Publishers Forum

Share |

E-Mail Article Printer-Friendly

Throw the Bums Out

Columnist

---

Norman Rosinski
All articles by columnist

Welcome to the December Growth/No Growth issue of NorthBay biz. Growth in the North Bay is undoubtedly the most controversial subject in continual play, because of its impact on economic and lifestyle outcomes. As the debate swirls, economic reality demands resolution if we hope to maintain fiscal vitality and viable, vibrant communities. No matter the subject—jobs, housing, land use or transportation—pursuing compromise that encourages growth while maintaining environmental integrity is the path to success. Going forward, let’s hope “change” means every proposed project doesn’t have to result in an either/or decision.

In this issue, we examine many “hot” growth topics, but our cover story takes on a topic that promises to get hotter. “Water Wars” explores the political and environmental impact of the region’s water supply and the many factions determined to plot our future course. We hope you enjoy reading this issue as much as we enjoyed putting it together. In addition to the stories, don’t miss all the special features and columns—exclusively yours in NorthBay biz—the North Bay’s only locally owned business publication.

The people have spoken. As I write this, the country has a new President-elect. And he promises change. “Change we can believe in.” Well, I couldn’t agree more that the country needs a new direction and new leadership. When you have a two-party political system that are mirror images of each other, one espousing to tax and spend, and the other to spend and tax our way to greener pastures, it’s past time for “change.” Ending the blame game, where each party accuses the other of creating every problem, is long past due. And it’s long past due that we, as a nation, demand that our elected officials live up to their duty and sworn promise to represent the “people’s” best interests.

That notion is why the following caught my attention. This anonymous web posting clearly posits that our elected officials in Washington aren’t doing the job they were elected to do. It further states that we should demand they live up to our expectations of service and be held personally accountable for their performance as it pertains to the state of our nation. Please read on and see if you don’t agree with its down home logic.

The United States’ biggest problem

Politicians are the only people who create problems and then campaign against them. Have you ever wondered, if both democrats and republicans are against deficits, why we have deficits? Or if all politicians are against inflation and high taxes, why we have inflation and high taxes? You and I don’t propose a federal budget. The President does. We don’t have the authority to vote on appropriations. The House of Representatives does. We don’t write the tax code or 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 people out of 300 million citizens) 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 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, congressman, or president to do one thing. I don’t care if they offer a politician $1 million in cash. The politician has the power to accept or reject it. No matter what the lobbyist promises, it’s the legislator’s responsibility to determine how he or she votes.

Those 545 human beings spend much of their energy convincing you that what they did isn’t 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 can’t force 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? She’s the leader of the majority party. She and fellow House members, not the president, can approve any budget. If the president vetoes it, they can pass it over his veto. It seems inconceivable 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’s not directly traceable to those 545 people. When you fully grasp the plain truth that 545 people exercise the power of the federal government, it must follow that what exists is what they want. 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 and Marines are in Iraq, it’s because they want them in Iraq. If they’re on an elite retirement plan not available to the public, it’s because they want it that way. They vote their own pay raises for themselves because they want it that way.

There are no unsolvable government problems. Don’t 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, don’t 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.

These 545 people, and they alone, are responsible. They have the power. They should be held accountable by the people who are their bosses, provided the voters have the gumption to manage them. If they’re incapable of cleaning up their own mess, we should start over again and vote all of them out of office and elect people who are up to the task!

That’s it for now. Enjoy this month’s magazine.