Charley Reese's final column......Be sure to read the final column and send it on ...across the USA !!!!!!!!!!!

[anne biondo]

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.

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!!!