From an e-mail:

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!
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                                 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. onlyThe President can  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?'