RESEARCH LINKS
Issue 1: Social Media
Medium.com OpEd: “Section 230 – Mend It, Don’t End It”
National Review: “Elon Musk and the Third Era of Social Media”
“Communications Decency Act Pros and Cons”
Electronic Frontier Foundation: “Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act”
Lawfare Blog: “Supreme Court … Gonzalez v. Google and Twitter v. Taamneh”
NPR: “Democrats Hold Social Media Companies Responsible Health Misinformation”
Issue 2: Minimum Wage
Congress.gov: “H.R.603 – Raise the Wage Act of 2021”
House.gov: “Top Democrats Introduce Bill Raising Minimum Wage to $15 by 2025”
Senate.gov: “Raise the Wage Act of 2021 Fact Sheet”
Department of Labor: “History of Changes to the Minimum Wage Law”
Economic Policy Institute: “Why America Needs a $15 Minimum Wage”
raisetheminimumwage.com: “Letter to Congress Support Raising Minimum Wage”
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
Issue 1: Social Media
- If the government were to have censorship authority over social media platforms, would that result in the protection of Americans’ rights or loss of them? Explain your reasoning.
- In your own experience with social media, have you encountered rude or abusive behavior from others? If so, what do you think is a good solution to this problem?
- Should the social media platform itself be responsible for the comments of users? Why or why not?
- How does the Bill of Rights’ First Amendment protect free speech in the U.S.?
- Do you believe Section 230’s protections for big tech companies need to be revised? How would you revise them?
Issue 2: Minimum Wage
- Do you support or oppose raising the federal minimum wage? If you were speaking to a person who disagreed, what is the strongest argument in support of your position?
- If you were a business owner, would you want the minimum wage to increase? Why or why not?
- What are two arguments against raising the minimum wage? What are two arguments in favor of raising the minimum wage?
- How would a minimum-wage worker’s life be changed as a result of lifting the minimum wage from $7.25 per hour to $15 per hour?
- Places like New York, Oakland, San Francisco and Seattle have raised the minimum wage in their cities. Why do you think these places have raised their municipal minimum wage?