Stand Up And Be An American

SOMEONE SAID, many years ago;

We hang the petty criminals and elect the major ones

It seems nothing much has changed.

The US has 545 elected and appointed people at the national level. That includes the president, the two houses of congress, and the supreme court. Those 545 people are charged with doing what is right for our country and our more than 300,000,000 citizens. Those people took solemn oaths to do that.

How is it then that:

• Democrats and Republicans all claim to be against deficits, yet we have them in unprecedented size.

• They are also against huge debt, yet we owe over $19 trillion and it is climbing daily.

• You and I don’t write the tax code, pass appropriations bills, propose or adopt the federal budget, or control monetary policy.

Congress does those things and clearly not very well. The reality is that those 545 people are responsible for all our problems. They can blame others, but it doesn’t wash. The bureaucrats, agency heads, cabinet posts, Czars, and advisers are all appointed/hired by those 545 people and they alone are responsible for what those people do or fail to do.

Who has failed to maintain our infrastructure? What happened to all the gasoline taxes (now 44.75 cents per gallon, not including state taxes) collected that were to maintain roads and bridges? What happened to our FICA taxes that were to be held in trust for us? Why does the senate need a special barber shop, or luxury dining room? Why can’t they go down the street for haircuts and lunch like we do? Why do they need a lifetime private retirement plan and health care after less than one term all paid for by our tax dollars? Those things are symptomatic of the haughty and self-serving attitude of those we elect.

Don’t let the 545 people con you into believing it is all the fault of mysterious forces like the economy, inflation, deflation, or the acts of foreign powers. They can’t blame companies for moving off shore when they have created the conditions that make such moves economically desirable. Who has failed to control the boarders and immigration? Who has let welfare systems expand past the intent of being a safety net for those in temporary need? Who has sent our young men and women into foreign sites to die? They and they alone, party not withstanding, are the cause of, and the failure to correct, all these problems and many more. Why don’t all the problems get fixed? Because those same 545 people who created the problems don’t want them fixed.

Remember that only 100 years ago this country had no debt, the largest middle class in the world, the best health care and education of the time, and Mom could stay home to raise the kids. Since then our elected officials have enacted 46 new taxes, we have huge debt, a shrinking middle class, are 18th in education in the world, have a failing health care system, and we continue to elect the same political hacks that made the mess.

We are short months away from the chance to replace many of these people. It is time that our citizens take responsibility and replace these fools that are wrecking our country and our future. It is time that we demand that our elected people perform. It is time for us to stand up and be an American.