Tuesday, August 2, 2011

Cooler Heads Will Prevail

Americans are becoming increasingly outraged at the state of our nation, and emotions are running high.  These are signs of the beginning of a revolution.  The opposing sides of the revolution are not Republican and Democrat, as the media would like us to believe.  The opposing sides in this revolution are an incredibly lop-sided 300,000,000 -vs- 545.  Columnist Charley Reese of the Orlando Sentinel penned the following politically-neutral article in 1985.  Please pay careful attention to the last sentence.  It is key.  

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 235 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.

A CONFIDENCE CONSPIRACY

Don't you see how the con game is played on the people by the politicians? 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 Tip O'Neill, who stood up and criticized Ronald Reagan 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 appropriations and taxes.

O'neill is the speaker of the House. He is the leader of the majority party. He and his fellow Democrats, not the president, can approve any budget they want. If the president vetos it, they can pass it over his veto.  (Brian's addition:  It has also since been proven that federal government agencies with rulemaking authority do not need congressional approval to enact laws that most often directly attack and dilute the 10th amendment.)

REPLACE SCOUNDRELS

It seems inconceivable to me that a nation of 235 million cannot replace 545 people who stand convicted -- by present facts - of incompetence and irresponsibility.

I can't think of a single domestic problem, from an unfair tax code to defense overruns, that is not traceable directly to those 545 people.

When you fully grasp the plain truth that 545 people exercise 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 Lebanon, it's because they want them in Lebanon.

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 it.

Above all, do not let them con you into the belief that there exist 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 they have the gumption to manage their own employees.

So now the question is:  Why do we lack the gumption to manage our own employees?  Are we so enamored by election promises and political charisma that we have been overlooking the obvious?  Have we bought into the idea that either the right or the left are the answer to saving us from an inevitable crash & burn? 

GROW UP AMERICA!  We have been conditioned to act like children, expecting the government to take care of us like parents.  We have been afraid that mom and dad will take away our allowance if we cross them.  We need to effectively manage OUR EMPLOYEES.  We need to demand full accountability for their time and their actions, and we need to fire them if they are derelict in their duties.  

We have also allowed ourselves to become intimidated by extremely complicated legal language and processes that need to be simplified.  How many of our readers have the time and patience to completely scrutinize a political bill?  I believe this is by design.  If our politicians can keep us ignorant they will continue to have free reign.  I submit that:
  • All proposed legislation at all level of governments should be written in plain English at a 7th-grade level, with a 1,000-word limit (not counting supporting documents).  This is what many government agencies currently require of grant applicants who are trying to recover some of their otherwise-wasted tax dollars.
  • All proposed legislation at all level of governments should contain an executive summary that states the spirit of the legislation.  
  • Cyber technology should be employed to the full benefit of our nation.  User-friendly websites should be used to daily post proposed categorized legislation with an opportunity for taxpayer participation in opinion polls.  Real-time results of these polls should be posted, and elected officials should be required to fully explain all votes that disagree with the public opinion. 
There is no doubt that some will argue that not all taxpayers have internet access.  I will argue that nearly every computer in our nation has access to a printer, and braille printers are even available for the blind.

I have heard the argument that we can fix our government through the effective use of the election process.  I myself have even promoted the idea of congressional term limitations.  The American taxpayers need to look at the past 20 years and come to the realization that the 2012 election is a moot point.   We, the taxpayers, have allowed our federal government to grow into an out-of-control 800-pound corrupt gorilla.  We no longer have a democracy, and we have a broken system that has passed the tipping point in disrepair.  Short of a complete housecleaning with major compensation cuts and rule changes, it is futile, wishful thinking to believe that we can affect the necessary changes in our federal government through the election process alone.  We must also be active beyond the vote to demand full accountability.   

Again, Americans are becoming increasingly outraged at the state of our nation, and emotions are running high.  These are signs of the beginning of a revolution.  Our emotionally-charged political environment has divided our nation.  We have been conned by an 800-pound gorilla and his media lackey.  The opposing sides of the revolution are not Republican and Democrat, as they would like us to believe.  The true division is 545 -vs- 300,000,000.  We need to put aside our political differences for the sake of our nation.  We need to re-focus our emotional energy towards clear, objective reformation planning and pragmatic action regarding the effective management of our elected government employees in transition.    

Cooler heads will prevail.


Brian Buckta
Written Impressions
103 S. State St.
La Farge, WI  54639
(608) 625-6372 / cell (608) 606-2062


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