Opinions

Taxing the wealthiest portion of Americans has been a large issue for quite some time now “1-percenters” are often seen as selfish individuals who are unwilling to pay their fair share. While this is certainly the case regarding many people in this category, there is a group known as The Patriotic Millionaires for Fiscal Strength leading the way in the movement to increase taxes on themselves and others like them. The group formed in 2010 in order to push for the expiration of the Bush tax cuts. According to their...

According to the Washington Secretary of State there was an 81.16 percent voter turnout this general election, with 38.48 percent voting in the primaries.  The turnout drops significantly in non-presidential elections, showing a 52.95 percent statewide turnout for the 2011 elections. Media outlets stream countless hours of airtime and news reports on the presidential race, which in turn convinces unassuming citizens that the big election is the important one. A month has passed since the election; the pinnacle of citizen’s democratic participation has come and gone. Clearly there have been...

In light of recreational marijuana use being legalized in Washington, I thought now would be a good time to discuss the drinking age. Personally, I’m not a fan of drinking. I don’t even like rum balls, and you can barely taste the alcohol in them. But the idea of raising the drinking age or lowering it has been one that I’ve pondered time and time again. I found on procon.org that the majority of countries have a minimum drinking age between 16 and 19 and that the United States is...

As pundits move forward from this recent election cycle, a fiscal cliff looms over the next two months as Congress must negotiate the difficult task of preserving short-term economic growth while seeking to resolve long-term debt issues. For those not familiar with the term, a fiscal cliff refers to the expiration of the Bush-era tax cuts in combination with automatic reductions in government spending across the board that will take place on Jan. 1, 2013. Non-partisan economic studies have shown that the fiscal cliff, if allowed to take place in...

The 2012 election was, for many reasons, certainly an historic one. President Barack Obama was elected to a second term, winning many swing states after a well-fought campaign. His victory left many conservatives wondering what exactly caused Mitt Romney to lose the election. Many believe the “Ryan effect” was a cause for many moderates to turn their backs on Romney and re-elect Obama. However, there is quite a bit more to it than that. On election night, political conservative Andrew Sullivan appeared on The Colbert Report. Sullivan is an author...

No, this isn’t a story pulled from The Onion: Birmingham, Ala. is raising a challenge to the Voting Rights Act in federal court. On Friday, Nov. 9, the Supreme Court agreed to hear an appeal in  Shelby County v. Holder, challenging the constitutionality of Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act. The controversy is over the “preclearance” requirements of Section 5: The 1965 law requires certain “covered jurisdictions” to request permission from the federal government before making changes to their local voting laws because of a history of racial discrimination...

Don’t get me wrong, there are some great people in this generation of youth. There are people who will become great leaders and philanthropists in years to come. But the key word there is “some.” There are people within this generation that – in my opinion – are setting a bad example for the next generation and the younger members of the current generation. I spend a lot of time pondering why so many people behave the way they do, despite the fact that they could be ruining other people’s...

The issue of rape and abortion has become a major issue due to the careless comments recently made by many pro-life Republicans. What many of them also have in common is that they have tried to go back on their comments in order to salvage their campaigns. It all began with the Republican Senate hopeful Todd Akin of Missouri. He infamously stated, “If it’s a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down.” Akin apologized shortly after this, going as far as airing...

We’ve all read countless op-eds about the negative effects of unlimited political ad spending heralded in Citizens United. But what I don’t think we’ve heard enough about is how these ads, as both political and aesthetic tools, affect us as citizens and voters. So here, I’d like to talk a little bit about the political ramifications of the aesthetics of negative advertising in political campaigns. These ads normally come in two flavors, pretty much split between local and national races: At the local level, you most commonly see the brand...

It is truly remarkable that social security has not come up in either the debates or the presidential campaigns themselves. Well, remarkable may not be the best word, as there is one glaring reason why the democratic campaign has failed to demonstrate how the Ryan plan, a centerpiece of the republican campaign would lead to the collapse of social security in the next dozen years. Considering social security is perhaps the most successful program in US history, pulling millions of people out of poverty by guaranteeing a core retirement fund,...

Not to generalize, but Puget Sound is known for its progressive minded students, and hey, that often means voting Democrat with social issues in mind, like reproductive justice. And for some of us who have not taken the chance to sit down and earnestly interpret our complimentary voter’s guide, perhaps plan on voting a straight democratic ticket. Alas, you reach a point on your ballot when—gasp—two Democrats are running against each other. The seat is for State Senate, and the contenders are Jeannie Darneille and Jack Connelly. This election women’s...

Earlier this week I read an article on USA Today about Ann Romney and Michelle Obama. A mere two weeks from the election, the article did not focus on their charity work, their undying support of the husbands, or their personal victories as women prominent in today’s political limelight. Instead, the article addressed the outfits they wore to the final presidential debate. I found this … irritating. Once I moved past the initial shock of seeing the headline “Ann Romney wears de la Renta for debate” emblazoned on USA Today’s...