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# Should the United States Maintain Its Embargo against Cuba?'
**Argument**
Cuban-Americans and most of the world oppose the embargo, and maintaining it is detrimental to the reputation of the United States among the international community.
More than 80% of Cuban Americans surveyed in 2011 said the embargo has worke... |
# Should the Federal Minimum Wage Be Increased?'
**Argument**
The minimum wage has not kept up with inflation.
Because the federal minimum wage is not indexed for inflation, its purchasing power (the number of goods that can be bought with a unit of currency) has dropped considerably since its peak in 1968. The minim... |
# Should More Gun Control Laws Be Enacted?'
**Argument**
More gun control is unnecessary because relatively few people are killed by guns.
According to the CDC’s “Leading Causes of Death Reports,” between 1999 and 2013, Americans were 21.5 times more likely to die of heart disease (9,691,733 deaths); 18.7 times more ... |
# Should the Federal Minimum Wage Be Increased?'
**Argument**
Increasing the minimum wage would force businesses to lay off employees and raise unemployment levels.
The Congressional Budget Office projected that a minimum wage increase from $7.25 to $10.10 would result in a loss of 500,000 jobs. In a survey of 1,213... |
# Saturday Halloween - Pros & Cons - ProCon.org'
**Argument**
Moving Halloween would ignore the holiday's ancient and religious traditions.
The origins of Halloween have religious and cultural importance, tracing back 2,000 years to the pagan festival Samhain (pronounced “sow-in”), in which the ancient Celts celebrat... |
# Is Obesity a Disease?'
**Argument**
Physicians from as early as the 17th century have referenced obesity as a disease.
English physician Thomas Sydenham (1624-1689) wrote, “Corpulency [obesity] may be ranked amongst the diseases arising from original imperfections in the functions of some of the organs.” William W... |
# Should Abortion Be Legal?'
**Argument**
Abortion is a safe medical procedure that protects lives.
The death rate for legal abortions is 0.7 deaths for every 100,000 abortions. By contrast, there are one to two deaths per 100,000 plastic surgery procedures, three deaths for every 100,000 colonoscopies, and three to ... |
# Police Body Cameras - Pros & Cons - ProCon.org'
**Argument**
Police body cameras decrease the safety of police officers and negatively affect their physical and mental health.
Assaults on police officers were 14% higher when body cameras were present. Some people may respond negatively or violently to being filme... |
# Should Animals Be Used for Scientific or Commercial Testing?'
**Argument**
Animals must be used in cases when ethical considerations prevent the use of human subjects.
When testing medicines for potential toxicity, the lives of human volunteers should not be put in danger unnecessarily. It would be unethical to per... |
# Corporal Punishment in K-12 Schools - Top 3 Pros and Cons | ProCon.org'
**Argument**
Corporal punishment sets clear boundaries and motivates children to behave in school.
Children are better able to make decisions about their behavior, exercise self-control, and be accountable for their actions when they understand... |
# Should Students Have to Wear School Uniforms?'
**Argument**
Most parents and educators support mandatory school uniforms.
A survey by the National Association of Elementary School Principals (NAESP) and uniform manufacturer Lands’ End found that a majority of school leaders believe their school uniform or formal dr... |
# Vaping Pros and Cons - 3 Arguments For and Against'
**Argument**
Vaping causes serious health risks, including depression, lung disease, and stroke.
Nicotine use by young people may increase the risk of addiction to other drugs and impair prefrontal brain development, which can lead to ADD and disrupt impulse contr... |
# Should Animals Be Used for Scientific or Commercial Testing?'
**Argument**
The Animal Welfare Act has not succeeded in preventing horrific cases of animal abuse in research laboratories.
Violations of the Animal Welfare Act at the federally funded New Iberia Research Center (NIRC) in Louisiana included maltreatment... |
# Should People Become Vegetarian?'
**Argument**
A vegetarian diet is better for the environment.
Overgrazing livestock hurts the environment through soil compaction, erosion, and harm to native plants and animals. Significant portions of the 11 western states are grazed by livestock. Grazing has been a factor in th... |
# Vaping Pros and Cons - 3 Arguments For and Against'
**Argument**
E-cigarettes help adults quit smoking and lowers youth smoking rates.
A July 2019 study found that cigarettes smokers who picked up vaping were 67% more likely to quit smoking. A New England Journal of Medicine study found that e-cigarettes are twice ... |
# Should More Gun Control Laws Be Enacted?'
**Argument**
Gun control efforts have proved ineffective.
According to David Lampo, Publications Director of the Cato Institute, “there is no correlation between waiting periods and murder or robbery rates.” Banning high-capacity magazines will not necessarily deter crime ... |
# Do Violent Video Games Contribute to Youth Violence?'
**Argument**
Many risk factors are associated with youth violence, but video games are not among them.
The US Surgeon General’s list of risk factors for youth violence included abusive parents, poverty, neglect, neighborhood crime, being male, substance use, and... |
# Is Social Media Good for Society?'
**Argument**
Social media can facilitate inappropriate student-teacher relationships.
The Texas Education Agency (TEA) opened 222 cases about “inappropriate relationships” between educators and students in the 2015-16 school year; 86 cases were investigated in 2007-2008 and educat... |
# DC & Puerto Rico Statehood - Pros & Cons - ProCon.org'
**Argument**
Denying DC and Puerto Rico statehood is a racist and hypocritical partisan ploy by conservatives to deny voting rights to about 3.8 million voters.
DC has about 712,000 citizens and Puerto Rico about 3.1 million citizens, none of whom have full vot... |
# Should Birth Control Pills Be Available Over the Counter (OTC)?'
**Argument**
OTC birth control pills could further lower teen pregnancy rates.
From 1991 to 2019, the nationwide teen pregnancy rate dropped 73% among 15- to 19-year-olds. Experts believe the drop is due increased contraceptive use and delayed sexual ... |
# Should Pit Bulls Be Banned? Top 3 Pros and Cons'
**Argument**
BSL is a humane way to discourage pit bull breeding and fighting.
An estimated 80% of all dogs are spayed or neutered. However, only about 20% of pit bulls are sterilized. And only about 38% of animal shelter admissions are pit bulls, but the dogs accou... |
# Should Teachers Get Tenure?'
**Argument**
Teacher tenure creates complacency because teachers know they are unlikely to lose their jobs.
Tenure removes incentives for teachers to put in more than the minimum effort and to focus on improving their teaching.
**Background**
Teacher tenure is the increasingly controv... |
# Hockey Fighting - Pros & Cons - ProCon.org'
**Argument**
Fighting in hockey leads to concussions, mental health problems, and death.
Charles H. Tator, PhD, MD, neurosurgeon, believes fighting causes 10% of all concussions in hockey.
NHL officials expressed in private emails their views that fighting can lead to co... |
# Should the Federal Minimum Wage Be Increased?'
**Argument**
The free market should determine minimum wages, not the federal government.
A survey by the Small Business Network found that 82% of small businesses agreed that “the government should not be setting wage rates.” According to Per Bylund, PhD, Research Pro... |
# Should the United States Return to a Gold Standard?'
**Argument**
Returning to a gold standard would reduce the US trade deficit.
A trade deficit is when the country is buying more goods and services (imports) than it sells (exports), creating the need for foreign financing that must be repaid when the deficit turn... |
# Was Ronald Reagan a Good President?'
**Argument**
Defense:
Reagan increased the defense budget for an unprecedented six consecutive years. This spending produced an unsustainable bubble in the defense industry that led to decades of restructuring. By the early 1990s the defense industry had too many factories and t... |
# Should the Federal Minimum Wage Be Increased?'
**Argument**
Raising the minimum wage would increase economic activity and spur job growth.
The Economic Policy Institute stated that a minimum wage increase from the current rate of $7.25 an hour to $10.10 would inject $22.1 billion net into the economy and create abo... |
# Should Vaccines Be Required for Children?'
**Argument**
The ingredients in vaccines are safe in the amounts used.
Ingredients, such as thimerosal, formaldehyde, and aluminum, can be harmful in large doses but they are not used in harmful quantities in vaccines. Children are exposed to more aluminum in breast milk a... |
# Cancel Culture Top 3 Pros and Cons'
**Argument**
Cancel culture is a slippery slope and leads to intolerance in democratic societies as people systematically exclude anyone who disagrees with their views.
Loretta Ross, author, deems cancel culture a “cannibalistic maw” that is “[s]ometimes… just ruthless hazing.” ... |
# Should All Americans Have the Right (Be Entitled) to Health Care?'
**Argument**
A right to health care could cause people to overuse health care resources.
When people are provided with universal health care and are not directly responsible for the costs of medical services, they may utilize more health resources t... |
# Should Teachers Get Tenure?'
**Argument**
Tenure encourages the careful selection of qualified and effective teachers.
Since it is difficult to remove tenured teachers, tenure encourages school administrators to take more care when making hiring decisions. Additionally, tenure prompts administrators to dismiss unde... |
# Is a College Education Worth It?'
**Argument**
College graduates attract higher-paying employers to their communities.
A 1% increase in college graduates in a community increases the wages of workers without a high school diploma by 1.9% and the wages of high school graduates by 1.6%.
**Background**
People who ar... |
# Dress Codes - Top 3 Pros and Cons | ProCon.org'
**Argument**
Dress codes bolster religious and cultural intolerance.
Only in 2019 did US Congress change the 1837 rule that banned headwear of any sort, including religious headwear such as kippahs, hijabs, and turbans.
While the United States protects religious exp... |
# Should Tablets Replace Textbooks in K-12 Schools?'
**Argument**
Tablets enable students to cut corners or cheat on schoolwork.
Students can easily avoid reading and analyzing texts on their own because they can quickly look up passages in an e-textbook and search for answers on the internet.
**Background**
Textbo... |
# Was Ronald Reagan a Good President?'
**Argument**
Taxes:
Through massive tax cuts, Reagan helped restore an economy that had both high inflation and unemployment left over from the 1970s. As he brought taxation down from 70% to 28%, Reagan proved that reducing excessive tax rates stimulates growth, increases econom... |
# Is Human Activity Primarily Responsible for Global Climate Change?'
**Argument**
Overwhelming scientific consensus finds human activity primarily responsible for climate change.
According to many peer-reviewed studies, over 97% of climate scientists agree that human activity is extremely likely to be the cause of g... |
# Is Social Media Good for Society?'
**Argument**
Social media helps senior citizens feel more connected to society.
According to a 2015 Pew Research Center study, the 65 and older age group is one of the fastest growing demographic groups on social media sites, with usage rising from 2% of seniors in 2008 to 35% in ... |
# Is Obesity a Disease?'
**Argument**
Obesity, like other diseases, impairs the normal functioning of the body.
People who are obese have excess adipose (or fat) tissue that causes the overproduction of leptin (a molecule that regulates food intake and energy expenditure) and other food intake and energy mediators in... |
# Historic Statue Removal - Pros & Cons - ProCon.org'
**Argument**
The statues misrepresent history, and glorify people who perpetuated slavery, attempted secession from United States, and lost the Civil War.
When 11 Southern states seceded from the Union in 1861, they were very clear that the reason was the impendi... |
# Should Pit Bulls Be Banned? Top 3 Pros and Cons'
**Argument**
BSL is a distraction from legislation and policies that could actually accomplish safety goals.
According to a study of fatal dog bites between 1979 and 1996, “Although fatal attacks on humans appear to be a breed-specific problem (pit bull-type dogs and... |
# Private Prisons - Pros & Cons - ProCon.org'
**Argument**
Private prisons offer innovative programs to lower the rates of re-imprisonment.
Recidivism is the tendency of those who have committed a criminal act to commit another criminal act, likely landing them back in prison.
GEO Group Inc., an American private pris... |
# Is a College Education Worth It?'
**Argument**
Earning a college degree is a major life achievement.
College graduation can represent an attainment of the American Dream, the culmination of years of hard work for the student, and the payoff for sacrifices made by supporting parents and friends. Blogger Darrius Mind... |
# Is There Really a Santa Claus?'
**Argument**
“Science has long shown that Santa Claus is real, and those who claim otherwise are invariably in the pocket of the big toy companies, who don’t want people thinking they can get free playthings and so will pay for their products.”
Neuroscientist Dean Burnett, PhD, state... |
# Should College Be Free? Top 3 Pros and Cons'
**Argument**
The US economy and society has benefited from tuition-free college in the past.
Nearly half of all college students in 1947 were military veterans, thanks to President Roosevelt signing the GI Bill in 1944 to ensure military service members, veterans, and th... |
# Daylight Saving Time Pros and Cons - Top Advantages and Disadvantages'
**Argument**
DST drops productivity.
The Monday after the spring time change is called “Sleepy Monday,” because it is one of the most sleep-deprived days of the year. The week after the spring DST time change sees an increase in “cyber-loafing”... |
# Should the United States Continue Its Use of Drone Strikes Abroad?'
**Argument**
Secretive drone strikes amount to extrajudicial assassination and violate human rights.
Drone strikes are secretive, lack sufficient legal oversight, and prevent citizens from holding their leaders accountable. Drone strikes often skip... |
# DC & Puerto Rico Statehood - Pros & Cons - ProCon.org'
**Argument**
Puerto Rico was never intended to be a US state.
The United States occupied Puerto Rico in 1898, taking the island from the Spanish to ensure a strong military presence in the Caribbean and access to a canal through Panama, not to add a state to th... |
# Should the United States Maintain Its Embargo against Cuba?'
**Argument**
The United States should end the Cuba embargo because its 50-year policy has failed to achieve its goals, and Cuba does not pose a threat to the United States.
Feb. 7, 2012 marked the 50th anniversary of the embargo, and the goal of forcing C... |
# Student Loan Debt Elimination - Pros & Cons - ProCon.org'
**Argument**
Student loan discharge via bankruptcy would allow borrowers to abuse the loan system and encourage colleges to increase tuition.
Making it easier to discharge loans would give people an incentive to take out loans with no intention of paying the... |
# Should More Gun Control Laws Be Enacted?'
**Argument**
Gun control laws and lower gun ownership rates do not prevent suicides.
Lithuania has one of the world’s lowest gun ownership rates (0.7 guns per 100 people) but its suicide rate (by any method) was 45.06 per 100,000 people in 1999, the highest suicide rate amo... |
# Should More Gun Control Laws Be Enacted?'
**Argument**
Gun control laws will not prevent criminals from obtaining guns or breaking laws.
Of 62 mass shootings in the United States between 1982 and 2012, 49 of the shooters used legally obtained guns. Collectively, 143 guns were possessed by the killers with about 75%... |
# School Vouchers - Pros & Cons - ProCon.org'
**Argument**
School vouchers offer students in failing schools access to a better education.
Parents who cannot afford homes in neighborhoods with great school districts are often doomed to send their kids to bad schools with less funding, fewer good teachers, and fewer o... |
# Net Neutrality - Pros & Cons - ProCon.org'
**Argument**
Net neutrality created burdensome and overreaching regulations to govern the internet.
According to the bipartisan Telecommunications Act of 1996, “the Internet and other interactive computer services have flourished, to the benefit of all Americans, with a mi... |
# Should More Gun Control Laws Be Enacted?'
**Argument**
More gun control laws would reduce gun deaths.
There were 572,537 total gun deaths between 1999 and 2016: 336,579 suicides (58.8% of total gun deaths); 213,175 homicides (37.2%); and 11,428 unintentional deaths (2.0%). [ Guns were the leading cause of death by ... |
# Electoral College Pros and Cons - Top 3 Arguments For and Against'
**Argument**
The Electoral College was created to protect the voices of the minority from being overwhelmed by the will of the majority.
The Founding Fathers wanted to balance the will of the populace against the risk of “tyranny of the majority,” i... |
# Should the United States Continue Its Use of Drone Strikes Abroad?'
**Argument**
Drone strikes are carried out with the collaboration and encouragement of local governments, and make those countries safer.
US drone strikes help countries fight terrorist threats to their own domestic peace and stability, including a... |
# Should Vaccines Be Required for Children?'
**Argument**
The pharmaceutical companies, FDA, and CDC should not be trusted to make and regulate safe vaccines.
The primary goal of pharmaceutical companies is to sell drugs and make a profit. William Posey, Congressman (R-FL), stated in an Apr. 8, 2014 interview, “The i... |
# Should Social Security Be Privatized?'
**Argument**
Privatizing Social Security would dramatically increase the national debt.
Transitioning to private accounts while continuing to provide benefits to current Social Security beneficiaries would leave a multi-trillion dollar hole that would need to be filled by more... |
# Should the Federal Minimum Wage Be Increased?'
**Argument**
Increasing the federal minimum wage would disproportionately harm the poorest areas of the United States.
In 2015 Mississippi had the lowest cost of living at 83.5% of the national average, while Hawaii had the highest at 168.6%. In areas like Mississippi... |
# Is a College Education Worth It?'
**Argument**
College graduates have lower poverty rates.
The 2008 poverty rate for bachelor’s degree holders was 4%, compared to a 12% poverty rate for high school graduates. In 2005, married couples with bachelor’s degrees were least likely to be below the poverty line (1.8%) com... |
# Is Golf a Sport?'
**Argument**
Golf meets the definition of sport by being competitive.
“Golf is a sport. Many people enjoy it on a solely social level and that’s fine. But, first and foremost, it’s a sport where players compete against the course and each other, trying to better previous performances or outplay an... |
# Should Students Have to Wear School Uniforms?'
**Argument**
School uniforms may improve attendance and discipline.
A study by researchers at the University of Houston found that the average absence rate for girls in middle and high school decreased by 7% after the introduction of uniforms, and behavioral problems l... |
# Should Students Have to Wear School Uniforms?'
**Argument**
Students can express their individuality in school uniforms by introducing variations and adding accessories.
Junior high school student Amelia Jimenez wrote in her op-ed for the Pennsylvania Patriot-News website that “contrary to popular belief, uniforms ... |
# Banned Books Pros and Cons - Top 3 Arguments For and Against'
**Argument**
Parents have the right to decide what material their children are exposed to and when.
Having books with adult topics available in libraries limits parents’ ability to choose when their children are mature enough to read specific material. “... |
# Should Churches (Including Mosques, Synagogues, etc.) Remain Tax-Exempt?'
**Argument**
Taxing churches when their members receive no monetary gain would amount to double taxation.
The late Rev. Dean M. Kelley, a leading proponent of religious freedom, explained that church members are already taxed on their individ... |
# Should All Americans Have the Right (Be Entitled) to Health Care?'
**Argument**
A right to health care could increase the wait time for medical services.
Medicaid is an example of a federally funded single-payer health care system that provides a right to health care for low-income people. According to a Government... |
# Should People Become Vegetarian?'
**Argument**
Eating meat is natural, not cruel or unethical.
Vegetarians mistakenly elevate the value of animal life over plant life. Research shows that plants also respond electrochemically to threats. Every organism on earth dies at some point so others organisms can live. The... |
# Was Bill Clinton a Good President?'
**Argument**
Foreign Policy:
A year after 18 American troops were killed in a failed 1993 mission to capture a warlord in Somalia, Clinton was hesitant to take action to stop a genocide in Rwanda. While he failed to act, more than half a million Tutsis were murdered. Critics accu... |
# Should Tablets Replace Textbooks in K-12 Schools?'
**Argument**
Tablets contain many technological features that cannot be found in print textbooks.
Tablets give users the ability to highlight and edit text and write notes without ruining a textbook for the next user. Tablets have a search function, a backlighting... |
# Should Social Security Be Privatized?'
**Argument**
With private personal accounts, retirees can see higher returns on their investment and more money in their pockets.
The year-over-year growth rate for private investments (6.38% average real returns on investments in the S&P 500 between 1984-2014) was much higher... |
# Should Pit Bulls Be Banned? Top 3 Pros and Cons'
**Argument**
BSL makes communities safer.
One goal of BSL is to prevent dog attacks on humans, dogs, and other animals before they happen.
According to DogsBite.org, enacting BSL “regulate[s] a small group of breeds that have a genetic propensity to attack and inflic... |
# Should More Gun Control Laws Be Enacted?'
**Argument**
Gun control laws give too much power to the government and may result in government tyranny and the government taking away all guns from citizens.
57% of people surveyed by Pew Research in Feb. 2013 said that gun control laws would “give too much power to the g... |
# Do Standardized Tests Improve Education in America?'
**Argument**
Standardized tests scores are good indicators of college and job success.
Standardized tests can offer evidence of and promote academic rigor, which is invaluable in college as well as in students’ careers. Matthew Pietrafetta, PhD, Founder of Academ... |
# Should Vaccines Be Required for Children?'
**Argument**
Vaccines can cause serious and sometimes fatal side effects.
According to the CDC, all vaccines carry a risk of a life-threatening allergic reaction (anaphylaxis) in about one per million children. The rotavirus vaccination can cause intussusception, a type o... |
# Should Churches (Including Mosques, Synagogues, etc.) Remain Tax-Exempt?'
**Argument**
Taxing churches would place government above religion.
The Biblical book of Judges says that those who rule society are appointed directly by God. Evangelist and former USA Today columnist Don Boys, PhD, asked “will any Bible be... |
# Is Social Media Good for Society?'
**Argument**
Social media harms employees’ productivity.
A global online survey found that 50% of workers check or use social media at least once a day during work hours. A survey of Irish workers found that 78% use a personal device to access social media at work. Two-thirds of... |
# Should More Gun Control Laws Be Enacted?'
**Argument**
Gun control laws would reduce the societal costs associated with gun violence.
The more than 100,000 people shot in the United States each year generate emergency room and hospital charges of nearly $3 billion. A study in the American Journal of Public Health ... |
# Is Human Activity Primarily Responsible for Global Climate Change?'
**Argument**
Earth’s climate has always warmed and cooled, and the 20th century rise in global temperature is within the bounds of natural temperature fluctuations over the past 3,000 years.
Although the planet has warmed 1-1.4°F over the 20th cent... |
# Mandatory National Service - Pros & Cons - ProCon.org'
**Argument**
Mandating national service violates the constitution and would infringe on the freedom to choose what to do with our lives.
The 13th Amendment to the US Constitution states, “Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for cri... |
# Is a College Education Worth It?'
**Argument**
College graduates make more money.
The average college graduate makes $570,000 more than the average high school graduate over a lifetime. Career earnings for college graduates are 71% to 136% higher than those of high school graduates. The Federal Reserve Bank of Ne... |
# Should Gay Marriage Be Legal?'
**Argument**
Gay marriage has accelerated the assimilation of gays into mainstream heterosexual culture to the detriment of the homosexual community.
The gay community has created its own vibrant culture. By reducing the differences in opportunities and experiences between gay and het... |
# DACA & the DREAM Act - Pros & Cons - ProCon.org'
**Argument**
Deporting Dreamers is inhumane and cruel.
Arriving at a median age of six years old, many Dreamers do not remember life in their birth countries, have not met family members in those countries, and do not speak the native language fluently.
President Bar... |
# Defunding the Police Pros and Cons | Top 3 Arguments For and Against'
**Argument**
Police departments should not be disbanded, but held to standardized national regulations, which should comply with international human rights laws.
President Obama formed the President’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing after the... |
# Should Churches (Including Mosques, Synagogues, etc.) Remain Tax-Exempt?'
**Argument**
The “parsonage exemption” on ministers’ homes makes already-wealthy pastors even richer at taxpayers’ expense.
The average annual salary for senior pastors with congregations of 2,000 or more is $147,000, with some earning up to ... |
# School Vouchers - Pros & Cons - ProCon.org'
**Argument**
Tax dollars are intended for the better secular education of all children, not the private religious education of a few.
Using public funds to subsidize religious schools violates the separation of church and state. Of the 14 states with school voucher progra... |
# Police Body Cameras - Pros & Cons - ProCon.org'
**Argument**
Police body cameras are a good police reform tool and have strong support from members of the public.
Police body worn cameras offer transparency and accountability to the public, which is an attempt to “mend that frayed relationship between the police an... |
# Was Bill Clinton a Good President?'
**Argument**
Economy:
The US went from having the largest budget deficit in American history ($290 billion) in 1992 when Clinton was elected to having a budget surplus of $127 billion when he left office in 2001. 22.5 million new jobs were created and unemployment dropped from 7.... |
# Banned Books Pros and Cons - Top 3 Arguments For and Against'
**Argument**
Parents may control what their own children read, but don't have a right to restrict what books are available to other people.
Parents who don’t like specific books can have their kids opt out of an assignment without infringing on the right... |
# Is Human Activity Primarily Responsible for Global Climate Change?'
**Argument**
Dramatic changes in precipitation, such as heavier storms and less snow, are another sign that humans are causing global climate change.
As human-produced greenhouse gases heat the planet, increased humidity (water vapor in the atmosph... |
# Is Human Activity Primarily Responsible for Global Climate Change?'
**Argument**
The acidity levels of the oceans are within past natural levels and the current rise in acidity is a natural fluctuation.
The pH of average ocean surface water is 8.1 and has only decreased 0.1 since the beginning of the industrial re... |
# Filibuster - Top 3 Pros and Cons | ProCon.org'
**Argument**
The filibuster promotes obstructionism and partisanship, allowing the minority party to rule without a national mandate.
The 117th Senate (2021–2023) is composed of 50 Republicans, 48 Democrats, and 2 Independents who caucus with the Democrats, making the ... |
# Should Social Security Be Privatized?'
**Argument**
Other policy changes can fix Social Security more effectively and less disruptively than privatization.
Future budget shortfalls can be eliminated by reducing benefits, increasing taxes, and/or raising the retirement age. [82] [83] [84] [85]
In 2010, the nonpa... |
# Do Standardized Tests Improve Education in America?'
**Argument**
Standardized tests scores are not predictors of future success.
Standardized tests can only, at best, evaluate rote knowledge of math, science, and English. The tests do not evaluate creativity, problem solving, critical thinking, artistic ability, o... |
# Should the United States Maintain Its Embargo against Cuba?'
**Argument**
The embargo prevents the people of Cuba from joining the digital age by cutting them off from technology, and restricts the electronic flow of information to the island.
Fewer than one in four Cubans accessed the internet in 2011.
Though th... |
# Should the United States Return to a Gold Standard?'
**Argument**
A gold standard puts limits on government power by restricting the ability to print money at will and increase the national debt.
With a fiat currency the government can essentially manufacture money out of thin air. Since leaving the gold standard ... |
# Was Bill Clinton a Good President?'
**Argument**
Character:
Clinton was deeply religious from a young age and regularly attended a Baptist church as an adult. He once said, “Religious faith has permitted me to believe in the continuing possibility of becoming a better person every day, to believe in the search for ... |
# Defunding the Police Pros and Cons | Top 3 Arguments For and Against'
**Argument**
Police departments are historically oppressive and violent. Defunding them could reduce violence against people of color and overall crime.
Paige Fernandez, MPP, Policing Policy Advisor for the ACLU, noted, “American policing has ne... |
# Was Ronald Reagan a Good President?'
**Argument**
Foreign Policy:
Reagan helped bring an end to the 46-year-old Cold War, through a combination of hostile, anti-communist rhetoric and a massive arms buildup followed by skillful diplomacy and disarmament. On Nov. 9, 1989, just over two years after his famous Branden... |
# Should Birth Control Pills Be Available Over the Counter (OTC)?'
**Argument**
Over-the-counter (OTC) birth control would raise the cost of the drug.
Making birth control pills OTC means they would no longer be covered by insurance and women would have to pay for them on their own. With the Obamacare birth control m... |
# Should More Gun Control Laws Be Enacted?'
**Argument**
Enacting gun control laws such as mandatory safety features would reduce the number of accidental gun deaths.
Approximately 50% of unintentional fatal shootings were self-inflicted; and most unintentional firearm deaths were caused by friends or family members.... |
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