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Charlie Traffas
Charlie Traffas has been involved in marketing, media, publishing and insurance for more than 40 years. In addition to being a fully-licensed life, health, property and casualty agent, he is also President and Owner of Chart Marketing, Inc. (CMI). CMI operates and markets several different products and services that help B2B and B2C businesses throughout the country create customers...profitably. You may contact Charlie by phone at (316) 721-9200, by e-mail at ctraffas@chartmarketing.com, or you may visit at www.chartmarketing.com.
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2008-11-01 12:01:00
A request for Mr. President-Elect Obama
Answer: You may recall me stating in a previous issue, “Once the election is over, the time for complaints and criticism needs to be over as well.” It is now time for each of us to show respect due the office of President of the United States. Something that hasn’t happened with great frequency since the time of President Kennedy. The only difference is that the disrespect shown from the time after that of Presidents Johnson and Nixon pales in comparison to the disrespect shown today. Using the analogy of what happens when students are left in the classroom when the teacher leaves for a few moments, I suppose that is normal. The first time the teacher leaves the room, the students get a little loud and rambunctious. The more it happens and the more it goes unchecked, the louder and more rambunctious they get. We have become a pretty loud and rambunctious lot. I would like to see this President be the one that causes aLL of us to restore the respect due the office. If you have something you want to say about him, or his policies, do it with respect. Criticize the action not the person. Use our existing protocol to change things needing to be changed. In that vein, I have a request dealing with what I hear and read he is going to do with his ‘executive order’ privilege. First, and before stating my request, let me provide a bit of background on this privilege. An executive order in the United States is a directive issued by the President, the head of the executive branch of the federal government. In other countries, similar edicts may be known as decrees, or orders-in-council. Executive orders may also be issued at the state level by a state’s Governor. U.S. Presidents have issued executive orders since 1789, usually to help direct the operation of executive officers. Some orders do have the force of law when made in pursuance of certain Acts of Congress, when those acts give the President discretionary powers. As I said, U.S. Presidents have issued executive orders since 1789. Although there is no Constitutional provision or statute that explicitly permits executive orders, there is a vague grant of “…executive power…” given in Article II, Section 1 of the Constitution and the statement, “…take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed…”, in Article II, Section 3. Most executive orders are orders issued by the President to U.S. executive officers to help direct their operation, the result of failing to comply being removal from office. So much for the definition of an executive order…now, my request… “Dear Mr. President,’ “I realize you have the power to take many of the issues that have been put into place by President Bush and others and change them with your ‘executive order’ privilege. That is something that has been happening with greater frequency over the past 40 years. It is a traditional right you have as President and something we would expect to happen. However, some of the things you are getting ready to do by using this privilege are violations of strong beliefs many of us have in regards to faith and morals. Issuing an executive order such as having the U.S. Government to pay for abortions in Mexico City, or an executive order for the U.S. Government to pay for stem cell research, are two examples. There are other issues too facing many citizens such as funding a war, a rebellion, displaying the Ten Commandments at a court house, an assassination attempt on a head of state that some mortal has determined needs to be carried out, and several other things that are controversial in regards to the faith and morals of U.S. citizens. Every anticipated expenditure and/or executive order should be labeled ‘controversial’ against faith and morals, or ‘non-controversial’ against faith and morals, at the moment it is brought before you and/or Congress. If there is any doubt, label it ‘controversial.’’ “I have a practice I use in my business. I ask my employees to never bring a problem to me without having a solution. This practice cultivates participatory management and personal growth. I would like to offer the same to you. While this solution does not in any way condone the human rights and other violations that are involved, it offers those of us a ‘way out’, who have a huge problem with paying taxes to fund something that is against all we stand for. Although the taxes we pay may only be a ‘thimble full of water dumped into the ocean of all tax revenues,’ that ‘thimble full’ still mixes with all of the other ‘water’ in the ocean. If our goal is to REALLY have a unified country, we can no longer have this happening. On behalf of all of us, I ask that you respect this position. My solution is for you and Congress to set up two accounts for taxpayers. One would be ‘Account A’ that people can designate their payment of taxes to, that will pay for anything you and Congress decide you want to do. This account would also include things that are, or could be considered, controversial to anyone in regards to their faith and morals. Either an outright designation or an ‘It doesn’t make any difference to me’ code would puts the taxes they pay into this account. The other account would be ‘Account B.’ Taxpayers could designate their payment of taxes to this account whereby funds could not be used to pay for anything that could be against the faith and morals of the citizenry. Proceeds from ‘Account B’ can pay for entitlements, earmarks, infrastructure, studying the cohabitation patterns of the South American Bumblebee (if there is one)…anything you want…just so long as it does not fund things that are against faith and morals of any citizen. As stated previously, at the time a proposed expenditure is brought before Congress, or prior to your issuing of an executive order, the item would be labeled an ‘Account A’ item, or an ‘Account B’ item. I would think this could happen without a lot of discussion. After all, someone may not want a shopping center or a library in their neighborhood, but I doubt too many would press for that item being against their faith and morals. Again, if there is any doubt, put it in ‘Account A.’’ “Many businesses have more than one checking account. At the end of the day, it doesn’t make any difference to the recipient of the liability needing satisfied, how it is paid, or which account is used to pay for it. Both accounts are company funds. But sir, when it comes to what our taxes are used to pay for, with all due respect, it makes a big difference to us. Yes, we would still be citizens of a government that does things and pays for things against our faith and morals (the primary ‘bonding agent’ of any society), but OUR tax dollars would not be paying for these things. Call it semantics if you want, but somehow, we have to pay our taxes without compromising what we stand for. At the very least, we will be able to say, ‘I paid my taxes, but the money I paid did not pay for that.’’ “It seems to me, that unless I’ve missed something terribly, an opposition to the creation of these two accounts would have to have a hidden agenda somewhere. I wonder what percent of the 2 ½ to 3 trillion dollars paid in taxes each year would be designated to go to which accounts.” “In any event, I respectfully make this request and ask for you and Congress to immediately grant the same, before any other executive order is issued, or future expenditure is approved.”
 
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