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