Should Wealthy People Pay Higher Taxes?

1. Set Focus
Ask this essential question: When it comes to taxes, is it fair to ask some Americans to pay more of what they earn than others?

2. Read and Discuss
Have students read the debate and then answer the following questions:

• What is the issue being debated? How does it relate to current events? (The issue is whether the government should raise money by increasing the tax rate for the wealthiest Americans. The issue is timely because the president has asked Congress to pass a budget that calls for taxes to be raised on wealthy people.)

• Evaluate why these two authors might be interested in and qualified to comment on this issue. (Both authors are members of Congress. As lawmakers, they’re responsible for passing the federal budget and laws that determine the nation’s tax policy.) 

• Analyze Warner’s view. (Warner argues that wealthy Americans currently shoulder a smaller percentage of the tax burden than wealthy people in other countries do, and that the wealthiest Americans can afford to help pay for services we all use and social programs that help others.)

• Analyze Blackburn’s view. (Blackburn argues that raising taxes on wealthy people stifles economic growth and job creation and that they already pay a larger portion of the country’s tax revenue than everyone else does. When wealthy people pay less, she says, they invest more in their communities.)

4. Writing Prompt
In an essay, evaluate one of the debaters’ arguments. Assess whether the reasoning is valid and whether it’s supported with evidence. Point out biases or missing information.

5. Classroom Debate
Should wealthy Americans pay higher taxes? Have students use the authors’ ideas, as well as their own, in a debate. 

6. Vote
Go online to vote in Upfront’s poll—and see how students across the country voted.