Editorial Analysis on 'How Should We Tax the Rich' - Economics

This essay presents an editorial analysis of Howard Gleckman's article, "How Should We Tax the Rich?" published in Forbes. The analysis examines Gleckman's arguments regarding the taxation of the wealthy, focusing on his use of rhetorical strategies such as ethos, logos, and pathos. The essay highlights how Gleckman establishes his credibility through his expertise in personal finance and references to academic research and expert opinions. It further explores his use of logos by providing evidence and data to support his claims about tax rates and their effects, and the impact of political debates. The analysis also discusses the pathos appeal, examining how the article evokes emotional responses in readers. The essay concludes by assessing the effectiveness of Gleckman's approach in conveying his perspective on tax systems and wealth distribution, including the challenges of implementing changes.

1
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author note
Editorial Analysis on “How Should We Tax the Rich”
The rich people are not taxed heavily as it is believed by many people worldwide. An
article written by Howard Gleckman titled “How Should We Tax the Rich?” published in 2019
in Forbes gives a detailed description as to how the wealthiest people of the world should be
taxed. The article has ethos appeal, as the author is a senior contributor in personal finance. The
quote, “A few years ago, my TPC colleague Eric Toder and the American Enterprise Institute’s
Alan Viard designed an accrual tax to replace the corporate income tax” provides evidence that
he has sufficient knowledge about tax system and that he knows people who are experts in the
subject (Gleckman). This enhances the ethos appeal, as the readers reading it believe in the
credibility of the source. Another instance is provided in the lines when he talks about the
problems in raising tax rates, “the more Congress raises taxes on capital gains, the more likely
taxable investors will defer tax by hanging on to their investment profits” (Gleckman).
When talking about the logos appeal, he provides a lot of evidence as to how many
senators are working towards improving the tax scenario in the country. This source includes
“When rates rise, taxpayers seek out tax deductions or exclusions, recategorize income as capital
gains that are subject to a much lower rate, or defer income” (Gleckman). This quote establishes
that the author has a substantial knowledge about finance that makes people become more
convinced in what he says. Another example of pathos appeal where he provides evidence to
establish his point is in the quote, The first instance of logos is presented in the quote,

2
“Academic research suggests the revenue- maximizing rate of the federal income tax is much
higher than today’s top rate- perhaps somewhere between 60 percent and about 70 percent. But
decades of history have shown that adjusting marginal tax rates has very modest effects on the
amount of tax people actually pay” (Gleckman).
When talking about the pathos appeal, the article has sufficient appeal to it. The quote
“Assume, for the sake of argument, that you believe the wealthiest Americans are undertaxed.
And you are desperately seeking new revenue to pay for your ambitious domestic spending
plans. What would you do?” (Gleckman) creates a feeling of curiosity and anger in the minds of
the readers. Such quotes create a negative emotion that forces the readers to analyse their current
situation of tax system. The last line of the article, “But it is easier said than done” brings a
feeling of hopelessness that the taxing the rich might a concept that would be hard to implement.
Thus, the article successfully represents the ethos, logos and pathos with its contents. The
evidences provided in the form of quotes provide a sense of credibility to the thoughts of the
author. The author builds the tone of the article in an effective manner and efficiently provides
ways to change the tax system in the country in order to benefit the citizens. His analysis
therefore, proves that the rich people are indeed not taxed heavily in the country as believed by
many people of America.

3
Works Cited
Gleckman, Howard. "How Should We Tax The Rich?". Forbes, 2020,
https://www.forbes.com/sites/howardgleckman/2019/09/11/how-should-we-tax-the-rich/
#50ffd89938bd.