Flat Tax vs Progressive Tax

In class we have recently studied taxes and the many different types of taxes. The United States has a progressive tax, meaning that people that earn more money pay more taxes than those who have a lower income. This raises the question of why the United States doesn’t have a flat tax, in which all people would be taxed the same percentage, regardless of income. Personally I think that both have their own benefits as well as flaws.

                Progressive taxes can be beneficial especially for lower income families because those families don’t have to pay as much money for taxes. However, for the rich people, many feel it is unfair that they are taxed so much higher. I think that it’s correct to not tax low income families or people experiencing poverty. However, you cannot punish the families with a higher income because often those people have worked hard to put themselves in their current position.

                Flat taxes are beneficial because it is equal for everyone, regardless of income. However, this could be negative for low income families due to the fact that a certain percentage of the little money they have will be taken away for taxes. I do feel it is overall the fairest way to tax people, because you aren’t punishing anyone for the amount of money they make. Overall I think a flat tax rate would be easier to manage and more fair to everyone. If you set a certain tax rate, although everyone is using the same rate, the higher income families are still going to pay much more money for taxes than the lower income families. I also agree with the statement from the first article that stated that it would be much easier for people to figure out what their annual taxes will be with a flat tax. Flat taxes would make everything much simpler and be more fair to everyone.

                I don’t think that progressive taxes are entirely bad. In some ways, I think that maybe the rich or high-income families should be taxed more. Not all rich people had to work and spend money for college to become rich and I think that in cases like that, they should be taxed more. However, overall I think that a flat tax would be the simple and fair way to go.

The holocaust and Nanking

We recently read articles about Dr. Josef Mengele, Germany, and the Holocaust, as well as articles about Dr. Shiro Ishii, Japan, and the Rape of Nanking. The massive atrocities and killings of people were both some of the worst to ever occur in world history. Although methods used by Japan and Germany as well as the various doctors were different, each had their own horrific ways.

Dr. Josef Mengele and his works were very gruesome and included the killing of many innocent people, including a very large number of children and twins. Germany as a whole targeted European Jews and also Gypsies and murdered and estimated 6 million people total. The methods used to kill these people varied from gas chambers, deprivation of food or water, dissections, and many other torturous methods that were very gruesome. The holocaust is one of the most tragic events to occur in world history, and should not be overlooked or forgotten due to the inhumanity of the event.

Dr. Shiro Ishii and Japan also performed very gruesome operations and killings on people that were perhaps even worse than what the Nazis did to Germany. The operations that Ishii performed were so horrific that they were beyond imaginable. His operations included dissecting people while they were alive, cutting people open and removing their organs while they were alive and not under pain killers, and basically torturing innocent Chinese people. Not only did the Japanese kill innocent men and children, but they also raped anywhere from 20-80 thousand women. Japanese soldiers forced Chinese women and children to become prostitutes and in some situations even forced family members to rape each other.

Germans that performed these horrific acts and were captured afterwards were put on trial, however, many of the Japanese were allowed to continue their lives after the war was over. This was because the Americans felt that if they did not act quickly, the research would end up in the wrong hands with the Soviets. Therefore, the Japanese were basically free. The Germans on the other hand were put on trial and many were convicted of crimes and put in prison for life and some were sentenced to death.

Personally I think that what the Japanese did was more gruesome and horrific than the Germans. With that said, however, what the Germans did was by no means right, and was still very horrible. I don’t think that the Japanese should’ve been set free without trials after the war for any reason. Overall both of these events were very tragic and massive killings of innocent lives that will go down as some of the most gruesome genocides in world history.

Richard Nixon's Legacy

Richard Nixon died in 1994, leaving behind not an iconic legacy that was well-deserved, but a legacy of political, military, and moral tragedy. I believe that one could view this argument in two ways. I think that Nixon should be remembered negatively in history for some of the things he did, such as covering up Watergate. However, he did things that immensely helped out our country that he should be recognized for as well.

Nixon did some very positive things in his time as president, one of them being his Foreign Policy. Nixon’s Foreign Policy did three major things for our country that included getting the US out of Vietnam, re-opening relations with China, and armed control with the Soviet Union. Nixon focused on using peaceful negotiations and relaxing tensions, otherwise known as détente.  He also made a visit to China, which made him and a few others the first Americans inside the borders of the People’s Republic of China. The American Ping-Pong team received a surprise invite to visit the PRC, which was later known as Ping-Pong Diplomacy.

Another one of Richard Nixon’s successes was in the USSR where he limited production of missiles, eased tensions, and opened up foreign relations. SALT I (Strategic Arms Limitations Talks) was what limited the antiballistic missiles and prevented a situation that could’ve gotten much worse. I think that Richard Nixon should be remembered positively for helping out our country in all of these areas. He was a confident person and did what he felt was needed to help our country.

However, along with Richard Nixon’s successes came many failures, which he will always be held responsible for. Some of Nixon’s failures included causing a recession by cutting off the government spending and causing stagflation, which is a combination of inflation and unemployment. Some people also argue that Nixon didn’t fully succeed in Vietnam because some countries also fell to communist forces, and Vietnam established a Socialist Government. Nixon should also be looked upon negatively for the bombings in Cambodia. He bombed Cambodia in attempt to weaken supply routes for North Vietnamese army, but resulted in killing many innocent people. Another one of Nixon’s major downfalls was causing an oil crisis due to involvement with Israel. At the time, Arab nations wouldn’t sell oil to the US. The oil embargo had a devastating impact on the US economy. This also caused the price of oil to increase, and in the future the price of oil will most likely continue to climb due to the past oil crisis.

Richard Nixon’s legacy he is most widely known for is the Watergate Scandal. Five men were caught attempting to bug headquarters of the Democratic Party inside the Watergate building. Nixon tried to cover up the entire scandal behind Watergate, but the truth eventually became known to everyone. Nixon resigned from presidency on August 9, 1974. Due to the Watergate Scandal I think that Nixon will always be remembered negatively. His morals at the time of his presidency were not always where they should’ve been, especially in the case of Watergate.

Overall I believe that Richard Nixon did some very positive things for our country during his years as president. However, I think that the negative factors have a greater effect on our country and its people. For this reason, I think that Nixon leaves behind a legacy of political, military, and moral tragedy rather than a good legacy. Nixon’s actions with bombing Cambodia, the oil crisis, causing a recession, and Watergate, are too great to be simply overlooked and he will be stuck having a negative legacy with his name due to his actions.

Bill Proposal

In The Senate

2-13-15

Senators: Bridget, Emily, Connard, and Bo introduced the following bill, which was referred to the committee on Taxation.

A Bill

To establish: SB1234

To propose a tax increase on school supplies and video games to lower college tuition fees

1. Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of South Dakota:

Section 1

1. A three percent tax increase shall be placed educational
2. Supplies as well as video games
3.  to help lower college tuition fees

Section 2

1. The items being taxed will include
2. Pens, markers/permanent markers , crayons, colored pencils,
3. Pencils, pencil boxes, highlighters, folders, notebooks,
4. Scissors, glue, books, calculators, paint, backpacks,
5. Protractors, compasses, erasers, and white-out,
6. As well as all video games and video game
7. Accessories including controllers, charging units,
8. And the game console.

Section 3

1. A state financial aid organization will be created
2. To distribute the earnings from the tax directly
3. To students.
4. It will be referred to the Taxation Committee

 

Capitalism and Socialism

                Martin Luther King Jr. stated in a letter to Coretta Scott, "I imagine you already know that I am much more socialistic in my economic theory than capitalistic. And yet I am not so opposed to capitalism that I have failed to see its relative merits. It started out with a noble and high motive, viz., to block the trade monopolies of nobles, but like most human systems it fell victim to the very thing it was revolting against. So today capitalism has out-lived its usefulness. It has brought about a system that takes necessities from the masses to give luxuries to the classes."

                Capitalism is defined as an economic and political system in which a country’s trade and industry are controlled by private owners or corporates for profit, rather than being controlled by the state. Capitalism first began to emerge during the 17^th century. When it emerged, the concept of a waged worker was a crucial part in the development of capitalism. The earliest capitalism brought new ways of production that was directed by the capitalist. The new capitalism ways had the capitalists exerting power over the new class, which included the waged workers.

I think that capitalism can be beneficial but yet have negative effects as well. I think it is right for people to be able to create and run their own business if they choose to do so. By making a decision to start their own business, they are putting a big chunk of their money forward just to start the business. If their business doesn’t succeed, they may be left with little to nothing. However, on the other side of things, capitalism can bring negative effects to our society if one business takes away from many others. One business should not have so much power to overrun all other businesses of the same area.

Socialism is a political and economic theory of social organization that states that the means of production, distribution, and exchange should be owned or regulated by a community as a whole.  The idea of socialism came from that of capitalism. People believed that workers’ conditions would be better if the control of production was moved from capitalists to the state. I believe that socialism has its pros and cons as well. The positive side of it would be that conditions for workers were improved as well as the fact that one person cannot completely overtake a large business. Overall, socialism is better for the people at large. However, people should have a certain degree of freedom to create their own business if they want without it being government controlled.

I think that to a certain point, capitalism has “outlived its usefulness.” I believe so because it takes away from a large number of people just to benefit a few others. I think that a government run business is all around better for the people. If capitalism continues, they negative effects may show more and more with time. I believe that socialism is the best theory for our economic and political systems.

 

John Adam's Quote on Democracy

                John Adam’s famous quote saying, “Democracy ... while it lasts, is more bloody than either aristocracy or monarchy. Remember, democracy never lasts long. It soon wastes, exhausts and murders itself. There was never a democracy that did not commit suicide.” was a very true statement. I believe the quote made by John Adams was a very descriptive and specific way to describe democracy. As the people of the United States, we are lucky that our democracy still exists today. If the democracy continues on for many more years in our country, which at this point it appears it will, I think that it will become bloodier than an aristocracy or monarchy would normally be.

            Democracy has been our country’s form of government for many years, and has both benefited and harmed us. Obviously it benefits us majorly because people have the power and get to make decisions. Personally, I think that democracy is the best form of government a country can have. However, a democracy also has negative effects. Democracy can cause a lot of arguments and disagreements because people have different viewpoints on subjects, and in a democracy people have the right to state their beliefs. If people can’t compromise, arguments can go back and forth for long periods of time, and sometimes get out of hand. If this occurs for too long, it makes it more likely for a democracy to break down and eventually “commit suicide” according to John Adams.

On the other hand, if you have a monarchy or aristocracy, the people don’t get to make the decisions and must accept the decisions that are instead made by powerful leaders. In these government systems, people may be unhappy, but they can’t argue with each other about what should or should not be done because that decision is made by one powerful ruler. I don’t think that monarchies and aristocracies are a better form of government, but I do think that they are more likely to last longer and be less bloody than a democracy is.

I believe that John Adam’s quote was a very interesting way to explain democracies. Although a democracy does benefit us in many ways, it brings negative effects with it. I believe that Adams is right when he said that democracies are bloody. However, our democracy hasn’t broken down yet, and I think it will continue to run for many years to come. As it continues, it may become bloodier than it currently is.

Bicameral Legislature

Constitution immediately established bicameralism in the legislative branch because it was something that was familiar to most Americans, two bodies would be able to settle the conflict between the Virginia and New Jersey Plans, and because one house might act as a check on the other. All of these reasons led to the establishment of bicameralism in the legislative branch. Due to this being established, each of the states is represented equally in the Senate and also represented according to its population, therefore benefiting states of all population sizes.

                I think that this establishment has played a big part in shaping politics today. The bicameral legislature has limited the power of Congress and prevented Congress from holding power over the other two branches of the government. The bicameral legislative branch has been very good for people of smaller populated states because they receive equal representation, and also benefits largely populated states by giving them more house members. I think that the two body system has greatly benefited our country and was a great establishment.