Trump’s proposed tax reform
The Courier Special Edition
THE GOAL With his new tax plan, President Trump has four main goals:
1: TAX RELIEF for middle class Americans 2: SIMPLIFY the tax code 3: GROW America’s economy 4: DO NOT ADD to our debt
HOW THESE GOALS WILL BE ACHIEVED: 1: IF YOU EARN LESS THAN $25,000 ANNUALLY
and you are single, you will not owe any income tax. This applies to most high-school aged students who have jobs.
2:
All other Americans will get a SIMPLER TAX CODE with four brackets- 0%, 10%, 20%, and 25%- based on their annual income.
3: BUSINESSES,
regardless of size, will pay no more than 15% of their income in taxes.
4: THE DEATH TAX
will be eliminated. This means that families will no longer have to pay taxes for their inheritance when a loved one passes away.
WHAT COULD GO WRONG: Since tax money is used to fund public works projects (i.e. roads), public education, health programs, and social security, Trump’s proposed tax plan can certainly raise some eyebrows. While a major tax cut can look good to our wallets, there is a possibility that it could damage our communities as well. Trump claims that his tax plan will balane out and eleiminate these possibilities. Information was taken directly from Donald Trump’s speech.
905 8th Ave. NW, Mandan, ND - Volume 26, Special Edition - September 2017
Republicans and Refineries
sensibly. At noon, we left the school, stopped to grab lunch, and parked a few blocks from the gates of the refinery. On our way in, we saw plenty of Trump supporters but, since we were quite early, no protesters. Once inside, we were asked to show our IDs and were checked off of the list of those allowed. There were 900 people on the list and it was an indescribable feeling to be one of them. After receiving White House Press Passes, we had to go through security, which is very similar to TSA at the airport. Much to my surprise, phones, food, drinks, etc. were not suspended and were all allowed inside the event. Once we had passed through security, we waited in line to be BRENNA HAMMER and SHANTEL JANGULA shuttled to the back of the refinery where the speech would take place. This process took about an hour. By the time that we got Co-Editors-in-Chief to the site, it was getting On Wednesday, September 6, Co-Editor-In-Chiefs Brenna hot out. The press box Hammer and Shantel Jangula as well as journalism adviser we were on was black Hannah Cahoon attended a closed conference at the Andeavor and there was not a sun Refinery in Mandan where President Donald Trump gave a in the sky, so we were speech regarding his proposed tax reform. The following is an all getting pretty hot and account of their experiences. sunburnt by the time the event actually started. At about 2:00, snipers Brenna: started setting up towards When I found out that Donald Trump would be coming to the back of the crowd Mandan, I was thrilled. Regardless of your political views or and I was able to notice a beliefs, having the President come to your hometown is a big helicopter circling around deal. I decided to reach out to the Bismarck Tribune to try to the area. Furthermore, it attend this monumental conference. Secret Service Agents were was during this time that When I called the Editor of the Tribune, he informed me that Secret Service agents scattered around the area and we could not intern with his reporters for a day, but agreed to became much more forward me the email containing the information on how to get looked as if they were straight visible. Contrary to their on “the list.” From there, I was faced with the task of contacting out of a movie from the suit and title, they were not very the White House. tie to the ear piece and Oakley secretive I called the number shades. and stood that was listed on the out like email and was greeted a sore thumb. I found it to be humorous how by a member of the stereotypical they looked. White House Media Because we were in the press crowd, we were Affairs team. He gave getting constant updates from those around us. me his personal email This was nice because it gave us time to gather and asked me to send ourselves as we knew exactly when Air Force 1 him my name and the landed and when the President was on site. title of the publication I Trump’s speech was fairly short and was only was associated with. At a fraction of the five hours that I spent at the site. about 5:00 in the evening I thought that he gave a nicely composed speech on Tuesday, we received and it was clear that he knew what to say to please confirmation that our the crowd. names were added to Once the 40 minute speech was over, we waited the list along with an for about another hour before we were shuttled itinerary of the events for back to the entrance. By this time I was frying, Andeavor Refinery, previously known as the the next day. exhausted, and my feet were throbbing. However, Wednesday was an Tesoro Refinery, informed us that they were the whole thing was an amazing, once-in-aanxiety filled day. not informed of the President’s plan to speak in lifetime experience and I am incredibly honored We all tried to dress Mandan until the Thursday before the event. to have been a part of something so important. professionally and
An inside look on President Trump’s tax reform rally
2
All photos by Brenna Hammer.
Extra
Pictured left: President Trump ultimately wants to end the “Death Tax,” which would eliminate the tax on the family of the deceased for their inherited land or money. Pictured middle: Photographers surrounded us as Trump gave his speech. Pictured right: Trump was heavily supported by North Dakotans, and this showed through the multiple gestures of support such as this Trump poster.
Shantel: I was sitting in my Problem’s of Democracy class when I first learned President Donald Trump would be coming to North Dakota. My Co-partner, Brenna, immediately wanted to contact someone who could potentially let us sit in at the press conference with them. Even though I thought that was a great idea, I was very doubtful that we would be able to go. While my day progressed, Mrs. Cahoon, the adviser of The Courier, informed me that Brenna already contacted the White House to get credentials to see the president. I guess I could say this is when things get surreal for me. My partner, Brenna, contacting the White House? Usually, that’s not an average day for us. We’re used to emailing Famous Dave’s, Bismarck State College, and now we made the leap to the White House. When I got home I told my mom all about my situation, and she was overjoyed. She called my entire family to tell them that I was going to see the president. I received calls from my family members the entire night. My grandma told me she wished she could be me. For some reason, I wasn’t feeling that same excitement as my relatives were. I still don’t understand why I wasn’t jumping out of my seat to see him, I mean, it’s the President of The United States. Was it because the entire experience happened so fast? Possibly.Was it because I don’t pay close attention to politics? Yet another possibility. The next morning, I tried to my best to make sure there wasn’t a curl in my hair that was out of place and out the door I was, ready to go see the president. Getting checked in at the refinery and receiving our press passes was a truly a story in itself, however, there was a woman in particular who in particular really sticks out in my memory. The best description of her would be the female version of Dog The Bounty Hunter. She was, assumingly, in charge of the security by the way she was conducting herself. I believe she stuck out most to me because of her authority in the Secret Service. It’s inspiring to see women hold such authority in federal law enforcement.
When we were shuttled to the destination of where President Trump was set to speak, we were in a press bubble along with Valley News Live and Fox Business Network. Although I was not used to this professional journalism environment, the news reporters around us did not know that. Once they found out we were just high school journalists, they were a lot nicer to us, one male reporter even asked to interview us after the president was done with his speech. As the time approached for Trump to give his speech, I saw the reporters looking in their iPhone cameras at their appearances. The women were reapplying their lipstick and hairspray while men were gelling their hair and checking if anything was in their teeth. I guess Brenna and I looked out of place. We had been sitting there for almost two hours in the blazing heat. We were not reapplying lipstick. We were not checking if anything was in our teeth, well, maybe that’s because we had only ate some popcorn chicken from Walmart. And we were definitely not reapplying hairspray. In fact, we were coming up with a game plan. Who would take notes? Me. Who would take pictures? Brenna. When I saw the limousine in which President Trump arrived in, it was something indescribable. For a second, it seemed like everything was in slow motion. Weird, right? If I’m being honest, it was similar to the time I saw Bruno Mars in concert. Minus the weird, high pitch fan girl screams. Anyway, back to the speech. Since I was in charge of taking notes, I barely got to look at the president. Instead, I was too busy typing almost every word he said into my notes app on my phone, occasionally snickering at some of his remarks. After the speech was over and we had left the refinery, I could not believe how exhausted I was. Although I was tired and sunburnt to a crisp, the experience will never leave me. Being a 17 year old high school newspaper editor reporting with a handful of tv personalities and reporters we watch on the news daily will be an experience I will never forget. Being able to go to a closed conference with the President of The United States redefines the idea of “Pushing your limits until your heart's content,” for me. I hope it inspires the audience reading this to never underestimate the ability to do something in fear of it being too daring.
All photos by Brenna Hammer.
Extra
3
Republicans and Refineries
sensibly. At noon, we left the school, stopped to grab lunch, and parked a few blocks from the gates of the refinery. On our way in, we saw plenty of Trump supporters but, since we were quite early, no protesters. Once inside, we were asked to show our IDs and were checked off of the list of those allowed. There were 900 people on the list and it was an indescribable feeling to be one of them. After receiving White House Press Passes, we had to go through security, which is very similar to TSA at the airport. Much to my surprise, phones, food, drinks, etc. were not suspended and were all allowed inside the event. Once we had passed through security, we waited in line to be BRENNA HAMMER and SHANTEL JANGULA shuttled to the back of the refinery where the speech would take place. This process took about an hour. By the time that we got Co-Editors-in-Chief to the site, it was getting On Wednesday, September 6, Co-Editor-In-Chiefs Brenna hot out. The press box Hammer and Shantel Jangula as well as journalism adviser we were on was black Hannah Cahoon attended a closed conference at the Andeavor and there was not a sun Refinery in Mandan where President Donald Trump gave a in the sky, so we were speech regarding his proposed tax reform. The following is an all getting pretty hot and account of their experiences. sunburnt by the time the event actually started. At about 2:00, snipers Brenna: started setting up towards When I found out that Donald Trump would be coming to the back of the crowd Mandan, I was thrilled. Regardless of your political views or and I was able to notice a beliefs, having the President come to your hometown is a big helicopter circling around deal. I decided to reach out to the Bismarck Tribune to try to the area. Furthermore, it attend this monumental conference. Secret Service Agents were was during this time that When I called the Editor of the Tribune, he informed me that Secret Service agents scattered around the area and we could not intern with his reporters for a day, but agreed to became much more forward me the email containing the information on how to get looked as if they were straight visible. Contrary to their on “the list.” From there, I was faced with the task of contacting out of a movie from the suit and title, they were not very the White House. tie to the ear piece and Oakley secretive I called the number shades. and stood that was listed on the out like email and was greeted a sore thumb. I found it to be humorous how by a member of the stereotypical they looked. White House Media Because we were in the press crowd, we were Affairs team. He gave getting constant updates from those around us. me his personal email This was nice because it gave us time to gather and asked me to send ourselves as we knew exactly when Air Force 1 him my name and the landed and when the President was on site. title of the publication I Trump’s speech was fairly short and was only was associated with. At a fraction of the five hours that I spent at the site. about 5:00 in the evening I thought that he gave a nicely composed speech on Tuesday, we received and it was clear that he knew what to say to please confirmation that our the crowd. names were added to Once the 40 minute speech was over, we waited the list along with an for about another hour before we were shuttled itinerary of the events for back to the entrance. By this time I was frying, Andeavor Refinery, previously known as the the next day. exhausted, and my feet were throbbing. However, Wednesday was an Tesoro Refinery, informed us that they were the whole thing was an amazing, once-in-aanxiety filled day. not informed of the President’s plan to speak in lifetime experience and I am incredibly honored We all tried to dress Mandan until the Thursday before the event. to have been a part of something so important. professionally and
An inside look on President Trump’s tax reform rally
2
All photos by Brenna Hammer.
Extra
Pictured left: President Trump ultimately wants to end the “Death Tax,” which would eliminate the tax on the family of the deceased for their inherited land or money. Pictured middle: Photographers surrounded us as Trump gave his speech. Pictured right: Trump was heavily supported by North Dakotans, and this showed through the multiple gestures of support such as this Trump poster.
Shantel: I was sitting in my Problem’s of Democracy class when I first learned President Donald Trump would be coming to North Dakota. My Co-partner, Brenna, immediately wanted to contact someone who could potentially let us sit in at the press conference with them. Even though I thought that was a great idea, I was very doubtful that we would be able to go. While my day progressed, Mrs. Cahoon, the adviser of The Courier, informed me that Brenna already contacted the White House to get credentials to see the president. I guess I could say this is when things get surreal for me. My partner, Brenna, contacting the White House? Usually, that’s not an average day for us. We’re used to emailing Famous Dave’s, Bismarck State College, and now we made the leap to the White House. When I got home I told my mom all about my situation, and she was overjoyed. She called my entire family to tell them that I was going to see the president. I received calls from my family members the entire night. My grandma told me she wished she could be me. For some reason, I wasn’t feeling that same excitement as my relatives were. I still don’t understand why I wasn’t jumping out of my seat to see him, I mean, it’s the President of The United States. Was it because the entire experience happened so fast? Possibly.Was it because I don’t pay close attention to politics? Yet another possibility. The next morning, I tried to my best to make sure there wasn’t a curl in my hair that was out of place and out the door I was, ready to go see the president. Getting checked in at the refinery and receiving our press passes was a truly a story in itself, however, there was a woman in particular who in particular really sticks out in my memory. The best description of her would be the female version of Dog The Bounty Hunter. She was, assumingly, in charge of the security by the way she was conducting herself. I believe she stuck out most to me because of her authority in the Secret Service. It’s inspiring to see women hold such authority in federal law enforcement.
When we were shuttled to the destination of where President Trump was set to speak, we were in a press bubble along with Valley News Live and Fox Business Network. Although I was not used to this professional journalism environment, the news reporters around us did not know that. Once they found out we were just high school journalists, they were a lot nicer to us, one male reporter even asked to interview us after the president was done with his speech. As the time approached for Trump to give his speech, I saw the reporters looking in their iPhone cameras at their appearances. The women were reapplying their lipstick and hairspray while men were gelling their hair and checking if anything was in their teeth. I guess Brenna and I looked out of place. We had been sitting there for almost two hours in the blazing heat. We were not reapplying lipstick. We were not checking if anything was in our teeth, well, maybe that’s because we had only ate some popcorn chicken from Walmart. And we were definitely not reapplying hairspray. In fact, we were coming up with a game plan. Who would take notes? Me. Who would take pictures? Brenna. When I saw the limousine in which President Trump arrived in, it was something indescribable. For a second, it seemed like everything was in slow motion. Weird, right? If I’m being honest, it was similar to the time I saw Bruno Mars in concert. Minus the weird, high pitch fan girl screams. Anyway, back to the speech. Since I was in charge of taking notes, I barely got to look at the president. Instead, I was too busy typing almost every word he said into my notes app on my phone, occasionally snickering at some of his remarks. After the speech was over and we had left the refinery, I could not believe how exhausted I was. Although I was tired and sunburnt to a crisp, the experience will never leave me. Being a 17 year old high school newspaper editor reporting with a handful of tv personalities and reporters we watch on the news daily will be an experience I will never forget. Being able to go to a closed conference with the President of The United States redefines the idea of “Pushing your limits until your heart's content,” for me. I hope it inspires the audience reading this to never underestimate the ability to do something in fear of it being too daring.
All photos by Brenna Hammer.
Extra
3
Trump’s proposed tax reform
The Courier Special Edition
THE GOAL With his new tax plan, President Trump has four main goals:
1: TAX RELIEF for middle class Americans 2: SIMPLIFY the tax code 3: GROW America’s economy 4: DO NOT ADD to our debt
HOW THESE GOALS WILL BE ACHIEVED: 1: IF YOU EARN LESS THAN $25,000 ANNUALLY
and you are single, you will not owe any income tax. This applies to most high-school aged students who have jobs.
2:
All other Americans will get a SIMPLER TAX CODE with four brackets- 0%, 10%, 20%, and 25%- based on their annual income.
3: BUSINESSES,
regardless of size, will pay no more than 15% of their income in taxes.
4: THE DEATH TAX
will be eliminated. This means that families will no longer have to pay taxes for their inheritance when a loved one passes away.
WHAT COULD GO WRONG: Since tax money is used to fund public works projects (i.e. roads), public education, health programs, and social security, Trump’s proposed tax plan can certainly raise some eyebrows. While a major tax cut can look good to our wallets, there is a possibility that it could damage our communities as well. Trump claims that his tax plan will balane out and eleiminate these possibilities. Information was taken directly from Donald Trump’s speech.
905 8th Ave. NW, Mandan, ND - Volume 26, Special Edition - September 2017