The president was right to ensure that hospitals that want federal funds allow gay partners to have the same rights as married couples

Background: The President issued a Presidential Memorandum directing the HHS Secretary to ensure that those hospitals that receive Medicare and Medicaid funds will give gay and lesbian patients and their families the compassion, dignity and respect they deserve in difficult times, as well as widows and widowers with no children, members of religious orders, and others whom otherwise may not have been able to receive visits from good friends and loved ones who are not immediate relatives, or select them to make decisions on their behalf in case of incapacitation.





Reasons to agree:

1. The separation of church and state requires that you allow gay couples to arrange their lives as they wish. A gay person's partner should have similar life and death decision making preferences as a heterosexual partner. 

Reasons to disagree:

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Score:

# of reasons to agree: 0

# of reasons to disagree: -0

# of reasons to agree with reasons to agree: 0

# of reasons to agree with reasons to disagree: -0

Total Idea Score: 0

Don't like the score? It is easy to change the score. Just post a reason to agree or disagree with the overall idea, or any of the reasons and the score will change

Gays should be allowed to serve openly in the military

Reasons to agree:

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Reasons to disagree:

1.  Front operating field combatants group dynamics should not include romance. 


2. This is a debate about soldiers being required to defend their country while living and rooming in close quarters with each other. It is a fact that their effectiveness depends on mutual trust and uncomplicated camaraderie. Sexual relations or tension between soldiers, of whatever gender, undermines this bond. Every man must trust one another without sexual tensions at high levels.

Probable interest of those who agree:

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Score:

# of reasons to agree: 0

# of reasons to disagree: -0

# of reasons to agree with reasons to agree: 0

# of reasons to agree with reasons to disagree: -0

Total Idea Score: 0

Don't like the score? It is easy to change the score. Just post a reason to agree or disagree with the overall idea, or any of the reasons and the score will change

Belief: Too many Americans live without hope for a better future or access to good, family-supporting jobs.

Reasons to Agree:

1. Stagnant wages and cost of living make it harder for families to thrive

   • Case Study: A 2023 Economic Policy Institute (EPI) report found that real wages for the bottom 50% of earners have stagnated despite economic growth.
   • Policy Example: The Raise the Wage Act, which proposed increasing the federal minimum wage to $15/hr, was projected to lift 1.3 million workers out of poverty (Congressional Budget Office, 2021).

2. Job opportunities vary widely based on geography and education

   • Case Study: A 2022 Brookings Institution study found that rural areas lost 20% of manufacturing jobs between 2000 and 2020, whereas urban centers gained high-tech and service-sector employment.
   • Policy Example: The CHIPS and Science Act (2022) aimed to create high-tech manufacturing jobs in the U.S., especially in industrial towns.

3. Automation and globalization have reduced traditional job opportunities

   • Case Study: The McKinsey Global Institute projects that automation could eliminate 45 million jobs by 2030, disproportionately affecting low-wage workers.
   • Policy Example: The Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) program helps retrain workers displaced by globalization and automation.

4. A weak safety net increases insecurity

   • Case Study: The U.S. has one of the lowest rates of unemployment benefits in the OECD. Countries with stronger safety nets see higher labor market participation (OECD, 2022).
   • Policy Example: Expanding the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) has been shown to boost low-wage workers' incomes without reducing employment.

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Reasons to Disagree:

1. Hope is a personal responsibility, not a government guarantee

   • Case Study: Millions of immigrants come to the U.S. with nothing and achieve financial success, demonstrating that opportunity exists.
   • Policy Example: Welfare reform in the 1990s (Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act) reduced long-term dependency and increased workforce participation.

2. Everyone has access to family-supporting jobs—if they put in the effort

   • Case Study: Studies show that individuals with technical certifications and trade skills often out-earn those with college degrees (National Bureau of Economic Research, 2022).
   • Policy Example: Expansion of vocational training and apprenticeship programs in states like Germany and Switzerland have reduced unemployment rates.

3. "Too many" is a vague term

   • Case Study: The official unemployment rate in the U.S. remains relatively low (3.7% in 2023), suggesting that job opportunities are available.
   • Policy Example: The Work Opportunity Tax Credit incentivizes businesses to hire long-term unemployed individuals.

4. Blaming external factors ignores personal responsibility

   • Case Study: A Harvard Business Review study found that financial literacy and career planning significantly influence economic success, more than social programs.
   • Policy Example: The Opportunity Zones Program, part of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, encouraged private investment in economically distressed communities.

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Best Solutions to Related Problems:

1. Stronger labor protections and unions

   • Example: The PRO Act (Protecting the Right to Organize) seeks to strengthen union protections and increase collective bargaining.

2. Higher taxes on the wealthy to fund a stronger safety net

   • Example: Expanding the Child Tax Credit (as in the American Rescue Plan) lifted millions of children out of poverty before expiring in 2022.

3. Publicly funded secondary education and vocational training

   • Example: Tuition-free community college, as implemented in Tennessee, has increased enrollment and workforce readiness.

4. Universal healthcare to reduce financial risk

   • Example: The Affordable Care Act expanded healthcare access, leading to a decline in medical bankruptcies.

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Unstated Assumptions:

1. Hope is influenced by external conditions

   • Assumes economic policy, not personal mindset, is the key driver of hope.

2. Good jobs are accessible only if systems support them

   • Assumes individuals need structural support, rather than self-driven success.

3. Not everyone starts from the same place

   • Recognizes disparities in education, access, and wealth from birth.

4. The economy is not a pure meritocracy

   • Acknowledges that privilege and systemic barriers exist.

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Evidence Scores:

📌 Labor market trends showing rising wage inequality (EPI, 2023).
📌 Automation and AI projections on job displacement (McKinsey, 2022).
📌 Historical impact of welfare reforms on workforce participation (CBO, 2021).

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Most Likely Benefits:

✔️ Higher wages and job security through better labor protections.
✔️ Less financial stress due to a stronger safety net.
✔️ Increased economic mobility through education access.
✔️ A more stable middle class, reducing social unrest.

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Books that Agree:

📖 The Great Divide – Joseph Stiglitz (argues inequality is a systemic issue)
📖 Evicted – Matthew Desmond (examines poverty and housing insecurity in America)
📖 Nickel and Dimed – Barbara Ehrenreich (exposes struggles of low-wage workers)

Books that Disagree:

📖 The Myth of the Welfare State – Thomas Sowell (critiques government intervention in the economy)
📖 Skin in the Game – Nassim Taleb (emphasizes personal risk and responsibility in economic success)
📖 The Conservative Heart – Arthur Brooks (argues that capitalism, not welfare, creates opportunity)

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Videos that Agree:

🎥 Documentary: Inequality for All – Robert Reich (explains the growing wealth gap in America)
🎥 TED Talk: Why Wages Are Stagnant – Richard Wolff (breaks down wage stagnation and corporate profits)

Videos that Disagree:

🎥 The Case Against Raising the Minimum Wage – American Enterprise Institute (explains market-based wage growth)
🎥 Why Hard Work Still Matters – PragerU (argues against dependency on government programs)

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Conclusion:

✔️ Many Americans struggle due to economic shifts, wage stagnation, and job insecurity.
✔️ Some argue that personal responsibility and free markets are enough to ensure opportunity.
✔️ Others believe that structural changes—higher wages, better safety nets, and public investment—are necessary.
✔️ The best path forward may involve a balance, supporting economic growth while ensuring no one is left behind.

After school programs are good

Reasons to agree:

1. Because many people have to work until 5, and don't get home until 5:30, we need after school programs to keep un-supervised kids off the streets, and out of gangs. 


2. After school programs as a form of childcare is much better than the type of welfare that just hands money over to poor people, because after school programs helps poor people have jobs, and contribute to society. 


3. Once your kids are back in school, the government should help you work a normal work day. 


4. Children should be in school for the same time duration as a typical work day. This obviously, would allow parents to work without having to pay for child-care.


5. For those parents who want to spend more time with their children they don't have to send their kids to after school programs. 


6. Your never going to have enough after school programs to please all parents, some of whom don't ever want their kids to come home in the evening, but watching kids until 5, or 5:30 shouldn't be to bad. We can keep it so that it isn't just for lazy people that don't want to be parents, and just for poor people who need to work, so they can provide for their families.


7. Instead of providing after school programs government should just require businesses to let people only work hours that their kids are in school.

Reasons to disagree:

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Score:

# of reasons to agree: 0

# of reasons to disagree: -0

# of reasons to agree with reasons to agree: 0

# of reasons to agree with reasons to disagree: -0

Total Idea Score: 0

Don't like the score? It is easy to change the score. Just post a reason to agree or disagree with the overall idea, or any of the reasons and the score will change

The Federal Government shouldn't duplicate services provided for by the states

Reasons to agree:

1. When you have administrators in Federal, State, and County agencies all with the same responsibility you are wasting money.


2. When you have administrators in Federal, State, and County agencies all with the same responsibility there is no accountability for the performance of any of the government agencies.


3. When the federal government has a mission that is the same as more local governments, they often don't really do anything besides set standards which the local agencies are not required to follow, and funnels money which they takes from individuals in each state, and put is back into other states. This whole process is overly complex, prone to corruption, bad incentives, inefficient with our money, and leads to bad results. 

Reasons to disagree:

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Score:

# of reasons to agree: 0

# of reasons to disagree: -0

# of reasons to agree with reasons to agree: 0

# of reasons to agree with reasons to disagree: -0

Total Idea Score: 0

Don't like the score? It is easy to change the score. Just post a reason to agree or disagree with the overall idea, or any of the reasons and the score will change

Images as reasons to agree and disagree

A picture says a thousand words. Why would we keep them out of a debate? Why not have the top 10 pictures that support AND oppose the same issue.

Of course images are returned to Google based on an algorithm, images that have higher scores will contribute more power to the idea.

Template

Reasons to agree:

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Reasons to disagree:

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Probable interest of those who agree:

1. They agree with the argument, outside of any interest or alterior motivation (30%)


2. Confirmation bias (you decide that you don't like Obama, and so this becomes the prism that you see him. People always root for the home team, because over time they start to show interest, and then each new story tells them they were correct. When the other team acts badly, you get mad. When your team acts badly, you feel justified. You continue to identify with Obama, because you once did). 


3. Your a Republican. He is on the other team. He is the enemy. 


4. Party Affiliation Group-ism (Republican). 


5. Racism.


6. Political laziness and issue crossover (15%)

Probable interest of those who disagree:

1. They agree with the argument, outside of any interest or alterior motivation (30%)


2. Pro black racial preference


3. Liberal guilt (environment).


4. Liberal guilt (race). 


5. Party Affiliation Group-ism (Democratic). 


6. The desire to promote more positive role models for our black youth


7. Self Interest.


8. Political laziness and issue crossover (15%)

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Score:

# of reasons to agree: 1

# of reasons to disagree: -0

# of reasons to agree with reasons to agree: 0

# of reasons to agree with reasons to disagree: -0

Total Idea Score: 1

Don't like the score? It is easy to change the score. Just post a reason to agree or disagree with the overall idea, or any of the reasons and the score will change

Transportation

As our society becomes more mobile and interconnected, the need for 21st-century transportation networks has never been greater. However, too many of our nation's railways, highways, bridges, airports, and neighborhood streets are slowly decaying due to lack of investment and strategic long-term planning. President Obama and Vice President Biden believe that America's long-term competitiveness depends on the stability of our critical infrastructure. They will make strengthening our transportation systems, including our roads and bridges, a top priority. In the Recovery Act and his first budget proposal, the President made investment in high speed rail a key investment.

Sportsmen

President Obama did not grow up hunting and fishing, but he recognizes the great conservation legacy of America's hunters and anglers and has great respect for the passion that hunters and anglers have for their sports. Were it not for America's hunters and anglers, including the great icons like Theodore Roosevelt and Aldo Leopold, our nation would not have the tradition of sound game management, a system of ethical, science-based game laws and an extensive public lands estate on which to pursue the sport. The President and Vice President recognize that we must forge a broad coalition if we are to address the great conservation challenges we face. America's hunters and anglers are a key constituency that must take an active role and have a powerful voice in this coalition.

Science

In the past, government funding for scientific research has yielded innovations that have improved the landscape of American life — technologies like the Internet, digital photography, bar codes, Global Positioning System technology, laser surgery, and chemotherapy. At one time, educational competition with the Soviets fostered the creativity that put a man on the moon. Today, we face a new set of challenges, including energy security, HIV/AIDS, and climate change. Yet, the United States is losing its scientific dominance. Among industrialized nations, our country's scores on international science and math tests rank in the bottom third and bottom fifth, respectively. Over the last three decades, federal funding for the physical, mathematical, and engineering sciences has declined at a time when other countries are substantially increasing their own research budgets. President Obama and Vice President Biden believe federally funded scientific research should play an important role in advancing science and technology in the classroom and in the lab.