2014 Georgia Debate Institutes

RESOLUTION OF FACT  Resolutions that you should assume is a fact. The purpose of the debate is to prove whether or not this fact is true  Cost/Benefit Resolutions  Morality/Justice Resolutions RESOLUTIONS OF ACTION  Resolutions that ask you to argue what would happen if the government or some actor did something

YES  First Speaker  Lay Judge  “Old School” Judge  First two tournaments on topic  Second Speaker  Lay Judge  “Old School” Judge  If First Speaker Doesn’t Read It NO  First Speaker  Experienced Coach/Judge  Late month tournaments  Second Speaker  Most Rounds  Substitute with “We affirm/negate.”  WHY SHOULDN’T I READ THIS???

 Burdens are requirements you believe the resolution makes on teams.  Burdens answer the question, “At a minimum, what do I (or they) have to do win?”  Burdens can be abusive. What does that mean?  Ground  Fairness

 Only read them if they impact your case!  First speaker trick: “All definitions work operationally.” Then define after the 2 nd speaker only if it’s beneficial for you.

PAST RESOLUTIONS  Resolved: Immigration reform should include a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants currently living in the United States.  Resolved: The continuation of current U.S. anti-drug policies in Latin America will do more harm than good.  Resolved: The U.S. government should not require its citizens to have health insurance.  Resolved: Congress should renew the Federal Assault Weapons Ban.  Should usually indicates the need for an agent in the resolution.  Should also create the need for policy action – it gives both teams an idea of their burdens.

 Create a baseline or past relationship – the team must show improvement of the baseline PAST RESOLUTIONS  Resolved: NATO should strengthen its relationship with Ukraine in order to deter further Russian aggression  Resolved: Single-gender classrooms would improve the quality of education in American public schools.

PAST RESOLUTIONS  Resolved: The benefits of domestic surveillance by the NSA outweigh the harms.  Resolved: The benefits of American drone strikes against foreign targets outweigh the harms.  Cost Benefit Analysis  Costs and Benefits should be same unit of measure  How do we do this? Impact Analysis Lecture  Which one does the CON have to defend?  Converse of the Resolution  Inverse of the Resolution

PAST RESOLUTIONS  Resolved: On balance, the rise of China is beneficial to the interests of the United States.  Cost Benefit Analysis  Costs are implied in these resolutions.  Same measure

 Cost Benefit Analysis  Costs and Benefits should be same unit of measure  How do we do this? Impact Analysis Lecture PAST RESOLUTIONS  Resolved: On balance, the Supreme Court decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission harms the election process.  Resolved - Current U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East undermines our national security.

PAST RESOLUTIONS  Resolved: The Supreme Court rightly decided that Section 4 of the Voting Rights Act violated the Constitution.  Supreme Court decisions usually require constitutional theory.

PAST RESOLUTIONS  Resolved: Unilateral military force by the United States is justified to prevent nuclear proliferation.  LD type Value/Criterion  Morality  Just War Theory

PAST RESOLUTIONS  Resolved: Prioritizing economic development over environmental protection is in the best interest of the people of India.  Resolved: Development assistance should be prioritized over military aid in the Sahel region of Africa.  Resolved: The United States should prioritize tax increases over spending cuts.  Which one does the CON have to defend?  Converse of the Resolution  Inverse of the Resolution