what response or feedback would you give the studens on the disscusion posts below?

Discussion Post 1: In regard to South Dakota v. Wayfair (2018), I would agree on levy and remit states sales tax on business who meets a certain threshold of income from one state. While Wayfair makes a good argument using stare decisis, South Dakota argues that the state taxes, even in the absence of needing a physical store, would not place an undue burden on interstate commerce. Looking at it from a federalist point of view, it deprives states and local governments not only of essential revenue, but also of a power that the Constitution and the Tenth Amendment fully reserve for them(Petition of writ of certiorari). The tenth amendment is where any power not specifically given by the federal government by the constitution belongs to the states and the people. Since it does not infringe on interstate commerce, it is not violating the constitution. The ability to tax is a concurrent power, so both federal and states have the right to tax. South Dakota was losing millions in tax dollars, $48-$58 specifically, annually due to Quill Corp. v. North Dakota(1992), saying they cannot collect tax from a business if they did not have a physical store or factory in the state. This caused the South Dakota legislature to impose a law to tax any business that makes $100,000 or 200 plus transactions(South Dakota v. Wayfair, Inc.,et al.). If you are making $100,000 worth of sales in just one state, you can afford to pay the states sales tax. If a South Dakota did not enforce this act as much as they did, a business could potentially take advantage of it and not place any stores in state and only sell online. In conclusion, I lean towards South Dakota when it comes to enforcing state tax on online businesses.

References:

"South Dakota v. Wayfair, Inc.." Legal Information Institute. Accessed June 12, 2024. https://www.law.cornell.edu/supremecourt/text/17-494

Petition for a writ of certiorari. Accessed June 13, 2024. https://www.supremecourt.gov/DocketPDF/18/18-956/81532/20190124110509177_Google%20cert%20petition.pdf

Discussion Post 2: Using the concept of social resources, describe how social differentiation is different from social stratification and give at least one example.

Concept of social resources in social ties and can be used for exchange between people. They can be tangible items or non-tangible concepts. Social resources can also refer to a person's network and relationship, which then are used get work done. Examples of tangible items are money, information, goods and services, non-tangible items such as love, affection and status

Social differentiation is best described as roles. Roles that we think of in a horizontal dimension of social structure. This means that workers (roles) such as, doctors, teachers, soldiers, toolmakers, farmer and labors demonstrate that people in this society perform six different tasks (Marger, 2014:13) This tells us nothing about how people in each of these occupations are rewarded, or how much prestige is attached to each occupational position (Marger, 2014:13). It implies not necessarily a rank order only an order of differentiation (Marger, 2014:13).

Social stratification is best described as unequal distribution of resources. In all society's people receive different shares of what is valued and scarce, that is, what is desirable and what members of the society strive for (Marger, 2014:14). These can be referred to as social resources (Marger, 2014:14). People are, in other words, differently rewarded (Marger, 2014:13). Stratification has different rankings such as wealth, prestige and power (Marger, 2014:16). Social stratification is the ranking of persons and groups on the basis of various social, and sometime physical characteristics (Marger, 2014:15). It is the vertical dimension of social structure (Marger, 2014:13). Concentrations of people with roughly similar amounts of societal resources from points on this hierarchy, and this rank order ordinarily remains fixed from generation to generation (Marger, 2014:15). Examples of social stratification is the class system (upper, middle, lower). Based on your education, power or wealth, determines what class you are.

References:

Marger, Martin N. 2014.SocialInequality: Patterns and Processes 6th ed. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.