Article 1 - The Legislative Branch

Source:

Obama Pushes Middle-Class Tax Cut. September 12, 2010
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0910/42101.html

Constitutional Connection:

Article 1, The Legislative Branch, Section 8, Clause 1
"The Congress shall have Power To lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises, to pay the Debts and provide for the common Defence and general Welfare of the United States"


Explanation of Connection:
            
            Obama, as well as Democrats in in Congress fight for the extension of the Bush-era middle-class tax cuts. The president and his party want to prolong the cuts for individuals who earn less than $200,000 a year and for couples making less than $250,000, but the GOP leadership — including House Minority Leader John Boehner and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell — want that extension to include the upper-income brackets, arguing the economy is too shaky to raise taxes on anyone. Congress is in a huge uproar and battle between the majority (Democrats) and the minority (Republicans) because of this tax proposal.

            This article clearly demonstrates Article 1, Section 8, Clause 1 of the U.S. Constitution. Congress has the sole responsibility of producing laws and regulations regarding the enforcement of taxes. In this article, Congress is clearly exercising this ability of theirs by proposing the middle-class tax cut. President Obama has delivered many speeches regarding the proposal of the tax extension, however, as much as he may try to influence the public, the final decision remains in the hands of the Legislative Branch, or Congress.

            If Congess did not have the power to regulate and control taxes amongst the U.S., I could imagine the government losing tremendous amounts of money, and services that benefit us as citizens will greatly decrease, which will result in a society lacking the things it needs to survive. This article means a lot to my family in particular because we fall under the $250,000 salary limit. I have heard my father discuss with my mom, many of times the possibilty of this proposal being enacted, and how it can benefit my family. So I feel that in some way this article does relate to me. The small population of individuals who argue against this article, who appear to the Republicans (minority) argue on behalf of the rich. However, the amount of money that Obama and his party are asking for from this population of people wouldn't put a dent in their pockets. As you can see I am for the proposal, and I truly hope this tax cut is enforced.