Nobody is above the law.
Laws are supposed to apply to everyone. However, we seem to have acquired a privileged class in Congress, as well as in state legislatures throughout the country. It’s no secret that Congress has passed a plethora of laws from which they have managed to exempt themselves. The Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) was a good example of that.
Hypocrisy, corruption and greed runs wild through the halls of Congress in Washington, DC, and in many state houses throughout America. You don’t have to look far to discover one of the most blatant abuses of power, we just have to look at the state of California. Observe the perks they give to their state legislators, and their new gas tax. Lawmakers in California are the only ones in the country who enjoy a very expensive perk. They have the use of gasoline charge cards which are not checked and are paid for by the taxpayers. In other states, legislators must submit mileage expense forms to be reimbursed for legislative business travel. In addition to the gasoline charge cards, the state lawmakers also get state-issued vehicles. Some, who live in Southern California, get a second car, which is used for travel around Sacramento (the state capitol). The other car is driven in the lawmaker’s home district. This practice is also unique to California.
As if this absurd practice isn’t bad enough, Governor Jerry Brown recently signed a bill increasing the excise gas tax from 10c a gallon to 50c a gallon. This is a 400% increase, but the lawmakers are not affected…only the hard-working taxpayers of the state. The new tax increase gives the state about 52 Billion dollars more for so-called transportation needs. Currently California is in debt for about 1.3 Trillion dollars, and there are many projects that the state should be addressing for the good of the citizens, such as infrastructure, maintenance and upgrades. They also spend a great deal of money giving welfare to “refugees” and illegals, and spending in the state, in general, is loaded with a tremendous amount of waste, fraud, and abuse.
This progressive ideology has brought some ugly realities to this once-beautiful state, and they are:
— Legislation being passed and signed by the Governor is usually not in the best interests of the American citizens living in the state.
— Lawmakers pass laws which they routinely exempt themselves from. A good example is the gun control laws which are in effect for all Californians, except the legislators.
— Outrageous spending has caused a deficit in the trillions of dollars and the money does not seem to be used for the citizens, many of whom were born and brought up in the state. Perhaps, this is why five million people have left California in the past decade.
< strong >Last word: It is ludicrous that anyone legislative body should exempt themselves from laws that they have passed on the federal, state, or local levels. Americans must start demanding accountability, and the end of this practice. We must not allow these elected officials to become an elite class with no restrictions on them. Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely.
photo credit: Curtis Gregory Perry Welcome To California via photopin (license)
