Blog Stage 8

       In an editorial posted by Let’s Talk Politics, author Michael addresses his concerns with the proposed plan of raising taxes on the rich in order to reduce interest rates on student loans. He strongly disagrees with this plan, suggesting that the wealthy are hardworking and do not deserve to be taxed.

       Michael’s primary argument is that the wealthy already paid their way through college and therefore do not deserve to be heavily taxed to help others pay for college. He specifically states that many Americans who are wealthy now, once started off in the middle or lower classes. After reading this claim, it seems to me that he is talking about the exception, and not the norm, as for the most part, a person’s economic class does not change over his or her lifetime. Using “exceptions” as evidence is not very supportive or convincing in an argument. If he cited statistics that support this claim, then his argument would be stronger. I agree with him that raising taxes on the rich is not as simple as it seems, and a lot of times after analyzed, plans to do start to fall apart. There are many failed attempts that could have been referred to, as well as mathematical evidence and economic theories describing why this idea would not work. Lastly, Michael could have been more descriptive as to what the current proposed plan of taxing the rich is. For example, who exactly is determined to be “rich” and how much of their income would be taxed.

       Michael ends his argument by discussing how the many people who are wealthy donate to charity. This strengthens his claim as it shows that rich people are doing their part to help lower classes. Michael’s argument could be stronger by being more descriptive and using outside reliable resources to support his claims.

Blog Stage 7: Goodbye Civil Rights

       With a tweet, the President’s favored form of communication, Donald Trump vowed to fight for the LGBT community in June of last year. Now, over a year later, the President’s actions could not be further from what he promised. The President has proven that the LGBT community means nothing more to him than a hollow campaign strategy with the Trump administration’s infringement on LGBT rights.

       The attack on the LGBT began as soon as Trump was sworn in with the removal of all content related to LGBT civil rights from whitehouse.gov back in January. This action is a clear encroachment on LGBT rights and yet it was not noticed by nearly enough people nor did it receive the backlash it deserved. Unfortunately, this was just the beginning of the Trump administration’s plan for LGBT rights. During the Obama administration, protections were granted to transgender students so they could safely use their corresponding restrooms in public schools. These protections were quickly revoked in February. In April, the Justice Department dropped a federal lawsuit concerning North Carolina’s “bathroom bill, no doubt due to the new President’s disinterest with civil rights. In July, the Trump administration continued their assault by again revoking protections to the LGBT community, but this time removing those preventing discrimination in the workplace. Trump received the most media backlash when he announced his intent to ban all transgender people from the military. Criticism of the military ban was widespread, especially among celebrities who took to social media to voice their disapproval.

       The attack on LGBT civil rights by the Trump administration is hard not to see, yet it is not being fought with much ferocity. With all the Trump scandals, it seems Americans are tired and disenthused with the government, electing stay at home rather than fight these cruel policies. This cannot be the civilian response that goes down in history. We need to organize and call our senators, letting our concerns be heard and fight back.