In the United States, current income disparities threaten democratic ideals. [Share]

The December public forum (middle and high school) topic is In the United States, current income disparities threaten democratic ideals. And all us debaters could always use some other peoples help to make our cases as bet as possible. Here we can all share info, links, points, evidence, etc that we have found for both sides of the debate that can help others! We ca also have discussions of the resolution and just straight up debate, even LD (Ewww) and CX (Policy).

 

I only coach nowadays, but, here's a neg idea... Income inequalities don’t threaten democratic ideals, political polarization does polarization> no compromise> the polarized factions of the government seek ways to ensure that if they don’t get what they want, nobody will, which causes devastating economic impacts and threatens most of the world’s governments

 

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I like that idea.

Here is my pro case for any1!!

1) Burden Of Proof-- As the Pro side of this debate, I hold the burden of proof. So, I shall devote this argument to prove that inequalities do exist...(lol this is obvious) According to ABC News, While the top 1% population's income went up by 275% in the last 30 years, the middle class's income levels only went up by 40% and the poor class only went up by 18%. This is solid proof that there exists an inequality between income levels in America.

Further more, according to the New York Times, 46.2 million people are living below the poverty line, the highest number in 52 years.

2) Influence -- Everyone has heard of this before. "Money talks" Guess where else money talks? Within our political system. Although the US's foundation includes equality and equal voices among the people, that is simply no longer truthful. The rich and the poor simply no longer have equal voices. The rich, often with plenty of money to spare, can afford to campaign. They can afford air time, advertisements, attack ads, and they can afford to skip work. Nowadays air times can cost sometimes up to or over $468,000 for just 30 seconds of airtime on some popular T.V. channels. Now I ask you this. Who gets their opinions heard? A group of wealthy people paying for advertisements or a group of poor people struggling to survive? The answer is clear here. One group of people have a bigger voice than another. This is a clear violation of our democratic ideals of fairness and equality.

3) Education--*

a) People who are educated to college level have a much higher chance of voting.
b) Poverty hinders and affects a person's education.
c) Therefore, those living in poverty are less likely to vote.
This simply furthers my point on fairness. Are these elections fair? Poor and struggling people often don't vote. Consider this. It is perfectly fine for a rich person to ask if they can leave work and go vote, since they can afford the slight loss in income and their bosses often don't care (if they have any lol) However, it is far less likely that someone who is desperate and falling into poverty will go vote, because they need the money and it is probable that they are working labor and that their boss is a lot less accepting.

4)*Unfair Tax Cuts-- The Rich are recieving unfair tax breaks, and in turn, the middle class and the poor class are paying more to make up. Is this fair? Step back and ask yourself, is the government treating everyone equally? This is another violation of democratic ideals. Our country was founded upon the principles of equality and fairness.

 

in response to your question on the last topic, i did it in high school, but i graduated. But I still coach for my school and even taught at a debate camp over the summer, and i'm more than willing to help you if you want it because i highly doubt you are going to be hitting any of my teams.

 

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Let's hope not.

 

Bump!