545 People

[Scorpvenom]

I received the below link in an email and found it interesting:

545 People | Campaign for Liberty at the Daily Paul

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 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?

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

No comment is really needed.

[Kiroy]

Sad thing is nothing will change because the vast majority of the population live pretty good lives, from lower class to upper middle class, and why rock the vote?

Err I mean boat.

[schwein]

i always though a lottery would be a better way to pick congress/senators.


people apply for the position, they pass an series of tests about LAW, government ect. they could make awesome requirements like you cant own your on company you can not be more then X amount wealth.

our representatives rarely represent us. how many rags from riches stories are there, only a few. most are part of the social/economical elite to begin with.


this would eliminate the need for them to earn money for their campaign so they have no need to take money so they cant be corrupted as easily. we could give them 10 million dollars for their service if they sign over their right to have their bank account watched so they cant be offered money or anything down the road.

what american wouldn't love to be a representative of that america and would turn down 10 million dollars. i think paying 5 billion dollars every few years to have a non corrupt government is tiny amount of money to pay. for the middle class people 10 million would set them for life, they would pay it out like the lottery too like 1/4 mill a year or something


do you honestly think random people ( who are qualified )could do any worse of a job? i think given the situation minus the corruption people would generally do the right thing.

[Surlok TP]

Originally Posted by schwein

i always though a lottery would be a better way to pick congress/senators.


people apply for the position, they pass an series of tests about LAW, government ect. they could make awesome requirements like you cant own your on company you can not be more then X amount wealth.

our representatives rarely represent us. how many rags from riches stories are there, only a few. most are part of the social/economical elite to begin with.


this would eliminate the need for them to earn money for their campaign so they have no need to take money so they cant be corrupted as easily. we could give them 10 million dollars for their service if they sign over their right to have their bank account watched so they cant be offered money or anything down the road.

what american wouldn't love to be a representative of that america and would turn down 10 million dollars. i think paying 5 billion dollars every few years to have a non corrupt government is tiny amount of money to pay. for the middle class people 10 million would set them for life, they would pay it out like the lottery too like 1/4 mill a year or something


do you honestly think random people ( who are qualified )could do any worse of a job? i think given the situation minus the corruption people would generally do the right thing.

10 million dollars for , forgive me if I am wrong on this I'm not American, 4 years of their life? . How many people would go out of thier way to learn what they needed to qualify just for the opportunity to get that money and then just flip coins on what they vote for, because when their 4 years is up they have 10 million dollars. I imagine a lot of people could happily turn a blind eye to the problems in thier country if they could afford to go live on 20 acres of land in some random no where area and be left alone the rest of their lives.

I don't doubt you would get some people that care, but I imagine the majority would be only thinking about that term being done.

Not saying how things are is right, but that alternative doesn't strike me as the best idea.


throwing greed into the mix with positions of power is never a good idea, as if greed isn't already a factor.

[Believe]

There's also a pretty good response on the link to the article:

It's understandable why people love this piece so much when we feel helpless to change our government.

However, it’s grossly inaccurate and is little more than a smokescreen that shields the real source of our debilitating problems.

Did you catch the glaring and crippling fallacy underlying the entire argument? Implicit in the argument is the clear—though veiled—assumption that the American form of government is an aristocracy. Obviously, it is not—it is, in the immortal words of Abraham Lincoln, a government “of the people, by the people, and for the people.”

Who elects those 545 people? Who is truly responsible? Ironically enough, in an effort to find a source of responsibility, Mr. Reese flagrantly ignores the only true source of responsibility in a constitutional republic: We the People.

So who is really to blame for our pressing problems? The millions of common citizens who aren't educated enough to elect virtuous, courageous, and wise leaders. It's the millions of American families who have failed to raise up those essential leaders in their own homes.

It's the millions of Americans who hold their politicians to a higher standard than they hold themselves to—they sure want their politicians to understand the Constitution, but they don't understand it themselves.

It's the millions of Americans who complain about high taxes, yet then turn around and accept government programs and benefits in the name of "Everyone else is doing it," and/or "I'm just getting my taxes back."

It's the millions of average Americans who claim that the Federal Reserve is evil—without even understanding how it works and what should replace it. It's the millions of Americans who vehemently denounce inflation and deficits while racking up their own credit cards and consuming more than they produce on a daily basis.

It's the millions of Americans who were publicly appalled at Bill Clinton's misdeeds in the Oval Office yet who are secretly addicted to pornography.

It's the millions of common citizens who rage against the criminality of illegal immigration while consciously and deliberately violating the rule of law themselves on a daily basis.

It's the millions of Americans who forcefully proclaim their willingness to fight and die for America—while being unwilling to LIVE for her by becoming liberally educated.

All nations get the government that they deserve—these 545 people are nothing but a reflection of the majority of American citizens. As John Adams wrote, "If worthless men are sometimes at the head of affairs, it is because worthless men are at the tail, and the middle."

Who is to blame? Every one of us American citizens who are hypocritical, complacent, and ignorant. Complaining about 545 people is a great way to stir the pot and incite discontentment—and a really poor way to actually get to the heart and root of our problems to start doing something about them.

We the People are responsible. Until we change, our 545 representatives will never change. The answer isn't to change them—it’s to change ourselves through education, dedication, humility, gratitude, and love.

[AngryGerbil]

Or to loosely paraphrase George Carlin when referring to our government of elected officials:

"We are a society obsessed with cheez-doodles, 8 minute Abs, and shoes with lights in them. This really is the best we can do folks. Garbage in...garbage out."

[Zarcath]

Who elects those 545 people? Who is truly responsible? Ironically enough, in an effort to find a source of responsibility, Mr. Reese flagrantly ignores the only true source of responsibility in a constitutional republic: We the People.

I retort with a quote from K.

A person is smart. People are dumb, panicky dangerous animals and you know it. Fifteen hundred years ago everybody knew the Earth was the center of the universe. Five hundred years ago, everybody knew the Earth was flat, and fifteen minutes ago, you knew that humans were alone on this planet. Imagine what you'll know tomorrow.

One thing that's bothered me is why aren't computers provided in voting booths so voters can look up information on the spot? We recently had our primaries for governor and there were people attached to the ballot for school board. I had no idea who these people were or what they stood for, so I just picked whichever people had the least douche-est sounding names.

[schwein]

10 million dollars for giving up the rights to not be able to part of a major company or own your own business i didn't want to go in to too much detail about that idea but, they would have sacrifice some freedoms to service the country why not pay them for it, it is one of the most important jobs in the country. i think throwing money at them will prevent them from getting greedy and they can ignore corruption because if they do their job they will be set for life. i dont think many people could sit though so many years of law and political science just to earn money. if that where true we would have way more educated people in this country. because going to school getting a good education can get you a job. maybe you wont make 10mil in your life time but you can pull off few mill pretty easy with a master degree. look at percent of the population has a masters.



i tend favor some randomness in society, i dont expect everyone to agree, i also use this example to poke fun at the current system and it's problems putting an idea out there any anyone can do a better job.

[Zeste]

Looked at my kingdom I was finally there to sit on my throne as the prince of bel aire.