In a reflection paper of 1-2 pages please reflect on what you learned from Lesson 6: The Populist Challenge.

When I came to USA as a graduate student in 1990, I was confusing with one thing in this country: federal income tax. Although I was just a graduate student with very low scholarship at that time, I still needed to pay tax. This was the first time that I knew about income tax. After learning this lesson, I understand it is the populists that advocated the federal income tax in 1890s for the first time in American history. 

In the tax season of 1991, when I talked to my professor about tax form, the professor was very serious to tell me that failure to fill in the tax forms is illegal in this country. The comment on tax from my professor really surprised me and I finally realized the importance of paying tax. Luckily, many American volunteers in campus helped me to fill in the form and everything was set. Since then, I have been very serious about my tax forms.

Populist Party, also known as the People’s party, was an independent party and was founded in the early 1890s by a coalition of farmers, laborers, and middle class activists.  In today’s term, the party members of the Populist were grass roots. There were many goals for this independent party. One of their goals was to decrease the chasm between the rich and the poor. To my understanding, the federal income tax they proposed was indeed a good solution to this goal. 

Using my own family as an example, I fully understand this notion better. My husband is an oncologist and his income is far above the average. Since his gross income is in the higher range, he needs pay his federal income tax with a very high rate. Roughly, the tax he pays every year is the salary for a nurse. Since he pays lots of tax, his net income is not terribly high compared to the low income people. It clearly suggests that “The higher the income, the higher the tax rate” is an effective way to decrease the gap between the rich and the poor. 

In addition to the federal income tax proposed by the Populist Party, I also applaud their emphasis on women’s education. It was well said that the hands rocking the cradles are also the hands to rock the world, which suggests the importance of women (mother) for the future society. Furthermore, their willingness to reform the society and their courage to improve the political life and economy of the country deserve my respect. Although the Populist Party failed eventually, it is quite clear that their advocating federal income tax still influence today’s American life.