An Open Letter to Congress

1. Dear Honorable Representatives and Senators,
   
   We are at a crossroads in America and many wonder if the America we know and love will be passed on to our children intact. I grew up in a time when personal responsibility was a measure of character; when frugality, not credit, was how you obtained possessions and when hard work was rewarded with personal gain not punished with confiscatory taxation.
   
   When I went to school, children either mastered their lessons or were held back until they did. There was no such thing as “outcome based education” and we certainly didn’t have lesson plans based on political ideology. We did learn civics and that taught us how government was supposed to work. In school, I remember watching classics like “Davey Crocket”; films that made us proud of our heritage and told us that people with morality based values could make a positive contribution.
   
   We also watched movies like “Mr. Smith goes to Washington” that showed us how corrupt government could be without the direct involvement of the American people. I remember when Kennedy was shot and when man first set foot on the moon. I remember the blackout of 1965 and the riots of 1968. I also remember that Kennedy was the last President that all of America had faith in and that Nixon was the President that proved our faith was unfounded. I remember that Ford and Carter had brought the nation to despair and Reagan revived our national pride, if only for a brief time. I even remember a time when Congress was full of our best and brightest. Congress was the field where the next generation of national leaders was grown. They were the knowledgeable, the wise and the guardians of our liberty.
   
   Our President has set an agenda that is hazardous to the well being of this nation. The Federal government has already exceeded its lawful powers under the Tenth Amendment of the Constitution and this President’s goals can only succeed if the Federal government is willing to ignore the Constitution all together. He has appeased hostile nations and has employed people whose personal beliefs are diametrically opposed to the founding principals of our country. He has found favor with socialist potentates and totalitarian leaders. His closest friends and allies were those that threatened violent harm to our nation in their youth and still threaten harm to our nation now, using the very laws that were put in place with good intentions and originally written to protect us.
   
   Where is the honesty? Where is the integrity? Where is the honor in what you do? The healthcare reform debate is laughable. Will one of you dare tell the truth? I have made the same statement over and over and over and not one of you would dare answer the charge. I will say it again. Healthcare reform is not about healthcare reform. It is not about lower premiums for Americans that have health insurance and it is not about affordable coverage for the uninsured. It is definitely not about the American people.
   
   What it is about is failed government programs. Medicare and Medicaid were in serious trouble a mere three years after their inception. Rather than admit failure, the Federal government raided the money in the Social Security trust fund in 1968 and place Social Security as a new line on the Federal budget. Now that the “baby boomers” are retiring and the IOU’s that Congress wrote for Social Security are due, we must find another solution because you will still not admit that Medicare and Medicaid do not work. To keep the memory of Johnson’s “Great Society” alive, the government is now engaged in this grand scheme of healthcare reform. Any successful Ponzi scheme needs a steady flow of money into the wide end of the funnel otherwise the illusion of rewards that trickle from the small end cease to appeal.
   
   American families don’t have six children anymore and most have two or less. America’s business and immigration policies have seen to it that entire industries have moved out while uneducated, unskilled labor has moved in. These three truths have slowed the money that goes into the funnel from a flow to a trickle while the expansion of benefits have turned the trickle at the small end into a torrent.
   
   Since healthcare reform, as it is called in the halls of Congress, is really about paying for a government program that only took three years to implode, it stands to reason that today’s “fix” is just as temporary. What you fail to see is that this “end of the funnel” is dry as well. American’s can no longer afford to lie down for even deeper taxes to fund your grand schemes.
   
   I will give Congress the benefit of the doubt. Maybe you don’t realize how hard most of your constituents are struggling. A 10% rise in healthcare insurance may affect the family diet but add 10% rise in energy and a 10% increase in taxes and the increase costs of all consumer items as business taxes are increased and people stop being able to afford their mortgages.
   
   The truth is that many Americans do not believe you understand us let alone have our interests at heart. Do you want to earn our trust? Then answer these questions.
   
   1- Will healthcare reform reduce our costs for health insurance?
   2- Will healthcare reform raise taxes (in any form) on incomes below $100,000?
   3- Will illegal immigrants be covered under the healthcare reform plan?
   4- Will American’s be able to read the completed bill on-line 5 days before a vote as the President promised?
   5- The CBO says the Healthcare plan will provide an $81 billion dollar savings over ten years but considering the tax increases and service cuts are enacted in year one of the healthcare plan and the actual benefits do not begin to take place until 2013…what are the budget projections for year 5 through year 15?
   6- Is Congress willing to prove that it can police itself by investigating those that are accused of breaking the law and expel those that are found guilty even when they are members of the majority party?
   7- Will the climate bill be used to redistribute wealth to minority communities and/or foreign nations as was the stated goals of both Van Jones and Cass Sunstein?
   8- Will Congress enforce constitutionally mandated oversight with regards to the special advisors or “Czars” in this administration?
   9- Is Congress willing to abide by the letter of the law as stated in the United States constitution?
   10- Will members of Congress agree to never vote on a bill that was not written by Congress and that they have not read in its entirety?
   
   These are not random ramblings. These are serious questions in the mind of all Americans. I have witnessed no less that a dozen “calls to action” by organizations funded by, and operatives for, the Democratic Party to help advance their agenda. How dare Congressional leaders call opposition to healthcare and climate legislation “Astroturf” or “Manufactured” when the actual call for manufactured support has come from the DNC itself.
   
   Don’t misunderstand me. My statements are for both parties. Republicans must not make the mistake of assuming the anger of the American people means an easy win for Republicans. We are angry with the blatant actions of Congress to enact legislation that does not represent the will and wishes of the public. At this point, we are more than happy to throw every last one of you out and start over. We would prefer experience but not at the expense of our freedom or our children’s futures.
   
   I believe we are standing at the knifes edge of socialism and you are all holding hands for the big leap into the abyss. Make no mistake. Except for that unfortunate sub-culture that you raised on the public dole, Americans will not sacrifice our freedoms nor will we sacrifice our rights but I promise you with all my heart, we do pledge our lives, our fortunes and our sacred honor to defend our nation and our Constitution against all enemies foreign and especially, domestic.
   
   Paul Magel