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 nor 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 now? 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!

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, if agreed,
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!!!