Merriam Webster
Should: to indicate obligation or duty
Require: to claim or ask for by right and authority
Which brings me to my first point,
Point 1: Infringes on Individual rights and freedom * According to the U.S Declaration of Independence, “All men are endowed the unalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” Liberty, an individual’s right to have control over their own actions. The word that is also printed on the back every U.S coin. “Give me Liberty or give me death!” The idea that our founding fathers fought for and built our country on. To require or demand something to someone who was guaranteed freedom is unconstitutional. This resolution infringes on the rights of the people of the citizens of America. Wall Street Journal Writers David B. Rivkin and Lee A. Casey agree in their article “Mandatory Insurance is Unconstitutional” by stating “Such a mandate, however, would expand the federal government’s authority over individual Americans to an unprecedented degree. It is also profoundly unconstitutional.” The U.S government does not in fact have the right to take away rights established by our fore fathers. Or as the Federal Judge Henry E. Hudson a little less formally stated “It’s like giving Congress the ability to force Americans to buy and automobile, to join a gym, or to eat asparagus.’’
Point 2: Instead of making it a federal mandate, it should be under the state’s control * According to NPR, Massachusetts is the first state to require health insurance which has been effective since June 1, 2007. This is a better route to take, simply because this gives the power to the states and what the people of that state decide to do, rather than to have the government decide for the whole nation. This will essentially keep the individual rights of the people, for the people.
The Con has the burden of proof to determine whether or not the government has the right to limit the individual freedoms given to our citizens during the creation of our society.
Con
Resolved: The U.S. government should not require its citizens to have health insurance.
Contention 1: Increases the Well-being of majority of citizens as a whole * According to a study published by the American Journal of Public Health in late October of 2012, nearly 45,000 annual deaths are associated with a lack of health insurance. Which is nearly 2 ½ times higher than an estimate from the Institute of Medicine in 2002. Also that in June of 2012, the consumer advocacy group Families