555 people

[Garland_Bone]

A friend sent this to my yahoo account, thought I would pass it on.
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Interesting thoughts to share.




This is Charley Reese's Final Column Charley Reese has been a journalist for the Orlando Sentinel for 49 years.

Charley Reese is retiring. His last column is this one. Many folks will miss this southern gentleman. He had a great run and we are all better off for it.

Farewell, Mr. Reese, and thank you.


Be sure to read the Tax List at the end.


555 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 555 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 555 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 was the speaker of
the House? Nancy Pelosi.
She was 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 cannot
replace 555 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 555 people. When you
fully grasp the plain truth that 555 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 555 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 555 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 hell happened?

Can you spell 'politicians?'

I hope this goes around THE USA at least 555 times!!! YOU can help it get there!!!

GO AHEAD - - - BE AN AMERICAN!!!

P.S. If you do the right thing and pass this on - which is entirely up to you - please do the right thing and highlight and delete any addresses you receive with it. Thanks.



In GOD We TRUST