Issue Number 1: Reducing Taxes.

Taxes are said to be important in an economy. They can help stimulate the economy, giving money to the government so that they can help support certain programs. Taxes can help get the federal budget from a budget deficit to a budget surplus, improving the economy. But they also can hurt people and businesses. Taxing too much can make is so that people and businesses do not have extra money to spend. The lack of extra money would hinder them from splurging, causing less money going into the economy, making a deficit.

People that want the taxes to be cut believe that if we lower the taxes, this could persuade businesses to enlarge their operations and feel more confident to hire more works. This in turn could lower the rising unemployment rate. It is also said that if taxes were reduced, it can give the best possibility of long-term economic growth and job creation. People that are for tax cuts say that at one point in history, actually brought an end to the recession. If taxes are increased, people will be less likely to spend money. If the taxes are decreased, businesses and people have more money to spend, which will help stimulate the economy. Those against reducing taxes say that it will put the government from a surplus budget to a deficit. They argue that when President George Bush made tax cuts, the budget went from being a surplus to a deficit. It is also disputed that if there were a rise in profits, automatically tax revenues will increase, making the budget deficit lower. When President Reagan reduced taxes, the economy grew at a steady pace, but the budget deficit tripled.

In my view, taxes should be lowered. Maybe not all together cut, but some change does need to happen. We can keep or increase the taxes for the wealthy businesses and people, but then at a certain level, the taxes can be cut. Allow people to gain more money so they have money to buy goods, and help the economy grow. If we keep taxing people when they do not have money it might help the economy, but in the long run it will hurt the economy. People will not buy as much due to the fact that all of their money is going towards taxes. Businesses will not be as likely to hire people if they are lacking funds, they might even have to fire people to save the businesses. If businesses are not hiring people and letting people go, that will add to the unemployment rate.

President Barack Obama has a similar idea that middle class families should not have a tax increase. Obama does not think the plan will not need to last for years upon years, but just long enough for people to bounce back. He also does not think that the plan will increase the deficit. “The framework agreement includes a mutually agreed upon solution to the impasse over taxes by extending the 2001/2003 income tax rates for two years and reforming the AMT to ensure that an additional 21 million households will not be hit with a tax increase. These measures will provide relief to more than 100 million middle-class families and prevent a tax increase of over $2,000 for the typical family.” For more information about Obama's view on tax cuts, go to the link below.

http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2010/12/07/president-obama-tax-cuts-and-unemployment-extension-right-thing-do

For the outsourcing blog, go to:

http://cassiesamazingblog.blogspot.com/2011/02/issue-2-offshore-outsourcing.html

For the budget deficit and social security blog, go to:

http://ksteffss1.blogspot.com/2011/02/budget-deficit-and-social-security.html

Officer gave boy, 7, a ticket for throwing ball at his truck

After giving a 7-year-old boy a ticket for throwing a ball which hit an officer's truck, that officer has now been suspended. Cody Chapelle claimed he wrote a citation for third-degree criminal mischief as a result of the incident, taking place on October 16, 2009. Another officer, Police Chief Robert White, said that after an investigation on Chapelle's truck, there was no damage to the truck due to the ball hitting it. Why was the ticket written? It was stated by White that the ticket was an attempt in trying to persuade the child's mother to discipline the seven year old.
White also said that, "One of our greatest attributes we have as police officers is common sense," and he also said that Chapelle had "showed absolutely no common sense." Chapelle was suspended for 15 days, and his attorney was planning on appealing against it. It was also reported that the suspension letter included a statement that claimed that Chapelle yelled at the mother and told her she was a bad parent, which Chapelle was disciplined for doing so.

Can we say "Overreacting"? Honestly, a 7-year-old kid just threw a ball at the truck. If it was a rock, if somebody had the intention of seriously injuring the officer, then yes, a ticket would be reasonable. Yes, sometimes kids need to get taught lessons, but by giving him a ticket? There was no damage to the officer OR to his truck. A warning that throwing things at cars can be dangerous and outright rude would suffice. If the police officers are starting to get picky over the little things, what are they doing about the big issues going on? People will start to wonder if they are spending this much time and effort on a small issue, do they have enough time to fix bigger problems Sometimes, you have to pick your battles. Is a 7-year-old throwing a ball at a truck a battle worth fighting? How about trying to tackle things that are bigger, things that actually hurt people that are causing deaths? Wouldn't trying to stop people from going into stores and shooting people be a better problem to try and fix, rather than a child throwing a ball?



http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/41172540/ns/us_news-crime_and_courts/