There's far more frontier left unsold, unreached, and unclaimed, than has ever been reached by humans or even by our unmanned spacecraft. Claiming and selling it would be against treaties we've signed and ratified, but that didn't slow us down a bit in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, did it? The real barrier is that we're not building our century's equivalent of the railroads, canals, and turnpikes that opened this continent to white settlement.

What does a "tt" tag do?

It puts the text into a monospace font: useful for ASCII-art, verse where you want the lines to align, or just a change of font for emphasis.

Also, it is not so much the cutoff of salary as it is the public's rage when it happens.

Public opinion makes no sense. Why would they be enraged when Congress triggers a cutoff of its own salary, but not when it just fails to pass a budget? Reminds me of the run-up to the Obamacare law, how the public was overwhelmingly opposed to having a public option, but equally adamant in favor of having "the choice of" a public option.

All I know is last year in CA (the first year the budget had to be passed under such circumstances) and BOTH parties were equally pressed by (1) the howls of the public, and (2) the howls of their members who really needed the salary.

There are plenty of state legislators who really need the salary. There are no members of Congress who do.

KO... It has been posted on several blogs already. I think it's like a decade old..

But the caveat is acknowledged...

Michale.....

That was an interesting article, but I do have to caution you against getting me in trouble, copyright-wise. Post a few key paragraphs and a link, next time.

As for the bit at the end, excise taxes have indeed been around for more than 100 years. Watch Ken Burns' "Prohibition" or read about the "Whiskey Rebellion" for more info -- alcohol taxes brought in a fairly good chunk of the federal governments' income for a long time in our history. As did land sales -- when the feds took over new territory in our push westward, they then got to sell the land off and make a profit. A BIG profit -- this is what kept our government running throughout the 19th century.

Alas, today, we've sold off the frontier, and that income method is no longer available.

Not saying your article and poem don't have a point, but let's keep a few facts straight, that's all.

dsws -

What does a "tt" tag do?

Also, it is not so much the cutoff of salary as it is the public's rage when it happens. All I know is last year in CA (the first year the budget had to be passed under such circumstances) and BOTH parties were equally pressed by (1) the howls of the public, and (2) the howls of their members who really needed the salary. It was completely bipartisan, and the SHAME factor of the public won the day in less than two weeks. As opposed to nine months.

I think it's worth a try on the national scale, personally.

Think about it, the only time Congress passes ANYthing these days is with a deadline of some sort. I'd rather have that deadline be a lot less important to the American economy than withholding SS checks or shutting down the federal government or losing our credit rating. Instead, I'd prefer it to only be the paychecks for Congress.

-CW

That's what the 2nd Amendment is for.. :D

Michale.....

We should vote all of them out of office and clean up their mess!

that's assuming our votes are accurately counted by the diebold computers and accurately reported by the corporate media. if people do start to pull together the numbers to vote out all of congress, don't expect them to go quietly.

~joshua

While I disagree with you on that, I am constrained to point out that, even if the salary doesn't matter, the symbolism, the perception DOES matter. A LOT...

Also, consider how bad off MANY CongressCritters would be today if they haven't been paid ANYTHING since Obama took office...

I think it would bite a LOT more than you might think..

Michale.....

Everyone but me, presumably. I don't think legislators should be empowered to hold other legislators' pay hostage by blocking legislation. Got a legislator who's not a millionaire, (well, not many) and not falling in line with the corrupt channels by which legislators are supposed to get rich? (Again, not many.) Got a grudge against them? Got Senate rules? Then you've got an incentive to hold up the budget.

These are millionaires, getting paid upper-middle-class salaries, while doing jobs that inherently involve the opportunity for massive income from stuff like "consulting".

The salary doesn't matter.

I came across this and thought it was just dandy...

=================================================
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.

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.