Our Threatened Freedom

Who Is Congress Working For

Professor: Dr. R.J. Rushdoony

Subject: Political Studies

Lesson: 118-169

Genre: Conversation

Track: 118

Dictation Name: Vol. J - Part 01 - Who Is Congress Working For

Location/Venue: Unknown

Year: 1980’s – 1990’s

[Dr. Rushdoony] Who is Congress working for? This is R.J. Rushdoony with a report on our threatened freedom.

In the quarter of 1982, Congress did something that I should have commented on at once, but I decided to cool off first before I did. I can’t say that my disposition on this matter has improved too much, but here it is anyway.

Congress voted itself a number of new benefits to increase the take home pay. Members of Congress can now deduct almost anything they feel is even vaguely related to their jobs from their income tax. According to Human Events, members of Congress can now take generous tax deductions for their food, housing, servants, laundry, home maintenance, utilities, you name it. Members of Congress already have the most generous expense allowances above and over their salaries; they have a dream pension plan to protect them from problems, if they lose an election. By means of this new law, members of Congress simply, by using these special deductions which apply only to them, can get a write off as much as 22,875 dollars of their annual income, according to the Washington Post. After this, the deduction of their mortgage interest payments, their property and other taxes, and their other deductions, and their total tax free income goes even higher, much higher.

When Congress passed this measure, the jobless rate was increasing. Some unions were signing new contracts at the same or lower wages to keep their jobs alive. And many corporations were close to bankruptcy. Congress however voted itself a very substantial backdoor pay raise. You and I must pay the bill.

At the same time, Congress was grumbling about a tax cut for the rest of us, in fact, more than a few members of Congress were calling for higher taxes. We heard statements about how you and I are getting away from the IRS with too much our money because of supposed loopholes.

I wonder what constipated idiot decided to call the loophole if you and I get to keep some of our own hard earned money. And these days it gets harder and harder to earn it.

Congress is supposed to represent we the people of the United States, instead it represents itself, and we are treated like sheep to be sheared. Congress is supposed to provide for foreign and domestic defense, against all our enemies, according to the Constitution, but we are in a bind now the framers of the Constitution never dreamed of. We need protection from Congress.

I do not mean to imply that all members of Congress voted for the bill. A substantial minority voted against it, and these men deserve our respect. The point is that a congress should represent, under God, the people. It should be responsible to God and to man, if Congress gives itself special privileges which are withheld from the rest of us, then our form of civil government is weakened, and a serious lack of representation exists. A battle cry of the Colonia era was, no taxation without representation.

If a member of Congress is immune to the tax laws which govern you and me, what kind of representation is that? He then ceases to be anyone who shares my problems and understands them, and my freedom and my vote are seriously diminished.

We need a Congress which is subject to the same tax laws as the rest of us.

This has been R.J. Rushdoony with a report on our threatened freedom.