Ok, before I can answer the questions in the bonus post I need couple more days just to understand the article! While reading the article I realize that I have a little bit a weak knowledge of American history, so I will take some time and will research few facts which were mentioned, like:
1) "The pretax incomes of the wealthy have soared since the late 1970s, while their tax rates have fallen more than rates for the middle class and poor." - Is it really?
2) "the age of Reagan."- What does that mean?
3) "The laissez-faire revolution that Mr. Reagan started did not cause these trends. But its policies — tax cuts, light regulation, a patchwork safety net — have contributed to them." - What are all those "policies"?
4)"what is the proper balance between the market and the government?" - Is there suppose to be a balance? What kind of balance is it?
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Hi -
ReplyDeleteThose are great questions. The issues we're discussing apply to many contexts but we'll be seeing mostly examples coming from the U.S. I'm sure you're not the only one with these questions - do bring up things like this from the readings when they arise.
#1 - Yes, it's true: the graph on the side illustrates this. We'll talk about this in class after break.
#2 & 3 The age of Reagan refers to the 1980s, when Ronald Reagan was president - he was generally associated with lower taxes, especially for the rich, cuts in government benefits to the poor (the 'safety net') and less regulation of corporations by the government.
#4 - This is an ongoing political debate - what the balance should be. Most people would argue that you don't want the government running companies, but that you also don't want a world where there are no restrictions on forced labor, child labor, product safety, and so forth. Hence the question of how to balance this out.