Debater Resources

John Goodman grew up in Waco, TX and participated in high school debate competitions around the state of Texas. John was quite successful and won several statewide tournaments. He attended college at the University of Texas in Austin, where he became involved in campus politics and was elected vice president of the student body. All of this experience served him later in life when he became a TV debating partner of conservative polemicist William F. Buckley.
 
Dr. Goodman’s interest in speech and debate has never waned and he is excited to share some in-depth thoughts and ideas on current debate topics. 
View/Download our general topic review (18 pgs)

High School Debate on Inequality

 

Update: John Cochrane on Work Incentives

Update: John Cochrane on Work Incentives

When you put all our social programs together, low-income Americans face roughly 100% marginal tax rates. Earn an extra dollar, lose a dollar of benefits. It’s not that simple, of course, with multiple cliffs of infinite tax rates (earn an extra cent, lose a program entirely), and it depends on how many and which programs people sign up for. But the order of magnitude is right. 

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Update: Update on the Minimum Wage

Update: Update on the Minimum Wage

“In the year 2023, in the richest country in the history of the world, nobody should be forced to work for starvation wages…   If you work 40, 50 hours a week, you should not be living in poverty. It is time to raise the minimum wage to a living wage.”

Bernie Sanders,  May 4, 2023

This is Sen. Sanders’ argument for raising the minimum wage from its current level of $7.25 an hour to $17.00.

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Update: What’s Wrong with the Gabriel

Update: What’s Wrong with the Gabriel

Zucman’s/Emmanuel Saez view of inequality and the case they make for a wealth tax. The American Economics Association has awarded the prestigious John Bates Clark medal to University of California, Berkeley economist Gabriel Zucman. At the link you’ll find what the AEA decision makers thought made him deserving.

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