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Christian Science Monitor
Washington Editor for the Christian Science Monitor
PROFILE
Peter Grier
Guest
FROM Peter Grier
Press Play with Madeleine Brand
Why Presidents Day Isn't Really Presidents Day Today is Presidents Day. Sort of. The official name for the holiday is Washington’s Birthday, which is celebrated on the third Monday in February. But George Washington was born on February 22nd, 1732. So what’s going on here? We look at the roots of the holiday and what it’s become today.
To the Point
The Flat Tax America's "progressive" income tax takes a larger percentage from high earners than those lower down on the scale. At the moment, there are six tax "brackets," ranging from 10 to 35 percent. Republican presidential candidates Herman Cain and Rick Perry want to replace "progressive" taxation with new versions of the so-called "flat tax," which begins with the idea that all income should be taxed at the same rate. Abraham Lincoln levied the first "flat tax" to finance the Civil War. Since then, the idea's been revived by candidates of both parties, including California Democrat Jerry Brown, when he ran for president in 1992 and Republican Steve Forbes in 1996. What is the "flat tax?" Is it simple? Is it fair? Why do proposals often shift the burden from wealthy taxpayers to those in the Middle Class?
Recommended
To the Point
Replacing Obamacare: Now you see it… now you don’t As the Senate deliberates replacing Obmacare, health coverage for millions of people is at stake. There've been no public hearings, and a draft measure won't be made public. Is the House version so unpopular that that Senate is hiding a version that looks much the same?
Left, Right & Center
The week that wouldn't quit Will next week get even weirder? (Special one-hour episode)
To the Point
Trump plays scolder-in-chief with NATO allies At the opening of NATO’s dramatic new headquarters in Brussels today, President Trump acknowledged that Article 5 — promising that “an attack on one nation is an attack on all” -- has only been invoked one time: in the aftermath of September 11. But the President failed to provide what 27 other Alliance members have been waiting for: a re-commitment by America’s new leader to Article 5. Instead, they got a scolding.
To the Point
The Trump agenda: where's the beef? President Trump says big things are happening. After celebrating a House bill on health care, he doesn’t yet have Senate agreement. With James Comey’s public testimony scheduled tomorrow, the President today tweeted his selection of a new FBI Director. Is the Chief Executive all style and no substance? Later, terror attacks in Iran and conflicting claims about who’s behind them.