D e l b a r t o n ’ s The Forum VOLUME 1 1 2 Writers in this is Issue O n T h e P r e s i d e n t i a l E l e c t i o n Ben Janacek ‘14 In his article, Janacek analyzes Jack Lynch ‘14 In direct opposition to the anal- the history of taxes, and the effects of raising ysis and reasoning that Gambetta gives, Lynch and lowering taxes on United States citizens. attacks voter ID laws as illegitimate and mali- He applies this analysis to the different policies cious. He notes that voter fraud seems to make of candidates for the presidential election, and up such an insignificant number of actual votes, strongly sides with Mitt Romney. He assesses and the number of disenfranchised voters that lowering Capital Gains Tax stimulates the caused by voter ID laws far outweighs any gains economy, and that the history of tax cuts ulti- that the laws allow for. In the end, Lynch notes mately shows that the wealthy already pay their that these laws, therefore, are only supported by “fair-share”; he therefore sides with Romney in Republicans because they would prevent Demo- this election. crats from being elected. Kevin Conn Mr. Conn notes several unfor- Augie Atencio ‘14 Somewhat contrary to what tunate facts that exist in our current political Mr. Conn argues in his article, Augie explains system. Although we would like to believe that his forced change in presidential candidate sup- we have the ability to choose our leaders, poli- port. He argues that, while the two candidates ticians have banded together to drastically re- are by no means perfect, the existence of third strict our choices. Their actions severely limit parties only takes away from those of Mitt Rom- what we can do with our country, and obliging ney. Because elections for third parties are in- by voting for someone in the two-party system deed thrown away, he thinks it is better to cast a only gives to them the legitimacy that they de- vote that makes a difference, even if it is not for sire. In order to destroy that legitimacy, he sug- the best candidate. Thus, he supports Romney, gests something rather uncommon: vote for a because he acts as a means to removing Presi- candidate that you know can’t win. dent Obama from the White House. Matthew Chuckran ‘13 Building on Mr. Ryan Teehan ‘14 Instead of arguing that Mr. Conn’s points on presidential debates, Chuck- Obama’s “you didn’t build that” was out of con- ran digs even deeper into the issue. He notes text, Teehan instead argues that he was com- that presidential debates only allow for the ig- pletely correct in his assertion. No one achieves success on their own, in his mind. Teehan delves norance of the lazy voter, and that they fail to into some philosophical matters, and relates construe a true image of what candidates will that it is, therefore, the duty of the rich to ac- actually do if elected. He argues that the de- knowledge their advantages, and give back to bates are actually counterproductive: that is, the less fortunate. Therefore, President Obama they work strongly against the democratic pro- is a wise choice for the President. cess. Kabbas Azhar ‘14 Kabbas criticizes the super- Matthew Gambetta ‘14 In his article, Gam- ficiality of American citizens in his article. He betta argues that voter ID laws are a necessary notes the flaws of many of our best leaders, part of the presidential election. He notes that but also recognizes that such flaws do not de- valid ID’s are very common, and are also very tract from their ability to lead. The media of the easy to obtain. In defense, he notes that photo- present day only harms the election, because it ID’s are needed for many things beyond elec- creates a popularity contest instead of a valid tions, yet they are, firstly, not considered dis- election for a political office. He laments the po- criminatory, and, secondly, not as important as tential that is lost with the tendency of the com- a federal election. The election is too important mon citizen to dislike someone because of how to allow fraud, so voter ID laws are necessary. they look or sound. 3 4 Contents Letter From the Editors You’ve probably noticed by now interesting. Each article gives a and he is expected to continue that the school has begun a new thorough, informative explana- to make similar articles every 21 publication, which you are read- tion of the issue and then the month in that section. ing. This is The Forum, the new writer’s unique opinion on it. We decided to create this political magazine of Delbar- We will have other sec- publication to give Delbarton 7 ton. What you are about to read tions here, too, besides articles. students a medium to dissemi- contains the interesting, erudite The “Popular Opinions” section nate their messages and ideas. analyses of current events, poli- will explain a few of the most We have opinions from all parts 14 tics, and philosophy, not news. well-known opinions from fig- of the political spectrum, and Here we present opinions and ures in the public sphere about we hope you find them interest- 18 ideas, not news or reporting, the main theme of that issue ing. If you are interested in the which is the job of The Courier. (this section is not in this issue, things that our writers say, and Each issue of this maga- though, because it isn’t exactly would like to contribute simi- On the Election zine will have its own theme, or compatible with the theme). larly, we are always looking for 17 13 5 - It’s the Carrot, Not the main topic. For this first pub- We also present some of the more writers with new and in- Stick lication of this school year, the key events of this month, which teresting ideas. Any student or Ben Janacek ‘14 theme will be the presidential gives a nice summary of what’s teacher may write articles, and 7 - Vote for Someone Else - election, and it will therefore happened recently. Last, but all you have to do is contact one Anyone Else! be slightly different from its certainly not least, there is Kab- of the editors to get involved. Kevin Conn typical format. Typically, a few bas’ Korner, the last article of ev- We look forward to your in- 10 - Debates: Why Everyone articles in the issue will be fea- ery issue. This section is unique volvement, and hope you enjoy Watches Them, But no one tured articles that pertain to the to the opinions of the one, the the articles. Should main topic, but many others only, Kabbas Azhar, whose arti- Matthew Chuckran ‘13 are on completely separate top- cles have such a unique feel that - Matthew Chuckran and Conor Ryan ics—whatever the writers find they need a separate section, Editors in Chief 5 The Presidential Election 13 - Voter ID Laws = Common Sense F o r e w o r d Laws In the United States, elections have served as the foundation for our democratic ideals. While we Matthew Gambetta ‘14 14 - Suppressing the Vote: The do not vote directly on laws, we elect representatives to do so; such people include Washington, Jef- Darker Truth of Voter ID Laws ferson, Lincoln, Roosevelt, and Reagan. Two hundred years ago, elections were controlled mostly Jack Lynch ‘14 by legislatures and the Electoral College. Today, elections are much more accessible, with televised 17 - Voting to Make a Difference, speeches, debates, and advertisements. This new type of election has brought with it partisanship, Not a Point and loyal party devotion among people regardless of their candidate is not uncommon. This month, Augie Atencio ‘14 we present you a wide array of opinions concerning this upcoming election, including opinions on the 18 - “You Didn’t Build That,” and 9 candidates, the system, and the future. Enjoy being bombarded by our continuous and extreme bias Other Political Truisms as you read these featured articles. Ryan Teehan ‘14 21 - President of What!? 10 Kabbas Azhar ‘13 - Matthew Chuckran and Conor Ryan Editors in Chief 5 6 increased after the tax cuts were taxes, President Obama believes lace. The problem in this country implemented.1 That is because, everyone should be paying their is not that people are overtaxed; although the tax rate was lower, “fair share”––his signature phrase. it is that the government spends more people were incentivized to Here are the facts: the top 1% in too much of the money. invest their money because they America take home 17% of the Instead of instituting the were not facing as burdensome country’s income, but pay 37% largest tax increase on the middle class in world history, which the President has done with Obam- acare, the Governor proposes lowering the tax rate of the middle class.4 In fact, he wants to lessen every marginal tax rate by 20%.5 Some say that this will cause too sharp a decrease in tax revenue to the government, and that this plan cannot be implemented without raising the deficit. That is wrong for many reasons. These projections do not take into ac- count the increased growth in the economy from lowered tax rates. Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush both saw success when they cut income taxes. In 1980, revenue from individual income taxes was $244 billion dollars.