]

Pretty good PB. It places the blame squarely where it belongs, on the elected officials. Also like how it denotes that Congress, not the President, is responsible for the finances of the US Government. Notably the House of Representatives, which happens to be Republican right now. The President can make all the grand gestures, stately speeches, and written pieces of paper he wants, it's Congress who actually decides what the US Government does.

Educate yourself little boy.

You know this sort of ad hom strikes me as uncalled for. Little man.

I would take you seriously had you said something about this:

Yeah, well Republicans thought the 24th amendment was a good idea too. That decision is what is currently killing us.

Siging this. D finally came out and admitted he's not only racist but a plutarch as well. "Poll taxes" were tools used to suppress the voting rights of the population.

As you didn't, you don't have any moral high ground from which to preach at me.

[GIThruster]

You know this sort of ad hom strikes me as uncalled for.

What is uncalled for is yet another thread has been driven off topic by the psychotic need to fight for drugs. It is completely uncalled for that our supposed moderator feels the freedom to subvert the contributions of every other member of this forum in order to pursue his own agenda. That is what is uncalled for.