I'm Just a Tax Bill

AP US Government and Politics

How popular is the GOP tax bill?

WAPO

AP US Government and Politics Lesson Plans
 

1. How popular is the GOP tax bill?

2. How accurate was your prediction?

3. How surprising is this data?

4. How does the popularity of the current GOP tax bill compare to recent major legislation?

5. Why do you think support for this tax bill is so low?

6. Do you think that the lack of popularity of this bill will stop it from becoming law?

7. If you were a politician running for office and you were presented with such an unpopular bill, how might that impact your decision about how to vote for the bill?

8. What if you didn't live in a toss-up district (all but 8 House members)?

9. What different calculations will House members and Senators have to make regarding their vote on this bill?

10. What is one consequence of supporting such an unpopular bill?

11. Typically, In a democracy, if politicians pass bills that are as unpopular as the GOP tax bill, they will pay a price in subsequent elections. Why is that?

12. Do you think that politicians who support this very unpopular bill will pay a price in the 2018 elections?

13. Can baby lobsters be cute?

14. Can you even tell if a lobster is a baby?

15. What animals are the least likely to have cute babies?

16. What does that tell you about American democracy?

17. What mechanisms of the US electoral system allow for unpopular choices to have such little impact in the voting booth?

18. The fact is that most people don't really have an opinion about the tax bill. Most people either don't know or don't care. Check out the net favorability results in the bonus chart below* and explain whether the fact that few people know or care about this bill impacts House members' voting decisions:

19. Explain how much party affiliation impacts support for this bill.*

Bonus Charts*

Learning Extension

If you just couldn't get enough of the tax bill popularity data, check out all this fun polling data!!!!

Action Extension

Sure, most of you can't vote (on election day) but you can vote (right now) by calling your U.S, House representative or Senator and telling them your opinion about this tax bill. Share your experience in class or online!

Lobster Extension

Cute

AP US Government and Lobsters

Cuter

Cutest*

*Note: the cutest lobster is not a lobster!