Spring Break
College Democrats debate URI GOP, score higher in two of three rounds
Jeff Sullivan
Issue date: 11/15/07 Section: News
Annie-Laurie Hogan, secretary for the College Republicans, defended the United States' position. She said that P.O.W.s and war criminals of past wars had to wait until the war was over to be tried, and that trying and possibly releasing potentially dangerous combatants while the war is still being fought is not only unwise, but also unprecedented in recent history.
"In this case, national security triumphs over [detainees'] civil liberties," she said. "Bringing them to justice right now is not really our priority; they are in detainment and that is more important."
Michael Viscusi debated for the College Republicans on the next topic, which was the contentious issue of universal versus private health care in the United States and which direction the country should be heading. He argued that the quality of health care and frequency of new medical innovations in the United States is because of the free-market system in place.
"The free-market entrepreneurial spirit is one of the things that drives this quality of health care that we're capable of receiving here in the United States," Viscusi said. "And it's the personal incentive that allows the innovative spirit of research and technology, and the giving of consumers a choice that allows health care options to be varied."
Ryan Bilodeau, treasurer and spokesman for the College Republicans, said that the U.S. government can provide health care without actually directly controlling it. There are still many problems inherent with the current system, he said, and he pointed out that while there are 45 million people in the United States that are uninsured, the U.S. government spends more money per capita on health care than any other country.
"So if we're spending that much more money than other nations and we're still having such a large percentage of uninsured/underinsured, what represents that?" he said.
Bilodeau said that the conservative solution to the problem is to empower the people, as President George W. Bush did in 2003 through tax cuts and a health care savings account in order to bring more people into the market - thereby lowering the prices of services.
"In this case, national security triumphs over [detainees'] civil liberties," she said. "Bringing them to justice right now is not really our priority; they are in detainment and that is more important."
Michael Viscusi debated for the College Republicans on the next topic, which was the contentious issue of universal versus private health care in the United States and which direction the country should be heading. He argued that the quality of health care and frequency of new medical innovations in the United States is because of the free-market system in place.
"The free-market entrepreneurial spirit is one of the things that drives this quality of health care that we're capable of receiving here in the United States," Viscusi said. "And it's the personal incentive that allows the innovative spirit of research and technology, and the giving of consumers a choice that allows health care options to be varied."
Ryan Bilodeau, treasurer and spokesman for the College Republicans, said that the U.S. government can provide health care without actually directly controlling it. There are still many problems inherent with the current system, he said, and he pointed out that while there are 45 million people in the United States that are uninsured, the U.S. government spends more money per capita on health care than any other country.
"So if we're spending that much more money than other nations and we're still having such a large percentage of uninsured/underinsured, what represents that?" he said.
Bilodeau said that the conservative solution to the problem is to empower the people, as President George W. Bush did in 2003 through tax cuts and a health care savings account in order to bring more people into the market - thereby lowering the prices of services.
