Congressional Reform Act of 2011

The debt ceiling debate really showed what a mess the U.S. is truly in.  Below is a suggestion for reforming congress:

Congressional Reform Act of 2011

 

1. No Tenure / No Pension.

A Congressman collects a salary while in office and receives no pay when they are out of office.

 

2. Congress (past, present & future) participates in Social Security.

All funds in the Congressional retirement fund move to the Social Security system immediately. All future funds flow into the Social Security system, and Congress participates with the American people. It may not be used for any other purpose.

 

3. Congress can purchase their own retirement plan, just as all Americans do.

 

4. Congress will no longer vote themselves a pay raise. Congressional pay will rise by the lower of CPI or 3%.

 

5. Congress loses their current health care system and participates in the same health care system as the American people.

6. Congress must equally abide by all laws they impose on the American people.

 

7. All contracts with past and present Congressmen are void effective 1/1/12.

 

The American people did not make this contract with Congressmen. Congressmen made all these contracts for themselves. Serving in Congress is an honor, not a career. The Founding Fathers envisioned citizen legislators, so ours should serve their term(s), then go home and back to work.

 

Let's get these baboons out of office before they all sink the U.S.  

 

545 vs. 3M People

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? 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?'

Casey Anthony Verdict

I believe that those persons who are charged with a criminal offense have a Constitutional right to a trial by jury.   The American jury is a remarkable political institution.  Twelve persons are chosen at random from the widest population; it convenes them for the purpose of the particular trial; it entrusts them with great official powers of decision; it permits them to carry on deliberations in secret and to report their final judgment without giving reasons for it; and after their momentary service to the state has been completed, it orders them to disband and return to private life.  

Casey Anthony had a trial by jury and was acquitted of murder.  You may not like the verdict, you may not agree with the verdict, but it IS the verdict that was reached by 12 persons who heard all of the evidence, deliberated, and made a decision of their own free will.  

It's easy to stand on the sidelines and criticize these American citizens because we did not dedicate our precious time, give up our homes and privacy, and be sequestered from weeks on end with no communication with the outside world.  We didn't have to listen to all of the gory details, listen to family members testify against other family members and try to decide who was and who wasn't telling the truth.  


This jury was not able to convict Casey of murder because they were not sure "beyond a reasonable doubt" that she had committed the crime.  This jury did it's duty and I dare anyone to say that they "knew" that Casey Anthony committed the crime of murder without listening to all of the evidence and being a part of the jury.   What they were able to convict Casey of was lying to the police.  But that does not automatically mean that she should be convicted of murder.



For those persons who have taken it upon themselves to disagree with the jury, have threatened violence to them and their families, shame on you.  Where do you get the right to act this way?  Where do you get the right to condemn a person when you have not heard all of the evidence? 


I may not necessarily agree with the verdict, but I don't have anything to base it on. Therefore, I accept the decision of the jury and due process has been done in this case.  I believe in our Constitution and our right to a trial by jury.  That's what's so great about this country and I wouldn't trade it for anything.

'The Big Short' by Michael Lewis

A couple of days ago I finished reading Michael Lewis' 'The Big Short'.  Michael Lewis has written several best selling books, including 'Liar's Poker' and "The Blind Side'.  His newest book provides a very detailed explanation of the events that lead to the downfall of the the market in 2008.  This is a must read for everyone and it clearly shows how we were all duped by those in charge of the financial markets.


The CEOs who ran the largest financial and insurance institutions, AIG, Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, Deutche Bank, JP Morgan, CitiGroup and Lehman Brothers were taking risks unheard before in the history of the financial marketplace.  The rating agencies, specifically Moody's and Standard and Poors were giving "riskless" ratings to financial instruments that they didn't have a clue about.  The institutions 'hid' things on their books so that we the unsuspecting investors (or should I say 'saps') would pour our hearts, souls and our hard earned money into their investments and our homes.

As Michael Lewis states: "The people in a position to resolve the financial crisis were, of course, the very same people who had failed to foresee it", including Henry Paulson, Timothy Geithner, Ben Bernanke and the CEOs of Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, and CitiGroup. And, of course, I was caught up in a mortgage on a house that was included in the great fall of 2008. 

When I read Michael's first book, 'Liar's Poker', I swore that I would never invest with the brokerage firm that he worked for, Salomon Brothers (which is no longer in existence).  Now, after reading his second book, I'm almost convinced that I would be better off putting my money in my mattress.

It is going to take YEARS for us to recover from this mess and the housing market may be the most vulnerable of all.  Owning a home used to be the American Dream.  Now, it's an American Nightmare with not much hope of providing the equity that many need in their later years. 

Heat Lose to the Mavericks in NBA Finals

Looks like the Miami Heat and LeBron James will have to wait at least another year until they get another chance at a championship ring.  I don't typically watch NBA basketball but I was intrigued by the Miami Heat and the big three, James, Wade and Bosch and whether or not they would be able to the championship James so desires.

My observations indicated to me that the Mavericks REALLY wanted this one.  They had fantastic teamwork throughout the series and showed lots of heart and grit.  Nowitzki was ill with a fever when he scored the final points in game 4.  He is a class act and an incredibly good shooter.  Jason Terry and Berea tore them up with their 3-point shooting and pin-point passing. 

The Heat had way too many turnovers and passed TOO MUCH!  Then last night, the missed enough free throws to win the game outright.  I think LeBron James is an incredible talent but humble he is not.  If you are going to be a high class athlete, then you've got to be able to take the HEAT or get out of the kitchen.  He is a 26-year old man that really didn't get a chance to grow up since he went right from high school to the pros.  Maturity goes a long way and hopefully, he will get his mental game together to go with his athletic talent.  Otherwise, I don't see him getting a championship ring soon.

Kansas loses to Northern Iowa

For 2010, I have really picked the WRONG teams to win!  I had picked Kansas to win the Men's Basketball National Championship but they blew it to Northern Iowa, losing 69-67. 

So far this year, I'm 0-fer for championship games. 

On the other hand, now Ohio State has a chance to make it to the final 4 for the men's tournament, so all I can say is GO BUCKS!

Saints Win the Super Bowl

Looks like my Super Bowl prediction of Indianapolis winning went down in flames.  However, I think the Saints played extremely well and they deserved to win.  I was actually rooting for them to win because of all that has happened to the city.  The WHO DAT nation is alive and well.  Congratulations Saints.