Behie |1

Dalton Behie
Professor Fielding
WRTC 103 0029
11 October 2015
Comparing Essential Uses of Rhetoric
In recent years, America has been toying with the idea of
implementing heavier taxes on the rich in order to redistribute the wealth
among the lower class citizens. In 2014, David Cay Johnston, a teacher at
Syracuse University College of Law and Whitman School of Management,
published an article titled The Rich Should Pay Higher Taxes. In this article,
Johnston attempts to convince America that this socialist economic method is
the best strategy for economic growth. Johnston systematically lists nine
reasons why this method is the best. And, although he establishes his own
credibility and makes a great deal of logical statements, his article is lacking
in emotional appeal that is vital for persuading people in todays America.
Johnston begins his paper by establishing credibility. Although he does
this in just one brief sentence, this is enough to make his audience value his
assessments and viewpoints. He introduces himself as a teacher in two major
schools. Syracuse University College of Law is renowned for its excellent
teachings in the fields of government, national security, and, hence the
name, law. Martin J. Whitman School of Management is a nearby private
college that is also highly respectable, particularly in the area of business. As
a teacher in good schools for government related studies, Johnstons opinion
should be highly valued among readers.

Behie |2

In addition to his business credibility, Johnstons article is also full of

scholarly sources. He has fifteen book sources and twenty additional sources.
This combination of an accomplished teaching career and proof of his
dedicated research, establish excellent ethos for the article.
As for logos, the author makes many logically appealing points. These
points are made in an organized and numbered fashion. A common concern
for people with contradicting opinions on the subject is that the rich are
already paying heavy taxes. Many believe that heavy taxes on the wealthy
are a danger to the economy, as the upper-class citizens of America are
typically the owners and CEOs of businesses, the primary source of wealth
and job creation in the United States. To start off his article, Johnston
addresses this with several logical points. He first points out that the poor are
paying taxes as well. He does this to point out fairness in our current taxation
system.
Johnston then argues that the wealthy are not hurting from taxes as
much as some people believe. He claims that the wealthy are not carrying the
burden as much as some may believe, they are not paying as high a
percentage as many lower and middle class citizens, and finally, he claims
that some members of the upper-class are not paying any taxes at all. He
declares that through sneaky schemes and obscure loopholes, the members
of the upper-class are often able to weasel their way out of paying taxes. If
these points are true, his readers can no longer make the argument that
taxing the rich will significantly hurt the upper-class.

Behie |3

Another major opinion of those who disagree with Johnstons viewpoint,

is that President Ronald Reagan managed to create a golden age for the
economy by creating tax breaks for the upper-class. Supporters of supply-side
economics, or Reaganomics, believe that by lowering taxes (on the upperclass in particular), the wealthy will be unhindered from expanding their
businesses, creating jobs and boosting the economy. Thus, Johnston decided
to use a logos appeal to break apart this belief. He declares that the Reagan
administration was hardly as successful as the skeptics might claim. He
claims that the only people who benefitted from the Reagan administration
were the wealthy, and he supports this with statistics showing the doubling of
the income of the 1% under Reagan, and the practically nonexistent increase
in income for the lower 90%. He also pointed out that Reagan and the
Republican Party had raised taxes. Using this logic, he refutes any argument
that Reagans presidency was beneficial for the entire country, and the
arguments made by those who blindly subscribe to the Republican Partys
ideology rather than developing opinions of their own.
The final cluster of logical arguments made by Johnston are meant to
give examples of the successfulness of his ideology. He claims that the
Obama Administration and the countries in Europe, who each subscribe to
some degree of socialist economic policies have actually been successful.
Once again, to support his claim he uses facts and statistics. He also lists a
great deal of countries, Germany, Britain, France, Canada, and more,

Behie |4

discussing how well their social programs work with the upper-class citizens
paying for the majority of them.
However, people today do not always just want to read facts and sheer
credibility. Sometimes these things are just not enough. People want pathos,
emotional appeal. Appealing to the readers emotions, can influence them in
a way that is far more powerful than facts and sources. Johnston makes very
few statements that can influence the reader emotionally.
He does, however, when discussing the success of Germany, make this
important statement: While soaring medical costs are a key reason that
since 1980 bankruptcy in America has increased 15 times faster than
population growth, no one in Germany or the rest of the modern world goes
broke because of accident or illness. This statement is about the closest
Johnston gets to making a pathos appeal. Perhaps, if he had expounded on
this point, his argument would have been much more effective.

Behie |5

Consider the above public service announcement. Using the

heartbreaking image of a sad child, this public service announcement for the
Childrens Health Fund, effectively uses pathos to appeal to their audience.
The Childrens Health Fund is a nonprofit organization that works to help the
wellbeing of children nationwide. Some of their methods include advocating
for better policies and programs that make healthcare for children cheaper
and more accessible, as well as helping to donate to childrens medical
operations. This PSA helps support the motives of the CHS by depicting an
unfair relationship between the wellbeing of children and our financial safety.
The PSA uses the same statistic of bankruptcy versus population growth used
in Johnstons article.
In addition to its strong emotional appeal, the PSA also uses ethos and
logos. Its ethos is used by citing their organization at the top left and a source

Behie |6

at the bottom left. And, its logos is used by showing the comparison of
bankruptcy to population growth, as well as drawing the connection between
the safety of our children and our financial safety.
Overall, Johnstons use of rhetoric is very convincing for the reader. He
has a well-established ethos and he uses countless logos appeals by using
statistics, facts, and other logical statements. His article only has a few flaws
over all. If his facts that he presented in the article are false, or if additional
contradictory facts had been ignored, this could severely hurt his credibility in
the paper. Additionally, he seems to have left out a vital aspect of persuasive
articles, emotional appeal. If Johnston had further addressed the effect that
his proposed economic policy could have on our lifestyle and the lifestyle of
our families, further expanding on the unfairness of major economic cost for
accidental injuries, perhaps his argument would resonate deeper with his
readers. By comparing Johnstons article to the Childrens Health Fund PSA,
we can see that all three rhetorical strategies, pathos, ethos, and logos, are
equally essential to making persuasive arguments.

Behie |7

Works Cited
Johnston, David Cay. "The Rich Should Pay Higher Taxes." Should the
Rich Pay Higher Taxes? Ed. Ronald D. Lankford, Jr. Farmington Hills, MI:
Greenhaven Press, 2014. At Issue. Rpt. from "9 Things the Rich Don't Want
You to Know About Taxes." Willamette Week 13 Apr. 2011. Opposing
Viewpoints in Context. Web. 10 Oct. 2015.
"Our Vision." Our Vision. Children's Health Fund, n.d. Web. 11 Oct.
2015.

Images
Jacobs, Linda. "The Possible Negative Impact of Divorce on Children."
DivorcedMoms.com | Article. N.p., 16 Oct. 2013. Web. 11 Oct. 2015.
Weissmann, Jordan. "Go to This Site Right Now and Check If Someone
Owes You Money." Money Box. N.p., 24 Oct. 2014. Web. 11 Oct. 2015.