Revisiting "The 545"
Published Wed, Feb 10 2010 5:57 PM
A good friend of mine that I used to work with and who helped me out in my racing efforts some time ago passed around the latest incarnation of Charley Reese’s “The 545” today. It reminded me that I had seen it a couple of years ago – the thing about it is what Charley Reese wrote back in the 1980s still resonates today – with a little tweaking to keep events current. Realizing that I’ve decided to repost what I wrote about it then.
There’s one thing that’s missing from Charley’s article, as well as my posting below though. While it’s true that 545 people are responsible for most of what our government does – assuming they’ll take the responsibility and the blame (as well as the credit that they’re oh so happy to claim) for what they do – It’s also true that Congress and the President are only responsible for a small amount of what our federal government is into anymore.
Charley neglected to mention, and I did as well, the federal bureaucracy. While Congress may draft huge bills these days in their sweeping attempts to re-regulate this and control that, the federal bureaucracy is a vast army of clerks, middle managers and the like that end up drafting regulation after regulation affecting just about every aspect of our lives. These regulations often carry the force of law – and NOBODY votes for or against them. If there’s anything that needs reform even more than Congress it’s this system of bureaucrats running our lives without anybody’s advice or consent.
What exists is what we want to exist
My dad sent me an interesting article titled "The 545" via email attributed to a Florida Reporter named Charley Reese. [Update: I read a few of Charley's articles. He's not a modern-day conservative, but rather a paleoconservative with some libertarian ideas. His more recent writing sounds decidedly like some of the things the Democratic party has been saying of late. Even so, he's occasionally right.] I found it to be an interesting and spot-on read.
The original publication date is unknown, but it was reportedly originally published in the Orlando Sentinel Star newspaper. From the context, it was written many years ago (Tip O'Neill is referred to as the Speaker of the House, which dates that article at least back to the 1980s). I think it's still relevant today.
Just from the number 545, I'm sure you can guess who he's referring to. If not, he spells it out.
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.
There are some interesting points in the article that struck me. Who do you think is responsible for the national debt and for deficit spending? Who's responsible for the federal budget?
Often times, we hear that "under Reagan" we had massive deficit spending. We hear that "George W. Bush" brought back deficit spending. Why is it that the President is given the blame when our federal government outspends it's revenues? What gives William J. Clinton the gall to take credit for the revenue surplus during his Presidency?
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.
The version of the article my dad sent me is modified somewhat from the original. It doesn't reference Tip O'Neill for one. Instead it refers to the Speaker of the House as "She", obviously meaning Nancy "the felon" Pelosi. Rather than referring to the marines being in Lebanon, the updated article refers to Iraq.
Isn't it interesting, how with a few minor changes this old article still applies?
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, 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 IRAQ, it's because they want them in IRAQ.
"It must follow that what exists is what they want to exist."
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.
Have we got that gumption? There are 300 million of us and 545 of them. In a representative republic we ought to be able to choose more honest leaders than the ones we've been choosing for the last several decades.
The names and the places may have changed, but politics in Washington hasn't changed in over 50 years. The fact that we keep choosing scoundrels to represent us tells me something about the American people…
"It must follow that what exists is what they want to exist."
For a people that seeks change, as the popularity of Barack Obama suggests, we keep putting the same type of scoundrels into office. Shame on us all.
With President Obama's popularity down to an all time low and disapproval - even anger at the federal government's policies running at over 80% perhaps the people will finally do something about it. Nobody else can - unless the Chinese decide to call in our debt.
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David responded with: Das Büros Steht Immer
 | (*heh* Took the easy way out to get the unlaut)
IIRC (and I may not: my German is weaker than my French, and that's 30 years out of date... *sigh*), that's a German phrase that says essentially that the bureaus will always stand, or bureaucracies last.
Every time I think of our hidden masters (the army of bureaucraps you refer to in your introduction), I always think of Jerry Pournelle's Iron Law of Bureaucracy:
"Pournelle's Iron Law of Bureaucracy states that in any bureaucratic organization there will be two kinds of people: those who work to further the actual goals of the organization, and those who work for the organization itself. Examples in education would be teachers who work and sacrifice to teach children, vs. union representative who work to protect any teacher including the most incompetent. The Iron Law states that in all cases, the second type of person will always gain control of the organization, and will always write the rules under which the organization functions." |
David responded with:
| Hit "post" too quickly.
In the deep recesses of my curmudgeon's mind, I also sometimes transmogrify Pournelle's Iron Law into,
"Scum rises to the top." |