A Little Something to Think About

Here is a little something that came to me via email. Now, normally I do not put much effort beyond RIGHT CLICK > JUNK E-MAIL > ADD TO BLOCK SENDERS LIST when I get these, but this time I read it over and decided to place the contents here. It's on a subject that we all love and cherrish: taxes (and by 'love and cherish' I mean despise and utterly loath).

Here we go ...

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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 (a PRIVATE COMPANY) 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.

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.

Here are a few others that we must pay ...

1. Accounts Receivable Tax
2. Building Permit Tax
3. CDL license Tax
4. Cigarette Tax
5. Corporate Income Tax
6. Dog License Tax
7. Excise Taxes
8. Federal Income Tax
9. Federal Unemployment Tax (FUTA)
10. Fishing License Tax
11. Food License Tax
12. Fuel Permit Tax
13. Gasoline Tax (currently 44.75 cents per gallon)
14. Gross Receipts Tax
15. Hunting License Tax
16. Inheritance Tax
17. Inventory Tax
18. IRS Interest Charges IRS Penalties (tax on top of tax)
19. Liquor Tax
20. Luxury Taxes
21. Marriage License Tax
22. Medicare Tax
23. Personal Property Tax
24. Property Tax
25. Real Estate Tax
26. Service Charge T ax
27. Social Security Tax
28. Road Usage Tax
29. Sales Tax
30. Recreational Vehicle Tax
31. School Tax
32. State Income Tax
33. State Unemployment Tax (SUTA)
34. Telephone Federal Excise Tax
35. Telephone Federal Universal Ser vice FeeTax
36. Telephone Federal, State and Local Surcharge Taxes
37. Telephone Minimum Usage Surcharge=2 0Tax
38. Telephone Recurring and Non-recurring Charges Tax
39. Telephone State and Local Tax
40. Telephone Usage Charge Tax
41. Utility Taxes
42. Vehicle License Registration Tax
43. Vehicle Sales Tax
44. Watercraft Registration Tax
45. Well Permit Tax
46. 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!?

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As I have said in the past: any government that relies solely on the taxation of its citizens for income, is destined for failure. There will come a time when the government becomes so immense that the populace can no longer support it and it will collapse.

Why doesn't our government run and operate it's OWN companies to generate income? Make cars. Make computers. Hell, make cheese ... just make it and sell it and give us a break.

Currently in the US, you can insure against almost anything. Car wrecks, floods, earthquakes, fire, theft, hurricanes, health and the list goes on. I wonder if my agent can write me up a policy for 'Governmental Collapse' and add it to my bill?

I better check on that ASAP ...