Flat Tax vs. Progressive Tax

Flat Tax vs Progressive Tax

I am a believer in the flat tax, rather than progressive tax. In my mind, the flat tax is much fairer to everyone, even though the some people seem to think it is unfair to poor people. They say that it is only “making the poor people poorer”, and that it is very unfair that the rich people don’t have to pay more. However, this is simply ridiculous. If one person makes $30,000 with a 10% tax rate, they will pay $3,000. Compare this to someone who makes $100,000. This person would be paying $10,000 in taxes. Sure, the second person would come away with $90,000 compared to the $27,000 of the first person. And even though the one person is coming away with three times more money in the end, they are also paying three times more in taxes. That is the only way that is fair to everyone.

I read this comment agreeing with flat tax on one of the links, and I agree with it completely:

“Two people earning $50,000 each will pay together less tax than one person having $100,000 on the progressive tax system, so simply $50000+$50000 is not = to $100000. This generates all kind of problems, including that you have to have a monster like IRS to figure out where each dollar came from.”

This is so great and is a wonderful point. It isn’t fair to a single person who makes $100,000 to pay more taxes than a couple who has a combined income of $100,000. With the progressive system, that is how the turnout would be, which isn’t fair. This is why the flat tax system would be much better for us in my eyes; it seems to be fairer for every person in the system. It is a simpler and more effective way of taxing all people.

Deviance

Deviance is something that occurs every single day in our society, and it is actually an important part of society. Without it, society would be boring and lost. The media feeds off of social deviance, and without deviance the media would have almost nothing to cover.
Such an instance of this is Johnny Manziel. Manziel was a quarterback at Texas A&M, and was then drafted by the Cleveland Browns in 2014. He is an electrifying player who is very fun to watch on the field with his play style, but it was his off-field issues that led to him being cut by the team.
Johnny has been despised by the NFL and many fans after his many mishaps. Here are a few of these many mishaps: he flipped the bird to the opposing sideline during a preseason game. He was constantly tardy or absent at team meetings and team activities. He was accused of assault on his ex-girlfriend. Many pictures of him partying arose when he instead should have been focused the game of football, or at least focused on improving himself as a person.  At one point, Johnny was into so many bad things, that his father came out and said that he would be surprised if his son would have lived to see the age of 24. I think it says a lot about somebody if their own father says something so harsh.
Since his release from the team, he has had an apparent wake up call. He visited a rehab facility for his drinking problem in attempt to better himself, which is a good step for him to take. He has since tried to make an NFL comeback, and I hope that it works out for him. He has tried to overcome his deviant life, and I think that it is a step that more people like that should take.

Freddie Gray and Mike Tyson vs. Society. Who fails who?

Many people grow up in very tough situations. People all over the US grow up in crime-infested neighborhoods where being a delinquent is the norm. These people are shaped to think that it is okay to live that way, even though it isn’t how things should be. However, I think many of these people don’t try as hard as they could to help themselves out and be somebody. I think that the large majority of these people have a lot of potential, and that they have it in them to change. If they really put their minds to it, they can make something out of themselves, rather than just using society as an excuse to why their life didn’t turn out good.

I personally think society doesn’t help people like Mike Tyson or Freddie Gray. I think the places where they grew up shaped them into people who stole, got into fights, or got into trouble with drugs, or many other things that have gone unspoken.  However, I think that Mike Tyson ended taking good steps, and he did what he needed to do to be somebody. He worked hard to get big places in life and it really payed off for him. He saw his chance to make something out of his life, and he took full advantage. Although he grew up in a bad situation, he made it out. He made millions of dollars and became very successful even though his background didn’t make that easy.

Freddie Gray was also shaped poorly by society. He grew up in a tough neighborhood. Society again taught him that drugs, violence, and other criminal activity was an okay way to live. This most likely had an effect on him and how he went about his life. But I still think that just like everyone else in this outstanding country, he had opportunities to succeed. He could have done more for himself and society than he chose to do. He made poor decisions, such as running from the police, assaulting a family friend, and doing drugs. He could have made much better decisions, but he continued to fall deeper and deeper into the hole that society dug. Instead of digging himself out, he chose to not do anything about it.

So all in all, I think that society shapes these people and tries to pull them into bad lives. But I think that it is something that can be overcome. Anyone can make the effort to better themselves and change themselves and others for the better. I think that society fails them to begin with, but then they fail society in return.

Bronx Tale

First article:

This article talks about racism in general. It describes what racism is like today, and also how there were forms of it in previous centuries and generations.  It says that racism is more of a Western civilization thing, rather than universal. It also goes on to explain how even though groups worldwide had slaves in the past, the slaves weren’t always defined by race, but they were rather just the “outcasts”, “barbarians” or “savages” of the time. The people who owned the slaves back didn’t see the slaves as people who fit in, but they did see them as people who could be changed and shaped into their ways. So technically, their slavery wasn’t racist, because the slaves were sometimes of the same race as the owners.

The article goes on to talk about much of the history of different parts of the world, dealing with exploration as well as the development of slavery throughout the years. Not only does it talk about slavery and racism in past years, but it also talks about how it all has developed and changed into what it is today. No matter what we do, or how hard we try, there is no way that we can change the race of anyone. It is time for people to start to accept everyone else for who they are, rather than basing their opinions of others on their race alone. It is simply ridiculous, and it isn’t okay.

Article 2:

This article describes how racism is caused partly by society. Society teaches people as they are growing up that some people are better than others, and that some groups should be seen as superior. A lot of times it probably isn’t even conscious, but society as a whole puts down certain people and groups of people. The article also says that racism isn’t just formed from one group. Not only white people are racists, even though that is what a lot of people make it out to be. Every single group is racist in some way, shape, or form.

Along with that, it talks about how we have taken good steps in the forms of eliminating racism. Racism isn’t quite the issue that it used to be, but it still isn’t completely solved either.  Although we are more tolerant than 50 years ago, we still do have our race issues. I think that another reason why racism still seems so bad is because there are so many different races interacting with one another. A lot of times people get into conflicts with someone of a different race, but the conflict didn’t start with a racial issue. Then the media comes into play, and makes it seem like a racial issue. So overall, I think we have accomplished many good things in the form of trying to eliminate racism, even though the media depicts it differently.

Article 3:

Racism, sexism, and ageism are the main focus of the article. It explains to us that many of these people aren’t racist, sexist, or ageist because of how their mind works and because it is what their mind chooses to think. They feel the way that they do because of the people around them. Everyone is shaped by society to think certain ways, and to feel certain ways about various topics. Maybe the individuals aren’t to blame about these issues. Maybe it is society as a whole.

The media also plays a huge role in the way people think. If people see the same things over and over, they will tend to think that it is normal and acceptable. However, if the things that they see are very stereotypical and judgmental, then that is generally how their mind will be taught to feel.

Studies have shown that the prejudices that people tend to exhibit and show may not even be conscious or known. Researchers found that people tend to associate words with stereotypes that they commonly hear throughout their daily life. Altogether, judgment, racism, sexism, ageism, and any other types of prejudices may simply be formed because that is how we are raised to think.

Summary:

I believe that racism is a worldwide issue, but that it tends to be a larger issue in the Western Culture. This is very evident in the United States, simply because we are such an extremely diverse group of people. We have people from every race and every part of the world. This gives us an increased chance for problems to arise, since there is so much interaction going on between these people each and every day. Ever since way back, people have found reasons to discriminate against others. However, the media has recently blown everything out of proportion. Every single conflict and issue gets turned into a “race” issue by the media. “Researchers discovered participants responded faster to the pairs that were more often found together in the literature, whether they were stereotypical or not.” This shows that a lot of prejudices are learned from society, not from each individual’s brain. “Race, as a concept that defined an individual’s identity as unchangeable and innate, dates to roughly the fifteenth century”. This shows that the concept of racism has always been here, and always will be here, because people will always find reasons to dislike each other. It is everywhere, and I don’t think there is much we can do to eliminate it completely. However, we have taken substantial steps since the civil rights movement. “Interviews with large numbers of people show that Americans of all races have become much more tolerant of other races in recent decades”. This is evidence that people in America have grown to be more accepting of each other. Even though that is a good step, there are still many steps to be taken to eliminate racism and racial profiling completely.

3 Writing Prompts LOTF

1.       When society gets together, there will be things that they like, and things that they don’t. There will be certain people that are against the views of the majority, and there will always be divisions. If someone decides to go against the majority, the majority will find a way to punish them. Sometimes the decision is made to kill that person. Other times, they just punish them without killing. They make them suffer. They take away everything away that they possibly can from that one outlier to make him or her as uncomfortable, lonely, and scared as possible. This was shown in the book, when Jack’s group of hunters didn’t kill Ralph right away, but they took away every single thing that Ralph had, rather than putting him out of his misery.

2.       Our savage self will always take over our civilized self if we are not able to separate them. This just happens because it is so much easier to be mean and cruel than to be nice and genuine. Self-control is the main thing that helps society remain civilized and remain together. In the book, you see that Jack loses his sense of self control, and leaves the group. He is then followed by many others, who are tired of putting in all the work to be good, when it is easier just to lose control and be savage. That is why keeping those separated is so important. It keeps people in check and helps the majority of people stay good.

3.       A civilization is created by a group of people coming together with a common goal. At the beginning of the book, they had a goal. Their goal was to survive, and to make it off of the island in any way possible. However, society is controlled by the people. It maybe isn’t controlled the entire group as a whole, but by certain powerful individuals. These individuals control the entire people. They are able to use their power and their voice to intimidate others and to get their way. So in a way, people are controlled by society, but I think that society is controlled by the people more. The majority can come together at any point and take over.

The Lottery

1.        

a.       No, I wasn’t surprised. I got suspicious when they gathered the stones, and no one wanted the paper with the dot.

b.      Everyone is hesitant when it comes to the lottery, they keep their distance because they’re afraid

c.       She categorizes the lottery with square dances, the teen club, and the Halloween program

2.        In a small village of a few hundred people. It means more here because everyone knows everyone else. One person being taken away affects the entire village.

3.       Everyone seems to have different viewpoints and ways of thinking about the lottery. She is selected because she is the most reluctant and does the most complaining as it is being conducted.

4.       Because a lottery usually indicates the “winner” as someone who is gaining, not losing. However, in this scenario, the “winner” actually loses the most out of anyone

5.       Graves – Grave could also be a symbol for death

a.       Summers – Summer is thought of as a happy and carefree time typically

b.       Hutchinson – protestor because Anne Hutchinson was a famous protestor

c.       Delacroix – Name means the “cross” (which stands for religious turmoil)

6.        

7.       Dark, old, raggedy, and worn down. The box is in bad shape. The slip is sort of makeshift and not very sophisticated by any means. They are both run down and need to be replaced, which could also stand for the lottery in general. It is old and it is unnecessary.

8.       The writer didn’t seem to be for the lottery or the stoning. She talks about how other places are getting away from it and makes that seem like a good idea

9.       It could represent the Holocaust

The Lottery explains a lot about our human nature. It does say a lot that in this story, most people have different viewpoints. No two people think exactly alike, which is a lot like we are today. Another striking similarity is that we get stuck in our habits. Everyone in that village knows that they don’t have any logical reason for the lottery, other than “tradition”. None of them would have a good answer or good reason to why they conduct the lottery each year, but they continue to do it anyways without asking questions. Another way that it relates to today is that we take violence lightly. Today, violence is just a part of our lives. There are hundreds and hundreds of murders each and every day, and no one even bats an eye. It is normal, just like it is in the Lottery. It almost doesn’t even have an effect on them, because they are so used to it. In general, we humans just get too caught up in our old ways, and we refuse to change even though change is what’s best for us. This story is from way back in 1948, but a lot of it still applies to our life today. 

Government: January 31st

1. The former (Obama appointed) U.S. Attorney General

2. The Democrats are delaying Trump's cabinet picks

3. Because she is an Obama Administration appointee who is weak on border control and immigration. She also betrayed the Department of Justice and went against an executive order.

4. She doesn't see the Executive order as consistent with her responsibility, and she also doesn't see it as lawful

5. Yes, I do. His picks for the cabinet are being delayed, and they are taking much longer to get confirmed than the majority of Bush’s and Obama’s picks. Bush and Obama had a combine 9 cabinet picks get confirmed after January 30, while Trump alone has 17. He has every right to be upset about it.