Question #1

The concept of socialism is a long-standing one, and many cultures and nations have attempted to put some form of socialist structure into place. More recently this concept has come to the forefront of political discussions in this nation, especially with the success (though ultimate failure) of Bernie Sanders to secure the democratic party presidential nomination in 2016 and more recently with the meteoric rise of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in New York. These politicians and candidates have resonated with many individuals by proclaiming that certain issues are not just optional, but are in fact basic human rights which all are deserving of regardless of socio-economic status, education, race, ethnicity, gender, etc. They have pointed to numerous nations around the world who have employed some version of socialism or socialism-lite with varying degrees of success. Others like Margaret Thatcher have long warned of what they believe the dangers of socialism are: “The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people’s money.” They also point the the failure of democratic socialist nations like Venezuela as examples of where socialism eventually leads.

It is your job to determine if some form of socialism can actually work in practice in the U.S. and if comparing those nations to the U.S. is fair and correct. Can such a system truly work here in the U.S.? Should the wealthy pay more given that some believe they don’t pay their fair share? What happens if the wealthy decide to remove their resources from the U.S.? What if you find yourself among the “wealthy” at some point in your life? Will you then be as willing to pay into socialist systems if 60% or more of your earned income is taken by the government to support those systems? Consider the following chart which shows who pays what in regards to taxes and funding the government and which shows the wealthy pay a massive share of the tax burden already:

“The top-earning 1 percent of Americans will pay nearly half of the federal income taxes for 2014, the largest share in at least three years, according to a study…The bottom 80 percent of Americans are expected to pay 15 percent of all federal income taxes in 2014, according to the study. The bottom 60 percent are expected to pay less than 2 percent of federal income taxes” (Frank, 2015).

Sources:

DeSilver, Drew (2016). High-income Americans pay most income taxes, but enough to be ‘fair’? http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2016/04/13/hi…

Robert, Frank (2015). Top 1% pay nearly half of federal income taxes. https://www.cnbc.com/2015/04/13/top-1-pay-nearly-h…

Question #2

The US is nation guided by the Constitution, the supreme law of the land which guarantees the rights and liberties of everyone in the nation and yet what are we to do when those perceived rights clash with the rights or liberties of others? A recent news story comes to mind for you to consider on this topic and which deals with the 1st Amendment’s guarantee of freedom of speech. Given that the Founders wrote and placed the 1st Amendment at the very beginning of the Bill of Rights, it goes without saying that they considered it amongst the most important of rights to enshrine.

We all know that the 1st Amendment guarantees the freedom of speech, a right which most of us take for granted but for which we are amazingly fortunate to have given how people in other nations are often treated when they speak up or out. Recently I came across a story about a young man and woman who were involved in a relationship with each other and which ended with the man committing suicide. What makes this case significant for this course is the questions which have been raised regarding the 1st Amendment, how far those rights extend, and at what point is someone not responsible for their own actions? In this case, the woman appears to have incessantly encouraged her boyfriend to end his own life, which he did by jumping off of the roof of a parking garage. She has now been criminally charged for her role, but this begs the question – what about her 1st Amendment right to freedom of speech? Don;t we, as Americans, have the right to be as offensive or despicable as we want? Aren’t people ultimately responsible for their own actions? In this case, can/should she be held criminally liable for the singular actions of her boyfriend to commit suicide? While it’s clear she said horrible things, are we prepared to criminalize the words of individuals and if so, how does that square with the 1st Amendment? While it is true that her boyfriend had a history of mental illness, is she now somehow responsible for his mental health issues?

Do not allow your feelings regarding her morality creep into your analysis. You might find her actions/words personally disgusting, but the law and the Constitution do not care about your personal morality, and keep in mind that this story is different than one in which a teenager is bullied by classmate’s because that bullying is generally unwanted and non consensual, while this story represent a consensual relationship between two consenting adults. If you feel she should be charged and the 1st Amendment doesn’t protect her then that’s fine, especially given that prosecutors seem to agree with that same assessment, but be prepared to make the case for why you think this and the same for if you believe she shouldn’t be charged with manslaughter in her boyfriend’s suicide.

https://www.cnn.com/2019/10/31/opinions/boston-college-suicide-inyoung-you-jackson/index.html