The Debates
The most contested questions in American life. Both sides argued at full depth.
Economics
Money, markets, and the rules of the game.
Do tariffs help or hurt the American economy?
Protection for workers or tax on consumers?
Should antitrust law break up Big Tech?
Monopoly threat or free-market success?
Should student loan debt be forgiven?
Relief for a generation or gift to the college-educated?
Should the United States adopt a universal basic income?
Freedom floor or work disincentive?
Should the United States impose a wealth tax on the ultra-rich?
Fair share or capital flight trigger?
Should the federal minimum wage be raised to $15 per hour?
Does a higher floor lift workers or price them out?
What is the real cause of inflation in America?
Print too much money or profit too hard?
What is the real solution to the housing affordability crisis?
Build more or regulate harder?
Does rent control help or hurt tenants over time?
Cheaper now, scarcer later?
Does trickle-down economics actually work?
The theory behind every tax cut fight.
Has outsourcing hurt the American middle class?
Efficiency gains vs. displaced towns.
How heavily should cryptocurrency be regulated?
Scam vector or financial freedom?
Is federal deficit spending sustainable?
Stimulus or slow-motion crisis?
Is federal regulation killing American small business?
Safety net or strangled entrepreneurs?
Is free trade a net benefit to the American worker?
Cheap goods or hollowed-out towns?
Should Social Security be partially privatized?
Market returns vs. guaranteed safety net.
Should capital gains be taxed at the same rate as wages?
Reward for risk or loophole for the rich?
Should federal law make it easier for workers to unionize?
Bargaining power or economic drag?
Should gig economy workers be classified as employees?
Benefits vs. flexibility.
Should the Federal Reserve remain independent of the president?
Technocracy vs. accountability.
Should the US commit to a massive federal infrastructure program?
Investment boom or pork barrel?
Should the corporate tax rate be increased?
Revenue vs. competitiveness.
Should the estate tax be expanded or abolished?
Dynastic wealth or double taxation?
Are persistent trade deficits a real problem?
A ledger warning or a false alarm?
Should occupational licensing requirements be reduced?
Gatekeeping or consumer protection?
Rights & Society
The questions that define who we are.
Should abortion be legal nationwide?
Bodily autonomy vs. unborn life.
Should affirmative action in college admissions be preserved?
Remedy for history or discrimination today?
Should critical race theory be taught in public schools?
Honest history or divisive ideology?
Should social media platforms be required to host all legal speech?
Public square or private property?
Should the United States enact stricter federal gun control laws?
Public safety vs. constitutional right.
Should transgender athletes compete in women's sports?
Inclusion vs. competitive fairness.
Should undocumented immigrants be given a path to citizenship?
Pragmatism vs. rule of law.
Should voter ID laws be required for all elections?
Fraud prevention or voter suppression?
Is government surveillance for national security worth the privacy cost?
Security vs. the Fourth Amendment.
Should Confederate monuments be removed from public spaces?
Heritage or propaganda?
Should birthright citizenship be ended?
14th Amendment or a magnet for migration?
Should comprehensive sex education be required in schools?
Health information vs. parental control.
Should hate speech be illegal in the United States?
First Amendment vs. protection of minorities.
Should mandatory minimum sentencing laws be abolished?
Judge discretion or equal punishment?
Should police department budgets be cut and reallocated?
Reform or retreat from order?
Should public schools allow organized prayer?
Free exercise or establishment?
Should qualified immunity for police be eliminated?
Accountability vs. paralyzing liability.
Should recreational drugs be legalized?
Freedom and safer use or social collapse?
Should religious business owners have exemptions from anti-discrimination law?
Conscience vs. equal treatment.
Should school districts remove books parents find objectionable?
Parental rights or censorship?
Should sex work be decriminalized?
Worker safety or moral line?
Should the NSA's bulk surveillance programs continue?
Terror prevention or mass spying?
Should the death penalty be abolished?
Justice for the worst crimes or state-sanctioned killing?
Should the federal government pay reparations for slavery?
Accounting for history or a bill that never ends?
Should universities restrict offensive speech on campus?
Open inquiry or managed harm?
Is kneeling during the national anthem appropriate protest?
Free expression vs. shared ritual.
Should civil asset forfeiture be abolished?
Crime-fighting tool or legalized theft?
Should eminent domain be restricted for private development?
Public good vs. private taking.
Should flag burning be legally protected?
Speech or desecration?
Should three-strikes laws be repealed?
Deterrence or disproportionate punishment?
Government & Democracy
Power, process, and the architecture of the republic.
Should Supreme Court justices have term limits?
Independence vs. accountability.
Should campaign finance be more strictly limited?
Clean elections or chilled speech?
Should the Electoral College be abolished?
Federalism vs. one person, one vote.
Should the Senate filibuster be eliminated?
Majority rule or minority protection?
Should universal mail-in voting be the national standard?
Access vs. verification.
Have presidents relied too heavily on executive orders?
Gridlock workaround or end run around Congress?
Should Citizens United be overturned?
Free speech or bought government?
Should Congress have term limits?
Citizen legislators or experienced lawmakers?
Should Puerto Rico become the 51st state?
Citizens with no vote — by choice or neglect?
Should Washington DC become the 51st state?
Representation or partisan power grab?
Should a balanced budget amendment be added to the Constitution?
Fiscal discipline or economic straitjacket?
Should lobbying be more strictly regulated?
Petition right or purchased influence?
Should partisan gerrymandering be banned?
Fair maps or political reality?
Should power be returned to the states on most domestic issues?
Laboratories of democracy or patchwork of rights?
Should the United States adopt automatic voter registration?
Turnout boost or integrity risk?
Should the United States adopt ranked choice voting?
Better winners or confused voters?
Should the federal government's domestic surveillance powers be reduced?
Liberty vs. threat detection.
Should the presidential pardon power be limited?
Mercy or monarchy?
Should Election Day be a federal holiday?
More voters or more costs?
Should the Supreme Court's power of judicial review be curtailed?
Unchecked court or constitutional backstop?
Education
Who decides what kids learn, and how.
Should existing federal student loans be forgiven?
Mass relief or moral hazard?
Should public college be tuition-free?
Great equalizer or regressive subsidy?
Should public funding follow students to private schools through vouchers?
Parent choice or public school drain?
Should schools teach the role of race in American history?
Honest account or political agenda?
Are charter schools good for American education?
Innovation lab or privatization wedge?
Do teachers unions help or hurt student outcomes?
Worker protection or bad teacher shield?
Should colleges use race-conscious admissions criteria?
Equal opportunity or equal treatment?
Should school-led prayer be allowed in public schools?
Tradition or Establishment Clause?
Should standardized testing be the basis of school accountability?
Measurable outcomes or narrow metrics?
What belongs in public school sex education?
Comprehensive or abstinence-only?
Should academic tenure be abolished?
Academic freedom or unfireable deadwood?
Should for-profit colleges be more strictly regulated?
Student protection or market interference?
Should homeschooling be more strictly regulated?
Child welfare vs. parental authority.
Should students be required to recite the Pledge of Allegiance?
Civic ritual or coerced speech?
Was Common Core a good idea?
National standards or federal overreach?
Healthcare
Cost, access, and control of the American body.
Should abortion access be protected by federal law?
Rights floor or state authority?
Should employers and schools require COVID and other vaccinations?
Public health or bodily autonomy?
Should marijuana be legal for medical use nationwide?
Medicine or gateway?
Should the United States adopt a universal healthcare system?
Right or commodity?
Should the United States implement Medicare for All?
Single-payer savings or rationed care?
Should the government negotiate prescription drug prices?
Affordable medicine or lost innovation?
Are pharmaceutical patents too long?
Innovation incentive or monopoly rent?
Has the Affordable Care Act been a success?
Coverage gains vs. cost hikes.
Is the FDA too cautious in approving new treatments?
Patient safety vs. access to hope.
Should Medicaid be expanded in every state?
Coverage for the poor or federal strings?
Should health insurance be mandatory?
Shared risk or forced purchase?
Should mental health care have full parity with physical care?
Treat the whole patient or bust the budget?
Should prescription opioids be more tightly regulated?
Overdose prevention or undertreated pain?
Should telehealth be permanently deregulated across state lines?
Access vs. state oversight.
Should terminally ill patients have a right to physician-assisted death?
Dignity in dying or slippery slope?
Is hospital consolidation hurting patients?
Efficiency or monopoly pricing?
Should cigarettes and flavored tobacco be more strictly restricted?
Public health vs. personal liberty.
Should genetic information be protected as a constitutional right?
New privacy frontier or overregulation?
Should medical malpractice awards be capped?
Defensive medicine or victim justice?
Should the United States adopt a tax on sugary drinks?
Health nudge or nanny state?
Foreign Policy
America in the world.
Is US military spending too high?
Global security or bloated budget?
Should the United States build a physical wall along the southern border?
Security investment or political symbol?
Should the United States continue large-scale military aid to Ukraine?
Defending democracy or forever war?
Should the United States continue the trade war with China?
Strategic decoupling or self-inflicted pain?
Should the United States remain in NATO?
Alliance leadership or free-rider problem?
What should US policy be toward the Israeli-Palestinian conflict?
Ally defense vs. two-state realism.
Is the US drone warfare program justified?
Surgical strikes or civilian toll?
Is torture ever justified in counterterrorism?
Ticking bomb or moral line?
Should US asylum law be tightened?
Humanitarian duty or open door?
Should foreign aid spending be increased or cut?
Soft power or wasted money?
Should the Guantanamo Bay detention facility be closed?
Legal black hole or necessary evil?
Should the US military be used against Mexican drug cartels?
Existential threat or sovereignty breach?
Should the United States accept more refugees annually?
Moral obligation or capacity limit?
Should the United States pursue regime change abroad?
Freedom agenda or endless war?
Should the United States recommit to global climate agreements?
Global leadership or economic self-harm?
Should the United States reduce its nuclear arsenal?
Disarmament or deterrence?
Should the United States rejoin the Iran nuclear deal?
Diplomacy or appeasement?
Should the United States restrict immigration from specific countries?
Security screen or bias in policy?
Should the US defer more to the United Nations?
Multilateralism or sovereignty?
Should the US embargo against Cuba end?
Cold War relic or principled pressure?
Environment & Energy
What we burn and what we save.
Is aggressive federal climate policy justified given the economic costs?
Existential threat or overcorrection?
Should gasoline cars be phased out for electric vehicles?
Clean future or forced transition?
Should the US adopt a federal carbon tax?
Market-based climate fix or regressive levy?
Should the United States enact a Green New Deal?
Climate moonshot or economic overreach?
Does the EPA have too much regulatory authority?
Public health guardian or agency overreach?
Is natural gas a bridge fuel or a climate problem?
Lower emissions today vs. lock-in tomorrow.
Should clean energy receive major federal subsidies?
Investment in the future or picking winners?
Should coal plants be shut down on an aggressive timeline?
Climate urgency or stranded communities?
Should hydraulic fracturing (fracking) be banned?
Energy independence or contaminated water?
Should industrial animal agriculture be more heavily regulated?
Climate and welfare vs. affordable food.
Should new offshore oil drilling be permitted?
Domestic energy or ecological risk?
Should nuclear power be expanded to fight climate change?
Clean baseload or waste legacy?
Should the United States commit to the Paris Climate Agreement?
Binding goals or voluntary theater?
Should Endangered Species Act protections be strengthened?
Biodiversity or economic brake?
Should GMO foods require explicit labels?
Consumer info or fear-mongering?
Should Western water rights be overhauled?
Antique law vs. drought reality.
Should common agricultural pesticides be more tightly restricted?
Ecosystem protection vs. food prices.
Should more public lands be designated as national parks?
Conservation or economic lockup?
Should single-use plastics be banned?
Pollution cut or convenience tax?
Should the Keystone XL pipeline have been built?
Jobs and supply or climate and tribal rights?
Criminal Justice
Punishment, order, and accountability.
Should cash bail be eliminated?
Innocent until indigent or public safety tool?
Should recreational marijuana be legalized nationwide?
Personal freedom or public health risk?
Should the death penalty be ended in the United States?
Ultimate justice or fatal error?
Should universal background checks be required for all gun purchases?
Common-sense screen or gun-owner registry?
Should all currently illegal drugs be decriminalized?
Harm reduction or surrender?
Should all police officers be required to wear body cameras?
Accountability or theater?
Should civil asset forfeiture be abolished?
Crime disruption or legal theft?
Should federal mandatory minimum sentences be repealed?
Judicial discretion or consistent punishment?
Should hate crime laws carry enhanced federal penalties?
Protected classes or thought policing?
Should long-term solitary confinement be banned?
Torture or security tool?
Should private prisons be banned?
Profit motive or practical capacity?
Should qualified immunity for law enforcement be eliminated?
Accountability or paralysis?
Should stand-your-ground self-defense laws be repealed?
Duty to retreat or duty to fight back?
Are state self-defense laws too permissive?
Empowered citizens or license to kill?
Should crime victims receive government-funded compensation?
Moral duty or unbounded budget?
Should federal money fund community-based recidivism programs?
Prevention investment or pass on the problem?
Should juveniles ever receive life sentences without parole?
Developmental mercy or grave-crime response?
Should public sex offender registries be reformed?
Community safety or lifetime scarlet letter?
Should the US invest more in restorative justice programs?
Healing communities or soft on crime?
Should three-strikes sentencing laws be abolished?
Repeat offender control or disproportionate harm?