Extemp questions
February 1, 2010 – 1:57 pm by: Mike TraasAs promised – here are the extemp questions that I wrote for the East forensic tournament. I hope you enjoy them, as I had a good time writing them
Extemp questions for East tournament 2010
Round 1 – Health Care
1) Is the Health Care Bill the reason that a number of congressmen are “running for the hills” and not seeking re-election?
2) Can the newest version of the Health Care bill bring unions on board?
3) Is pushing the Senate bill through the House a possibility to save President Obama’s Health Care reform proposal?
4) Does Brown’s victory in Massachusetts effectively kill the health care bill?
5) Is it possible for Senate and House Democrats to come to consensus on the Healthcare bill?
6) Does the Medicaid expansion provisions in the health care bills spell financial success or failure for State government budgets?
7) Is it the goal of President Obama to squeeze out the private health plans?
8) Who is to blame for the “no change is status quo” healthcare condition – Republicans or Democrats?
9) Are Democratic legislators ready to politically “fall on the sword” for President Obama’s Healthcare proposal?
10) Is the House Health Care bill the first steps towards socialized medical care?
11) Will the “Public Plan” survive or be sacrificed in the unification of the two bills?
12) Can health care reform be salvaged?
13) Would extending an olive branch across the aisle on the health care reform issue aid congressmen up for re-election this fall?
14) What will passage of Health Reform cost United States citizens?
15) Would the House Healthcare bill cripple the small businessman?
16) Socialized Medicine… what’s the problem?
17) If the proposed Health Care reform closely reflects the current Massachusetts health care policy, what does the voice of the vote in Massachusetts really mean?
18) Reflective of Haiti, do we have a Cadillac health care system?
19) Is it feasible to fiscally reform the healthcare system?
20) Did the President’s State of the Union address move Health Care forward?
Round 2 – Economy
21) Has the current recession reached the “Depression” status, or is the middle class just depressed?
22) Will US energy and resources pouring into the humanitarian efforts in Haiti be beneficial to the US economy?
23) Is the US economy really picking up?
24) With the stock market making steady and solid growth, how far behind is the job growth rate?
25) Will employment rates ever hit the watermark of the pre-recession decade?
26) Who is best to over see banking supervision; the government or the self regulating market?
27) Does the rise of risk-taking in European markets signal good news for US markets?
28) A year later: has government stimulus spending creating a stronger flow of ready funds?
29) Should humanitarian aid to Haiti be curbed until the U.S. economy stabilizes?
30) Can the United State afford to help rebuild Haiti?
31) What does the current economy mean to soon-to-be college students seeking financial support for education?
32) How long of a gap between the upswing in the stock market and reduction in the joblessness rate is justifiable?
33) Is the United States really facing a $13 trillion debt over the next ten years?
34) Can Congress afford Climate Change legislation?
35) Does Government spending stimulate economic growth?
36) Will reshaping regulations of financial institutions invoke economy stimulation?
37) Has the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act that the president signed last year met its goal?
38) Is any elected government really capable of creating an efficacious budgetary spending freeze?
39) What do American businesses need right now to increase availability of jobs for Americans?
40) Can President Obama’s initiative of small business tax cuts and money for public works stimulate the job market?
Round 3 – Midterm / President Obama
41) How is Obama doing with black voters?
42) How will President Obama’s meeting with the Dalai Lama be perceived by Beijing?
43) A year later: has government stimulus spending creating a stronger flow of ready funds?
44) Is Sarah Palin’s voice in the media good or bad for the midterm elections?
45) Should Harry Reid step down from his position?
46) Is President Obama just “Another War President”, after all?
47) Would extending an olive branch across the aisle on the health care reform issue aid congressmen up for re-election this fall?
48) What does Scott Brown’s victory in Massachusetts indicate?
49) Can election year legislators afford to campaign on empty health care tanks?
50) Was the Massachusetts special election a litmus test for midterms?
51) Can a Freshman Republican really fill Ted Kennedy’s seat?
52) How would you grade President Obama’s first State of the Union address?
53) Did President Obama spend too little time on National Security in his State of the Union address?
54) Did the State of the Union speech deliver hope to the unemployed?
55) Does the American middle class truly have a deficit of trust of Washington politics?
56) Do recent setbacks strike a populist tone for what could be a volatile midterm election year for the Democrats?
57) What do President Obama’s approval ratings mean for the mid term elections?
58) Has Republicans failure to reach across the aisle been just politics or have the Democrats also failed in not extending an olive branch?
59) Is the High Speed Railroad the fast track to failure or success?
60) Will there be ramifications of the President’s repute of the Supreme Court during the State of the Union address?
Power round – Everything Else
61) Is Al Qaeda in Palestine?
62) What is the best policy for the United States to use regarding Yemen?
63) Kyoto to Copenhagen – does the UN’s glacial global warming talks need overhauling?
64) Can and should the United States deal unilaterally with North Korea regarding a peace treaty to replace the Korean War armistice?
65) What can be done to bring stability to Somalia?
66) Will China ease its one-child policy?
67) What will selling weapons to Taiwan do to the United States relation with China?
68) Can Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton ease tensions with Japan over the relocation of a Marine base?
69) Is Iran tunneling its way to nuclear weapons success?
70) Are we ready to privatize airport security?
71) Should Bernanke be afforded a second term?
72) Can Haiti rebuild?
73) Is the re-election of Mahinda Rajapaksa, good news for Sri Lanka
74) Should the United States continue extending aid to Yemen?
75) In the wake of the Haitian Quake, should US ease restrictions on Haiti immigration?
76) Can all combat forces be out of Iraq by August?
77) Will the end in Afghanistan be visible soon?
78) In hindsight, was the bailout of AIG a good idea?
79) So, is the earth warming or isn’t it?
80) Should the UN be more involved in Haiti?
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