Let's See Now....

If they confuse us enough we'll give up, right? I hope not. You cannot explain the unexplainable. I want to try in a very short space to explain what I know of the U. S. Constitution. I am not a constitutional scholar, but I can grasp concepts pretty well when I study them. The reason things seem so hard to understand today is because we have strayed so far a field from the original intent of our governing document, logical arguments are no longer viable. Go back to the writings of our founding fathers and see what they intended. They were trying to form a government to help the various United States succeed. They did not want a controlling central government, but rather one that facilitated the exercise of free commerce and freedom from outside oppression. They chose a representative form of government where all would be heard from. The federal government was to;

A. Provide for National Security.

B. Regulate interstate commerce.

C. Manufacture our currency.

D. Tax us to pay for the services rendered.

The welfare of the populace outside these four areas was to be reserved for the States. All of the functions of the federal government were to facilitate our growth and prosperity.

Here are some areas the founding fathers never intended the federal government to meddle in:

A. Education

B. Welfare

C. The Arts

D. The Environment

E. Health Care

F. The private ownership of Firearms

G. The control of privately owned lands

H. Energy

I. Other areas reserved solely for the States.

J. Global concerns unless it relates to National Security.

The government was never intended to have its representatives be primarily lawyers. It was designed to have a well rounded group from all career groups to come for a limited time and serve their country. Politics was not intended as a life long occupation.

Crafty lawyers and gifted political pontificators have convinced a gullible American public of the legitimacy and necessity for their benevolent actions throughout our history. In periods of great economic stress, or conversely in periods of peace and prosperity these social engineers have chopped out footholds on the backs of the taxpayers to push their own personally lucrative agendas forward in the name of the common good. Our own malaise and indifference to their actions has exacerbated the problem to its current unsustainable position.

We have finally awakened and decided to take our civic responsibility seriously, and we are being scoffed at by the people we sent to serve us. We are being labeled by those who desire to maintain the status quo, in an effort to discourage our continued participation in the process.

What should we do?

Hold the line. Stand firm. Vote out those who have made Washington, D.C. their home. If your representatives are maligning you, vote them out. Whatever your political party, find good people who are willing to give up several years of their lives to represent you. Change the laws so that we the people set their salaries and benefits, and make it impossible for any lawmaker to exempt himself from the laws he passes. Limit their terms and find fresh people with good common sense. Don't accept government handouts. They are all being paid for by the taxpaying segment of the population. Do without if you have to.

Resend all the current legislation that is not within the original purview of the U. S. Constitution and find new ways within the various State governments to address social problems.

Resend all governmental racial classifications.

Balance the budget. If we don't have the money, don't spend the money.

Resend all foreign assistance until our own Treasury is back in order.

Stop illegal immigration. Forcefully administer all laws related to the same.

Reduce taxes and do away with our current unreadable tax code and go for a simpler system.

Be responsible in your civic duties, and consider your fellowman in your business dealings.

All U. S. citizens should have equal standing in all legislation passed by our law makers.

Expell all peoples who have as their stated purpose the destruction of our way of life.

Those are my general thoughts on the matter. You may wish to add your own in the comments section. Pappy

The greatest challenge to any thinker is stating the problem in a way that will allow a solution. - Bertrand Russell

Just Shootin' From the Hip.

I thought I would just opine today. If you asked someone to do something for you, and every time they did it, it was a disaster, how many times would you have to go through this process before you did something different? Some smart person once defined insanity as, "Doing the same thing the same way over and over and expecting a different result." This is very relevant today.

If you were working on your personal finances, would you increase your debt in order to pay off your debt?

If there was a benevolence program in your town for those who were less fortunate than you, would you participate as a recipient even though you didn't need the assistance?

How could you as a taxpayer possibly participate in a hair brained scheme like "Cash for Clunkers"? You and your neighbors are paying car dealers to give away money that is not theirs in the first place to buy your old car and destroy it. We are already holding the note on all these failed automobile companies and yet we blindly participate in yet another hair brained scheme to put us further in the hole. Our brilliant Senate just passed an extension of this "Green Scheme" that will do nothing but further bankrupt the U. S. Treasury.

I can say from years of mind numbing experience working for the federal government, nothing they do is done with the taxpayer in mind. I never figured out who they have in mind.

We had several class action law suits for various actions by the government in violation of their own rules for others about how employees should be paid, or treated. They prosecuted private business concerns for violations of these rules. However, they considered themselves immune when it came to their employees. I could have joined the suits for about twenty five dollars, but I knew that the people who had valid cases would receive only a portion of the ultimate judgement, while over billing class action law firms would be getting tax dollars far in excess of what they should have charged. At some point, it comes down to personal responsibility and tough choices. If you opt for the handouts just because you can, then you are robbing your children of their birthright. What's wrong with government is what's wrong with us.

Do you think any of the politicians who vote on their own salaries and vote themselves out of having to pay into any of the government programs they so highly tout are concerned in the least about this country or your tax burden? I can assure you they are not. Do you think benevolence drives their thinking when they pass bills to regulate industry into bankruptcy to satisfy some fringe element of their constituency? I can assure you it is all about power. The same however is true for those businesses who get in for the quick buck and sell their worthless product back to the American taxpayer. It is a vicious cycle of callous behavior by greedy and amoral individuals from every aspect of our society.

However, that being said, it is the business of private industry to get us out of this morass. The federal government is way out of line even attempting to regulate and control the free market. No where in our constitution are they given such powers. The various individual states making up the United States gave the federal government certain limited power to work for the people of this country in four specific areas; National Security, Interstate Commerce, Taxation, and the Manufacture of Currency. The rest of the power remained with the States. Look at the things the federal government has stuck its greedy fingers in and tell me how they fit into the four categories listed above. They don't. Right thinking and acting American citizens should control the free market. If a businessman is not operating in a fair manner, then the citizens should not patronize the business and it will fail. A new opportunity then arises for a new business to form to meet the need. When the federal government steps in and pours illegal tax dollars into the private sector, it prevents the system from working properly. A government cannot live long over taxing its citizens. Initiative will be killed and the system will collapse.

The answer lies in getting the federal government back within the bounds set out by our Constitution, and making sure we are responsible as citizens. We must wean ourselves from the government teat.

Home ownership is not a right.

Health insurance is not a right.

Medical care is not a right.

Financial assistance is not a right.

An education is not a right.

A pension is not a right.

And the list goes on and on. These are things we work hard for. You don't work, you don't get paid. You don't get paid, you don't eat. You don't eat you starve. I can assure you if we let people get hungry enough, they would find something to do. We are all going to experience this if we don't put a stop to this run away train in Washington. Let's not wait to make the tough choices.

Any clod can have the facts, but having opinions is an art.
- Charles McCabe

I'm Relieved

I don't know about you, but I'm relieved.  April 15th has passed and I'm feeling lighter.  I just hope all you Wall Street CEO's, auto executives, third world dictators, minority hate facilitators, fat cat politicians, welfare slugs, pseudo scientists, single issue money grubbers, assorted weirdos and baby killers are happy.  Our grand children and great grand children will be paying for your excesses and greed.  I was very proud as I watched the heartland of America representatives (the working folks) meet in groups all over this great land to say to a run away government, "We've had it."   I didn't see obscene or malicious signage, or any unruly behavior. I saw concerned Americans showing solidarity in their desire to shrink the size and scope of the Federal Government and return it to its constitutional role as a servant of the people.  I was also happy to see many State governments declaring their sovereignty.  I hope you had a chance to participate in your area.  Most in our group expressed a desire to meet on a regular basis to design strategies to defeat the rubber stamp leeches who are currently occupying seats in our legislative bodies.  Here are some comments from other folks;

"I say let's have Election Day on tax day. Let's get what we're paying for. Sign the check -- for the full amount -- and write in your preferred candidates on the back of the same check. Abracadabra ... smaller government, here we come." --columnist Jonah Goldberg

"Rampant redistribution of wealth by government is now the norm. So is this: It inflames government's natural rapaciousness and subverts the rule of law." --columnist George Will

"Inflation also means that all the talk about how higher taxes will be confined to 'the rich' is nonsense. Inflation is a hidden tax that takes away the value of money held by everyone at every income level." --economist Thomas Sowell

"[W]e need to return to a taxation system similar to the one established by our Founding Fathers. They did not penalize productivity through taxes the way we do today. They had no Internal Revenue Service. They believed in minimal taxation." --columnist Chuck Norris

"Today American taxpayers in more than 300 locations in all 50 states will hold rallies -- dubbed 'tea parties' -- to protest higher taxes and out-of-control government spending. There is no political party behind these rallies, no grand right-wing conspiracy, not even a 501(c) group like MoveOn.org. So who's behind the Tax Day tea parties? Ordinary folks who are using the power of the Internet to organize." --author Glenn Harlan Reynolds

"[I]s there any limit to this administration's intentions to interfere and perhaps control large swaths of our economy? ... That's the real message of the homegrown Tea Party revolt against bailout nation and the higher taxes, deficits, and debt being used to finance it. Folks are trying to tell Washington on Tax Day, April 15, that enough is enough. They can't take it anymore." --economist Larry Kudlow

"The cry at these tea parties should be 'not a penny more' until governments get their houses in order, just as we must do. Most people have been forced to reduce spending during the recession, but not the federal government, and likely not the government in your home state." --columnist Cal Thomas

"President Obama's own budget numbers show that Social Security this year will take in $654 billion in payroll taxes and dole out $662 billion in benefits and expenses -- a negative cash flow of $8 billion. Uh oh." --columnist Stephen Moore

Taxed Enough Already

I know many of you "Right Wing Extremists" are planning to find a TEA Party near you and attend.  As I understand it, you have now been singled out by airport screeners as the new wave of terrorists  to be carefully watched while middle eastern males between the ages of 18 and 40 get a walk in the name of fairness and equality.  Heaven help you if you happen to be carrying funds from a patriotic rally when you attempt to board.  I hope to be able to find a Tea Party to attend in my area this evening.  I am always in a funk at this time of year when I think of all the useless garbage our tax dollars are being spent for.  Ronald Reagan was the last U. S. President to try and hold the line on big government.  Here is what he said about taxes;

"People are tired of wasteful government programs and welfare chiselers, and they're angry about the constant spiral of taxes and government regulations, arrogant bureaucrats, and public officials who think all of mankind's problems can be solved by throwing the taxpayers' dollars at them." ++ "Government can't tax things like businesses or corporations, it can only tax people. When it says it's going to 'make business pay,' it is really saying it is going to make business help it collect taxes." ++ "We don't have a trillion-dollar debt because we haven't taxed enough; we have a trillion-dollar debt because we spend too much." ++ "Our tax policy is engineered by people who view tax as a means of achieving changes in our social structure." ++ "Raising taxes will slow economic growth, reduce production, and destroy future jobs, making it more difficult for those without jobs to find them and more likely that those who now have jobs could lose them." ++ "My friends, history is clear: Lower tax rates mean greater freedom, and whenever we lower the tax rates, our entire nation is better off." --Ronald Reagan (1911-2004)

We should not have to pay for "Pork", and we dang sure shouldn't have to hire someone to complete our tax forms.  This whole system is out of control.  It is time to severely reduce the size of government everywhere.  Just think of the savings we could get by just going to a reasonable flat tax or a federal sales tax.  We could virtually do away with the IRS entirely.  I hope as you agonize with the rest of us you will be seriously considering what you can do to get rid of everyone currently serving in Washington, D.C.  We are grossly under represented and have become slaves to the government our forefathers designed to serve us.  I think of what we have learned to accept in the way of entertainment and news and I believe the following quote to be right on point.

Humankind cannot stand very much reality.
  - T. S. Eliot