*545* People by Charlie Reese
- 10.05.2008
- Article Number: 3
| 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, why we have deficits?
Have you ever wondered why, if all the politicians are against inflation and high taxes, why 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.
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? 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 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. |
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Biography
- 09.29.2008
- Article Number: 2
| Residence: Chicago
Marital Status: Married (Michelle)
Prev. Occupation: Attorney, Lecturer
Prev. Political Exp.: IL Senate, 1996-2004; US Senate, 2004-present
Education: BA Columbia University, 1983; JD Harvard University, 1991
Birthdate: 08/04/1961
Birthplace: Honolulu, HI
Religion: United Church of Christ
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Obama calls for rescue to help 'Main Street' over Wall Street
- 09.19.2008
- Article Number: 1
| CORAL GABLES, Florida (AFP) - Democrat Barack Obama called Friday for a globally coordinated financial rescue plan that puts the taxpayers on Main Street ahead of the imprudent investors on Wall Street.
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As the US government readied a massive bailout, Obama warned his White House rival John McCain to holster his political guns at a time when Wall Street and ordinary voters are reeling, but also said the tumult was the "final verdict" on the Republican's laissez-faire philosophy.
"This is a worldwide issue, and while the United States can and will lead in stabilizing the credit markets, we should ask other nations, who share in this crisis, to be part of the solution as well," he said.
"I'm much less interested at this point in scoring political points than I am making sure that we have a structure in place that is sound and is actually going to work," the Illinois senator told reporters here.
A new system to keep credit lines flowing and Wall Street in check would not happen "in a day," he said. "We've got to do it in an intelligent, systematic, thoughtful fashion."
Obama spoke after meeting his top economic advisers including Robert Rubin and Larry Summers, both former Treasury secretaries under president Bill Clinton, and ex-Federal Reserve chairman Paul Volcker.
"Right now the problem is the capital markets and making sure that we get something in place quickly to ensure that the Treasury secretary and the Fed have the authority they need to get capital flowing again," Obama said.
"I think what we don't want to do is get too bogged down in some complicated legislative wrangling," he said, a day after accusing McCain of offering nothing but "rants" and policy U-turns in response to the crisis.
"First, we cannot only have a plan for Wall Street. We must also help Main Street as well," Obama said, calling for the year's second federal stimulus plan to help voters battered by surging prices, job losses and home seizures.
After a slew of failures and government bailouts in the financial industry, Obama said "even bolder and more decisive action is needed" as the government readied a hugely expensive plan to rescue the ailing economy.
Obama said "I fully support" the efforts of Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Fed chief Ben Bernanke "to work in a bipartisan spirit with Congress to find a solution of this sort."
"In the same bipartisan spirit that is being shown with regard to the crisis on Wall Street, I ask Senator McCain, President Bush, Republicans and Democrats to join me in supporting an emergency economic plan for working families."
Obama said his plan would notably extend another stimulus package to help Americans cope with rising fuel and food prices, spark job creation through repairing schools and roads, and lend a helping hand to the auto industry.
"John McCain and I can continue to argue about our different economic agendas for next year, but we should come together now to work on what this country urgently needs this year," he said.
"It is critical at this point that the markets and the public have confidence that their work will be unimpeded by partisan wrangling, and that leaders in both parties work in concert to solve the problem at hand."
However, Obama did not entirely shy away from partisan digs as he renewed his attacks on the Republican ardor for deregulation backed by McCain that he argued was behind the mess now engulfing Wall Street.
"And it is the American people who have paid the price. The events of this week have rendered a final verdict on that failed philosophy, and it will end if I am president of the United States," he said. |
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Updated : Fri, 21 Nov 2008 23:16:57 GMT
AP - A county prosecutor who brought indictments this week against Vice President Dick Cheney and others pounded his fist and shouted at the judge Friday during a routine hearing. Willacy County District Attorney Juan Angel Guerra asked Presiding Judge Manuel Banales to recuse himself from the case, which alleges abuse at federally run prisons.
Publ.Date : Fri, 21 Nov 2008 22:35:47 GMT
AP - Germany is dropping its pursuit of a ban on Scientology after finding insufficient evidence of illegal activity, security officials said Friday.
Publ.Date : Fri, 21 Nov 2008 23:13:45 GMT
AP - While President-elect Barack Obama publicly sidelined himself during congressional debate over an auto industry bailout this week, he and his top aides quietly prodded congressional leaders to find a solution to rescue struggling automakers.
Publ.Date : Fri, 21 Nov 2008 23:13:04 GMT
AP - Police have arrested a man suspected of leaving greasy, graphic imprints on the windows of stores, churches and schools in a small Nebraska town. A 35-year-old man was caught in the act by police early Wednesday morning, Cherry County Attorney Eric Scott said Friday. The man hasn't been charged yet, but authorities believe he is the vandal some townsfolk have dubbed the "Butt Bandit."
Publ.Date : Fri, 21 Nov 2008 22:03:37 GMT
AP - President-elect Barack Obama intends to name Timothy Geithner, president of the New York Federal Reserve, as his treasury secretary to confront the nation's intense economic turmoil, senior Democratic officials said Friday.
Publ.Date : Fri, 21 Nov 2008 23:16:57 GMT
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