Are Americans Overtaxed?

When comparing the United States to the rest of the world, no we are not overtaxed. The United States is about the 50th highest taxed country in the world. Compared to the top three taxed countries which are France, Belgium, and Italy we stand in an average position. Another indicator that Americans are not overtaxed is the progression of United States income tax. During the early to mid 20th century, U.S. income tax is the highest that it has ever been. Since that time, income tax rates have been slowly lowered by a margin of five percent.

The issue of taxes has long separated conservatives and democrats. Conservatives take a strong stance on lowering taxes, while liberals believe in a steady tax rate. This issue will probably never be solved as people will always have different opinions. Personally I believe that the tax program that we have now works, and if it isn’t broken, don’t fix it.

5/12/16 Unit 4c

DEET Seen as Safe for Pregnant Women to Avoid Zika Despite Few Studies

Link - http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/05/health/zika-virus-deet-pregant-women-safety.html

Summary - As the Zika virus continues to ravish South and Central America, pregnant women are turning to controversial ways, such as the use of DEET, to protect their unborn children. DEET is used to repel the mosquitoes carrying the Zika virus, and while it is effective, the use of DEET may prove to be as harmful as the Zika virus to the unborn child. The EPA and the CDC are running tests to see if the use of DEET is harmful to the fetus. These tests are few and show few results yet pregnant women continue to protect themselves with DEET.

Analysis - The bureaucracies part in this crisis is extremely important. The more the EPA and CDC learn to prevent and control the Zika virus the safer we, as Americans will be when the virus comes to our shores. As these agencies run more tests we will learn safer ways to protect ourselves from the mosquitos that spread it. It would be highly recommended for Congress to increase the budget of these agencies.

5/4/2016 Unit 4d

Merrick Garland to Meet With More Republicans

Links - http://www.nytimes.com/politics/first-draft/2016/04/01/merrick-garland-to-meet-with-more-republicans/?rref=collection%2Ftimestopic%2FCourts%20and%20the%20Judiciary&action=click&contentCollection=timestopics&region=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=7&pgtype=collection&_r=0

Summary - This article focuses on the nomination process of Judge Garland. He has been meeting with several Republican Senators such as Susan Collins of Maine and John Boozman from Arkansas. Garland is attempting to gain support from Republican Senators so that he will be appointed to SPOTUS (Supreme Court of the United States). Senator Collins believes that Garland deserves consideration, while Senator Boozman is skeptical. Garland is willing to meet with more Republican Senators willing to support him.

Analysis - This article is important because it shows the difficulty in gaining support to be approved for the Supreme Court. Judge Garland is the best choice President Obama has given the Republican Senators so far. They can either approve this centralist judge, or roll the dice and hope the Republicans win the next presidential election. Judge Garland is going to try to convince the Republicans that he’s the man they want.  

4/1/2016 Unit 4b

As Obama Hosts Nuclear Security Summit, the Focus Is China

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/01/world/nuclear-security-summit-obama.html?rref=collection%2Ftimestopic%2FObama%2C%20Barack&action=click&contentCollection=politics&region=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=7&pgtype=collection&_r=0

Summary - The subject of this article was the recent nuclear security summit held by President Obama. The main party there was Chinese president Xi Jinping. The two leaders discussed many issues, but mainly focused on decreasing enriched uranium, and the nuclear issue of North Korea. Both presidents were also joined by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of Japan and South Korean President Park Geun-hye to discuss the issue of North Korean. This nuclear summit will probably be the last in President Obama’s career, and it is unclear if the current presidential candidates will follow in his footsteps.

Analysis - This article was an excellent example as President Obama’s skill as Chief Diplomat. While China and the United States have never been on the friendliest terms. Both countries knew there were important issues to be analyzed. Nuclear weapons are the deadliest weapons humans ever created. We know first-hand the dangers of nuclear warfare from the end of WWII, and I applaud President Obama for trying to quell these deadly weapons.

James French Hill was elected to the House of Representatives in 2015. Previously he acted in President George H. W. Bush’s administration as Executive Secretary to the President’s Economic Policy Council and as Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Corporate Finance. His main financier in his campaign was Stephens Group, a private investing firm which donated $40,700. He is currently in his first term as representative of the 2nd District in Arkansas, which contains its capital Little Rock.

Encrypt Act - I believe that French Hill as a Republican and his strong belief in defeating terrorism would vote against this bill.

Aviation Innovation, Reform, and Re authorization Act - I believe that French Hill would vote for this bill seeing that it would privatize air traffic control

Sentencing Reform Act - While Senator Hill is not as interested in prison reform I believe that he would vote against this bill.

3/2/2016 Unit 3

Trump wins big on Super Tuesday, but rivals fight on

Link -

http://www.cnbc.com/2016/03/01/super-tuesday-gop-results-latest-news.html

Summary - The subject of this article was the republican results for Super Tuesday. Super Tuesday is the first time that several states have their primaries on the same day. The article starts off stating that Trump is looking to be the Republican candidate for the 2016 election winning most of the states. However, the article then covers Cruz and Rubio’s results in the primaries as well.

Analysis - Super Tuesday is an important day when picking the party candidate. It is a way to view the opinion of a lot of states in a short amount of time. It also can either strengthen one candidates lead or have another pull ahead. In this case for Donald Trump he has only strengthened his lead. While Ted Cruz made an effort, it is sad to say that it looks like Donald Trump is going to be the Republican.

2/21/2016 Unit 2

Nevada and South Carolina Primary Winners and Losers

Link - https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2016/02/20/winners-and-losers-from-the-nevada-caucus-and-south-carolina-primary/

Summary - The subject of this article is the results of the Nevada and South Carolina primaries. The article also demonstrates the “winners” and “losers” from polling results during the primaries. The article lists the candidates that were the “winners” in the primaries. Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump both took first in their respective parties. The article also take into account the candidates that did not win but showed surprising results such as Marco Rubio. The article then covered the “losers” in the primaries. They pointed out candidates such as Bernie Sanders, Jeb Bush, and Ted Cruz.

Analysis - After reading the article one can clearly review the results from the recent primaries. The use of polling covers how candidates were doing before and after the primaries. The article also gives clear analysis of who the winners and losers of these primaries were. Not only does it show the actually winners it covers the people who still gained from the recent primary. The coverage of the losers is also good. The article explains why Jeb Bush dropped out when he did and how Bernie Sanders and Ted Cruz are going to have a tough time coming back from the loss. However, this article only covers one of the many primaries to come.