Imagine you are a political writer with your own blog You write about current events and what they mean for the U.S. government and its citizens. You have been asked to write a blog

SAMPLE PAPER

Student Name

Blog Post on a Recent Article

U.S. Government: POL110

Professor: Dr Jane El-Yacoubi

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Blog Post On A Recent Article

Event Summary

Hello, weekly readers! Your favorite political blogger is back to cover a topic that I know you all are

impatiently waiting to read more about.

March fourteenth is around the corner, and for those of you not in the know, that means that federal

unemployment benefits designed as coronavirus relief is expiring. The senate has been working to

negotiate the budget on the proposed $1.9 trillion relief package before that date passes. This package

will include $1,400 checks to many citizens, pay to distribute the vaccine, and support local governments

including additional federal unemployment funds. (Duehren, 1) The included proposal to raise minim

wage to $15 an hour was removed due to not meeting guidelines to pass the package without

Republican support. Senators are reviewing possibilities to encourage large companies to pay their

employees at least $15 an hour to avoid proposed tax penalties (Duehren, 1). With March fourteenth

around the corner Senators such as Chris Coons believe this may be a topic to address separately from

the coronavirus relief package.

What Specific branch of the US Government is involved in this current event?

Senators in our Legislative Branch of government have been hard at work on this package. In the event

of a tie potential tie when this package is voted on, our Executive Branch will be required as well. Vice

President Kamala Harris will vote as tie breaker if Democrats are able to reach reconciliation on the

package. President Biden will also be asked to sign the bill.

Who or which groups are affected by this event?

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This is a high visibility proposal, and many Americans and business owners will be directly impacted by

the results. The legislative and executive branches alike will feel pressure from voters to have this package

passed on time to prevent a lapse in relief to those who need it most. Both President Biden and the

Senate are negotiating carefully, as the minimum wage increase is the first major proposal from President

Biden. It may set the momentum between the balance of power for this fresh presidency.

What biases or leanings exist in the media source you chose? Give examples. Where these

counterbalanced in any way?

My sources from The Wall Street Journal are conservative learning, however I found the news article to

be rather centrist. Overall, the article presented more opinions in favor of increasing the minimum

wage. This was balanced by including critics of the bill’s claims that unrelated projects such a New

York’s $1.5 million bridge should be removed from the budget, and whether minimum wage should be

considered relief for those impacted by coronavirus.

What are your opinions on the issue?

This issue is very near and dear to my heart, readers. As some of you may recall, my husband is a server,

and thus is one most at risk if the Senate fails to find a compromise. Many of his peers and friends are

still without work nearly a year later. The first relief package was delivered just as our savings were

running out. Those surviving solely on minimum wage are at much higher risk when furloughs and

shutdowns loom. In my home state of Florida our unemployment form was never even reviewed in the

tangle of backlogged paperwork. To prevent people from going through this again the Senate must

agree decisively how to get relief to American voters before their existing support runs out. If this

means addressing the minimum wage at another time, then it must be put on hold while more

immediate concerns are addressed.

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Sources

1. Andrew Duehren. February 28, 2021. Senate Democrats to Drop Plan for Wage

Increases in Covid-19 Aid Bill. https://www.wsj.com/articles/covid-19-relief-bill-heads-

to-senate-as-democrats-face-emerging-divisions11614542698?mod=politics_lead_pos4.