What is tax reform? And what is a liberal's view on tax reform, versus a conservative's view?
A conservative wants to cut taxes on the highest income levels and reduce government services, schools, etc... to pay for it. A liberal wants the tax system to be changed such that the burden of taxation, how difficult it is for you to pay it, is similar for all people regardless of income. So they would favor a progressive form of taxation either on assets or a graduated tax system where the percentage of your income you pay in taxes decreases the less you make.
Who was a muckraker that helped end poverty in the progressive era?
"Muckracker" is the name applied to American journalists, novelists, and critics who in the first decade of the 20th century attempted to expose the abuses of business and the corruption in politics. The term derives from the word muckrake used by President Theodore Roosevelt in a speech in 1906, in which he agreed with many of the charges of the muckrakers, but asserted that some of their methods were sensational and irresponsible. He compared them to a character from Bunyan's "Pilgrim's Progress" who could look no way but downward with a muckrake in his hands and was interested only in raking the filth. Since the 1870s there had been recurrent efforts at reform in government, politics, and business, but it was not until the advent of the national mass-circulation magazines such as "McClure's," "Everybody's," and "Collier's" that the muckrakers were provided with sufficient funds for their investigations and with a large enough audience to arouse nationwide concern. All aspects of American life interested the muckrakers, the most famous of whom are Lincoln Steffens (e.g., "The Shame of the Cities"); Ida Tarbell (e.g., "History of the Standard Oil Company"); David Graham Phillips (e.g., "The Great God Success"); Ray Stannard Baker (e.g.,"Adventures in Contentment"); Samuel Hopkins Adams (e.g., "Revelry"); and Upton Sinclair (e.g.,"The Jungle"). In the early 1900s, magazine articles and novels written by muckrackers attacked monopolies, child labor, insurance schemes, unsanitary food preparation, and other factors that contributed to poverty. These muckrakers did much to create public demand for regulation and reform. Historians generally agree that if it had not been for the revelations of the muckrakers, the Progressive movement would not have received the popular support needed for effective reform. See, e.g., L. Filler, "Crusaders for American Liberalism" (1939); J. M. Harrison and H. H. Stein, ed., "Muckraking" (1974); W. M. Brasch, "Forerunners of Revolution" (1990). See also: http://www.somers.k12.ct.us/~pgoduti/pro... http://learning.loc.gov/learn/features/t... http://education.yahoo.com/reference/enc... http://mohawk.k12.ny.us/progressive/progressive.html Hope this helps you get started.