1. Will the Supreme Court eventually find that the Biden administration’s vaccine requirement is constitutional?
2. Should all U.S. schools adopt a “mask optional” policy?
3. What can Democrats do to stop a “red wave” in 2022?
4. Will the recently passed infrastructure bill help the U.S. economy?
5. Is Chris Christie a “dark horse” presidential candidate?
6. If Russia invades Ukraine, how should the U.S. respond?
7. What should the Biden administration to do reduce migrant flows at the Mexican border?
8. Should the U.S. invest more in nuclear power?
9. Will the embrace of equity policies by schools further increase the achievement gap?
10. How would the rise of a “metaverse” affect American society?
Category: U.S. Extemp Page 8 of 55
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This week’s R&D covers inflation in the U.S. economy. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported this week that consumer prices rose by 6.2% in October and inflation is standing at its fastest increase since 1991. Shortages of consumer goods due to supply chain issues, all of which exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, are making the problem worse and are wiping out some recent wage gains made by American workers. The inflation issue is also becoming a political problem for President Joe Biden, who is seeing his approval ratings crash near the end of his first year in office.
The stock market is soaring. Company and household bottom lines look strong. Yet corporate executives across the U.S. are obsessing over inflation — and some think the White House isn’t grasping the extent of the problem.https://t.co/arDenKCvub
— POLITICO (@politico) November 10, 2021
U.S. inflation rose at the fastest pace in three decades in October. These charts show how prices increased more in some parts of the country than in others. https://t.co/yltFUkAzT7
— The Wall Street Journal (@WSJ) November 11, 2021
With the @federalreserve confronting many hard questions, from inflation to climate change, the current chair, Jerome Powell, is decidedly not the man for the moment, @JosephEStiglitz contends. https://t.co/VyQFwjTBN9 pic.twitter.com/wfMwa1pq8v
— Project Syndicate (@ProSyn) November 10, 2021
1. Will the results of the Virginia and New Jersey gubernatorial elections cause the Democrats to back off of President Biden’s social infrastructure plan?
2. Is Eric Adams the future of the Democratic Party?
3. Does the Democratic Party have a messaging problem?
4. Will the Supreme Court strike down New York’s concealed carry restrictions?
5. Does the U.S. need to get more involved in the Tigray War?
6. Is Europe’s new COVID-19 wave a warning sign for the U.S. this winter?
7. Do states need to do more to make juries racially equitable?
8. Are American commitments going far enough at COP26?
9. Will the Minneapolis question 2 vote destroy ongoing progressive efforts to defund police?
10. Should states require high school students to pass an ethnic studies course?
1. Should the Biden administration retreat from its support of vaccine mandates?
2. What steps does Portland need to take to rein in destructive protests?
3. Is inflationary pressure in the U.S. economy here to stay?
4. How should states spend the money they are receiving from opioid pharmacy settlements?
5. Does Congress need better ethics rules to prevent insider trading?
6. How will FDA approval for COVID-19 vaccinations for children affect school operations across the country?
7. Should U.S. states decriminalize prostitution?
8. How will criminal charges against Andrew Cuomo affect the Democratic Party’s gubernatorial primary next year?
9. Does President Biden have enough political capital to pass his adjusted social infrastructure bill?
10. What should Eric Adams prioritize when he becomes New York City’s next mayor?
1. Can the Forward Party turn America into a three-party system?
2. Should Senator Joe Manchin switch parties?
3. Is President Biden doing enough to solve America’s supply chain crisis?
4. Does the U.S. education system need to have more national or local control?
5. Should U.S. foreign policy accept Iran’s acquisition of a nuclear device?
6. Will President Biden’s Supreme Court commission produce anything meaningful?
7. Should the Federal Reserve change its interest rate outlook?
8. Will the restoration of the “Remain in Mexico” policy hurt the Biden administration’s standing with progressives?
9. What lessons should U.S. policymakers learn from Western Europe’s energy crunch?
10. Would price controls for prescription drugs have negative consequences for the American healthcare system?
1. With a few weeks to go, what are the odds of Republicans winning the Virginia governorship?
2. What adjustments should President Biden make to his social infrastructure bill to assure passage?
3. Will former President Trump be more of an asset or liability for Republican candidates in 2022?
4. What powers does the IRS need to effectively limit tax avoidance?
5. Why are America’s schools facing severe staffing shortages?
6. Will a new wave of strikes re-energize the American labor movement ?
7. Has the COVID-19 pandemic made Americans more or less trusting of government?
8. What should America’s climate policy look like?
9. Will the FDA’s new salt guidelines help reduce America’s obesity rate?
10. Why has momentum for new campaign finance restriction died?
Today’s R&D is brought to you by Prepd (pronounced “prepped”). Prepd is building debate technology that helps extempers and congressional debaters research, practice, and compete. Visit www.prepd.in to learn more.
This week’s R&D covers COVID-19 vaccine mandates. While 57% of the U.S. population has received one variation of a COVID-19 vaccine, the Biden administration believes that the number can be higher with employer mandates. States like California have issued a mandate for schoolchildren when vaccines become available for them, while other states like Kentucky and Texas are moving to pass legislation prohibiting vaccine mandates. Mandates are becoming problematic as pilots, healthcare workers, teachers, and others are refusing to get vaccinated, creating spillover effects in essential institutions.
President Biden pleaded with Americans to remain vigilant against the coronavirus on Thursday, rallying states and private businesses to support vaccine mandates in an effort to avoid a surge in cases. https://t.co/r2sVZIuXcM
— NYT Politics (@nytpolitics) October 14, 2021
COVID-19 vaccine mandates could threaten public health and safety due to a shortage of police officers, firefighters, and health care workers. https://t.co/eK5mdTb2aS
— Heritage Foundation (@Heritage) October 14, 2021
United firing 232 employees as US airlines grapple with vaccine mandates https://t.co/qTgMaOnO3p
— The Independent (@Independent) October 13, 2021
1. To what degree are America’s economic difficulties the fault of the Biden administration?
2. Should progressive groups cease their attacks on Senator Sinema?
3. Will vaccine mandates weaken U.S. economic performance?
4. What adjustments should the U.S. make to the Merida Initiative?
5. Will rising gas prices put the Biden administration’s climate agenda in jeopardy?
6. Should schools abolish gifted and talented programs?
7. Does the U.S. need a “Technology Bill of Rights”?
8. Should the U.S. ends it policy of strategic ambiguity on Taiwan?
9. What regulations, if any, should Congress impose on social media companies?
10. Should Medicaid recipients have to work to access benefits?
Today’s R&D is brought to you by Prepd (pronounced “prepped”). Prepd is building debate technology that helps extempers and congressional debaters research, practice, and compete. Visit www.prepd.in to learn more.
This week’s R&D covers the recent allegations leveled against Facebook by data engineer Frances Haugen. Haugen argues that Facebook knew some of its services were harmful for teenagers, that its service could be used to spread political disinformation, and misled investors about Facebook’s user base. The charges have spurred congressional inquiry and renewed calls for greater regulation of “Big Tech” companies.
Frances Haugen, the Facebook product manager who leaked internal documents to the @WSJ, was right when she said Congress should “make social media companies liable for content that their algorithms promote,” Roddy Lindsay writes. https://t.co/LzcLLUln8z
— New York Times Opinion (@nytopinion) October 7, 2021
Revelations brought to light from whistleblower Frances Haugen, a former data scientist at Facebook, have led to what may be the most threatening scandal in the company’s history.
More from her congressional testimony: https://t.co/uMCYTi12UT
— NPR Politics (@nprpolitics) October 7, 2021
How Facebook forced a reckoning by shutting down the team that put people ahead of profits https://t.co/KJDeQpK09f
— TIME (@TIME) October 7, 2021
1. Are Louis DeJoy’s postal service reforms a step in the right direction?
2. Does former President Trump have a constitutional right to have his Twitter account reinstated?
3. Should the debt ceiling be abolished?
4. Can water markets solve the Colorado River crisis?
5. Will a real estate licensure scandal scuttle Kristi Noem’s presidential hopes?
6. What should President Biden do to quell the Democratic Party’s growing civil war?
7. Should the U.S. return to a system of mandatory military service?
8. What will be the most consequential case that the Supreme Court will rule on this term?
9. Will Brian Laundrie be found?
10. Should Letitia James run for New York’s governorship?
1. Should U.S. states impose stricter homeschool guidelines?
2. Is the Biden administration losing control of its immigration policy?
3. Would more than 2% inflation benefit the U.S. economy?
4. Is Liz Cheney’s political career on borrowed time?
5. Did the Biden administration botch the rollout of the AUKUS partnership?
6. Why did Congress fail to achieve a bipartisan deal on police reform?
7. Does American foreign policy need a dose of “relentless diplomacy”?
8. After the war in Afghanistan should the U.S. cut defense spending?
9. Would it be politically unwise for progressive Democrats to block the infrastructure bill?
10. Will Minneapolis voters agree to the Yes 4 Minneapolis Initiative?
Today’s R&D is brought to you by Prepd (pronounced “prepped”). Prepd is building debate technology that helps extempers and congressional debaters research, practice, and compete. Visit www.prepd.in to learn more.
This week’s R&D covers the AUKUS partnership. Announced on September 15, AUKUS is a trilateral security agreement between the United States, Great Britain, and Australia. The nations pledge to cooperate on defense issues and is seen by experts to be a counter to Chinese influence in the Indo-Pacific region, even though British Prime Minister Boris Johnson told the British Parliament recently that the partnership is not meant to antagonize China. The European Union was less than thrilled with the agreement, with France recalling ambassadors to the United States and Australia last week after Australia cancelled plans to purchase French submarines for nuclear models from the United States and Great Britain.
A new security partnership, AUKUS, will deliver nuclear-powered submarines to Australia. This sets a troubling precedent for nuclear nonproliferation policy.@james_acton32 highlights this precedent and what can be done to offset its consequences: https://t.co/VpeKV7FV2H
— Carnegie Endowment (@CarnegieEndow) September 22, 2021
Balance is needed between the hard power of AUKUS and the collaboration and rules-based competition with China that are required for climate diplomacy and trade https://t.co/yddCnaUr2p
— The Economist (@TheEconomist) September 23, 2021
“Raising the costs for major Indo-Pacific powers of going to war is in Indonesia’s interests, but not if that means China has greater maritime capabilities which threaten Indonesia or are used in grey-zone operations.” Read @SecurityScholar on #AUKUS: https://t.co/ZbQWbkdFsm
— Brookings FP (@BrookingsFP) September 23, 2021
1. Do the results of the California recall election bode ill for Republican chances in the 2022 midterm elections?
2. Should the U.S. put more priority on global distribution of COVID-19 vaccines instead of booster shots for those already vaccinated?
3. Is President Biden beginning to pivot his policies too far to the left?
4. Should Democrats make election reform the key piece of their 2022 midterm campaign?
5. Will Senate Republicans eventually vote to raise the debt ceiling?
6. Should TikTok be held liable for damages caused by #deviouslicks?
7. Will ethics issues at the Federal Reserve scuttle Jerome Powell’s chances at being renominated as Fed chair?
8. Should President Biden push for a revival of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP)?
9. Are the Abraham Accords worth saving?
10. Should more states follow California and New York in banning the sale of new fossil fuel vehicles by 2035?
Today’s R&D is brought to you by Prepd (pronounced “prepped”). Prepd is building debate technology that helps extempers and congressional debaters research, practice, and compete. Visit www.prepd.in to learn more.
This week’s R&D covers Tuesday’s California recall election. Governor Gavin Newsom survived the recall effort, with 64% of voters (as of the time of this writing) voting “No” to his ouster. Republican Larry Elder won the most votes on the second ballot question of who would replace Newsom if the recall was successful. Some analysts argue that the results bode well for a Democratic midterm strategy of connecting Republican candidates to former President Donald Trump.
California voters and Newsom’s political allies stepped up to defend the governor from the GOP-led recall, delivering a win that paves the way to his reelection next year. https://t.co/t89v3KmncB
— Los Angeles Times (@latimes) September 16, 2021
Now that the dust has settled and (most of) the ballots counted, here are a few thoughts (from Hoover fellow @billwhalenCA) on what transpired in California earlier this week and a recall election that failed to oust Governor Gavin Newsom from office: https://t.co/6KzEnGaGym
— Hoover Institution (@HooverInst) September 16, 2021
How much did the 2021 recall election cost?
California lawmakers agreed to spend at least $276 million in the most recent state budget to cover the costs, but some elections officials have estimated the final tab will be closer to $300 million.https://t.co/tj4Ha2ltAE
— Los Angeles Times (@latimes) September 16, 2021
hot1. Twenty years after 9/11, is America safer?
2. Should organized labor support President Biden’s vaccine mandate?
3. Have terrorists won the war on terrorism?
4. Should Chris Christie run for president in 2024?
5. How can President Biden convince Democratic moderates to support his $3.5 trillion social infrastructure bill?
6. Are mandates or incentives the best way to get more Americans vaccinated against COVID-19?
7. If the recall effort against Governor Newsom fails, what does it mean for the future of California’s Republican Party?
8. After Afghanistan, what changes does the U.S. need to make to its counter-terrorism policies?
9. Would it be wise to significantly increase the capital-gains tax?
10. Should the U.S. impose tariffs on Chinese industries that receive subsidies?