Last minute policies of 2010 pass

Christmas and New Year’s Eve weren’t the only big events over winter break. Congress took important action on nuclear weapons, immigration, gays in the military and taxes.

The Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) is an agreement between America and Russia saying that both will reduce the amount of nuclear armament to 1,550 and no more than 700 ballistic missiles. Both America and Russia also agreed to inspections by each other’s weapons experts to make sure the deal is being upheld. But some disapprove of the treaty because America will seem vulnerable to other countries, like Iran or North Korea. The Senate approved the treaty that Pres. Obama worked out with Russia.

The 17-year frustration over the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” (DADT) policy in the military has finally ended. It was a policy that forced homosexuals to be quiet about their sexual orientation; they were discharged from the military if they came out. Congress voted to remove DADT because many believe sexuality has nothing to do with how effective a soldier is and it was considered immoral to force people to live lies and feel guilty while serving their country. Even though reports show that soldiers don’t really care if there is a homosexual in the army, the main argument for the opposition is that relations between soldiers would become uncomfortable and ruin military chemistry.

If it had passed, the DREAM Act would’ve allowed illegal immigrants who were brought to America as children to earn citizenship by going to school, studying in college or serving in the military. Research shows there are about 25,000 undocumented high school students each year who graduate. However, because they don’t have citizenship, many cannot go on to college or join the workforce easily. Some people think the act will be an incentive for illegal immigrants to come to the U.S. for their children, and make life more competitive for legal U.S. citizens. On the contrary, others say the act would boost the economy with more people in the workforce and in college. The DREAM Act passed the House of Representatives but not the Senate.

Taxes were another big issue. Congress and the president passed tax cuts for almost everyone; low, middle, and upper class. The cuts particularly favor the rich, intentionally, based upon the concept that if you give rich people money to spend, they will spend it and boost the economy with it.

“What we need most right now is to efficiently put money into the economy, and these tax cuts do the opposite,” said economics teacher Eric Baum, who opposes the tax cuts for the rich. “Taxing 10 percent from a paycheck of $500 dollars is not the same as taxing 10 percent from a paycheck of $50,000. It’s completely different, and completely unfair.”