My task was to find an op-ed article and discuss the rhetorical situation I was asked to include the terms audience, purpose, and author and provide textual evidence for my thoughts. This was our first actual assignment and it introduced me to why indicating the rhetorical situations would help with my writing of an eventual essay.

The article, “The Problem with Using Tax Credits to Fight Poverty” by Matt Bruenig, highlights the issue with how the system put in place to decrease/fight poverty is unjust. The author explains that having someone who is impoverished work to gain basic benefits is counterproductive and does not help the needy. Throughout the article, Bruenig presents the proposals put in place in order to aid in the fight of poverty and he states, “Mr. Biden’s proposal increases the benefit for childless adults to $1,500 from $543 but does not make the full $1,500 available to people with very low or no earnings. Nor would it make existing E.I.T.C benefits for families with children fully available to those with lower incomes. It’s a classic approach: You must work to receive help.” Bruenig makes clear to his audience that the helpless are being helped with the intention that they must work and this approach to give aid is an unfair one. The notion that an individual is “too poor to receive the full benefits” is something that should be abolished. People who cannot provide for themselves should not be tasked with the job of finding stability on their own in order to receive proper government help. A myriad of proposals brought out to help the impoverished prior included an abundance of contradictions that did not range to other people in need. Bruenig critiques President Bidens proposals because although they “acknowledge these contradictions” they do not correct them. He explains that these Bidens proposal is not entirely different from the ones executed before. “Yet, the same is true for the E.I.T.C, where families with children are eligible to receive the full benefit only if they have earnings above $10,639… it does nothing to change how millions of families without income are excluded from the full benefit.” Bruenig’s purpose throughout this article is to have his audience understand that helping people who suffer from poverty isn’t exclusive to one group and that it is “morally wrong to” ignore jobless people simply because they are jobless. Bruenig’s tone suggest that he understands that the proposals set in place do help some people, but they are countless others in need as well.  

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