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1. Camp Email Address www.gmail.com Username: sudebatecamp2009@gmail.com Password: bishopguild

2. Being Aff: Affirmative Case AreasMarissa Silber RESOLVED: The United States federal government should substantially increase social services for persons living in poverty in the United States.

3. 2 Questions Every Aff Must Answer • Why should the federal government act, as opposed to the states or private actors? • Why should social services be increased, as opposed to helping people in poverty in other ways, like cash assistance?

4. Advantages on the Topic • Think you can only claim poverty? Think again! • If you could only claim poverty, why might that be enough? What impacts can you claim off poverty?

5. Reasons Poverty is Bad • Malnutrition • Lack of education • Intrinsic ties to racism, sexism, ageism • Hurts national, state, and metropolitan economies • Hurts US leadership/soft power • Disease • Crime • Obesity • Domestic Violence • Death • Civic Disengagement • Will talk about other types of advantages when discussing specific affs

6. Social services? • Ryan talked about this term last night – what I have to say is an addition, not a replacement to his explanation • Federal government has an official definition of social services (Code of Federal Regulations, 29 CFR 2.31) - This means: It must be federally funded or administration, it must have the intent of targeting people in poverty or low-income communities, and it generally takes the form of a program that provides specific public benefits to poor communities

7. Social Services? • Most started either via the New Deal after the Great Depression or during the War on Poverty during the Johnson administration • Since beginning of the War on Poverty, the US has spent 14 trillion on social services (about 8 trillion is federal government)

8. 2 Broad Types of Social Services • Block Grants • Federal government gives states money with the requirement it is spent on specific goal/conditions are placed on the money • Allows the states some flexibility on how to administer it – states have substantial discretion over who they choose to serve • All block grants are capped: a specific amount of money is authorized and states have to do what they can by it • Size of block grant programs is determined by the official poverty guidelines used by Health and Human Services and by Census Data

9. 2 Broad Types of Social Services • 2. Entitlement programs • These are required to serve all eligible participants – anyone who applies for it that is eligible must be approved Examples: food stamps, Medicaid, the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), school lunch program

10. Federal Agencies in Charge • Department of Health and Human Services – biggest federal agency in charge of social services – 11 sub-agencies. Most important ones are: • Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) • Social Services Block Grant Program • Medicaid • State Children’s Health Insurance Program • Head Start

11. Federal Agencies in Charge • United States Department of Agriculture • Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program • National School Lunch • Supplemental Nutritional Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC)

12. Federal Agencies in Charge • Housing and Urban Development • Public housing • Housing Choice Voucher Program (Section 8) • Emergency Shelter Grant Program

13. Federal Agencies in Charge • Social Security Administration • Internal Revenue Service • Department of Justice • Bureau of Indian Affairs • Veterans Administration

14. 3 Categories of Affirmatives • Affs that removes barriers for eligibility for programs - current restriction on eligibility is bad, by removing it we increase the number of people eligible 2. Affs that increase funding for existing program - almost no programs have enough money currently 3. Affs that change the way poverty is defined

15. General v. Specific • Some affs will take general actions, while some affs will target specific groups Examples of general – broad health care affs, education affs, child support affs, counseling affs, job training Examples of specific – Affs solely helping people in the military or Veterans, affs dealing with people on military reservations or Federal Detention Center - Depending on the category, this affects the types of advantages claimed

16. Category 1 Affs that removes barriers for eligibility for programs Are these affs topical, based on the word increase? • An entitlement, like Medicaid, means probably • A capped block grant, probably not

17. Illegal Immigrants • The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA) of 1996 took away access for health care for preventive services • Federal Government Warrant: Chilling Effect • Advantages: Diseases, state health care sector/economy, discrimination based on national origin bad, international human rights law

18. Illegal Immigrants • Examples of plan texts for this aff at other camps… • Michigan: The United States federal government should remove citizenship as a criterion for Medicaid eligibility • Georgetown: The United States federal government should make undocumented immigrants and immigrants who have been in the country for less than five years eligible for Medicaid.

19. Abortion • The Hyde Amendment of 1977 prevents the federal government from giving federal funds for abortion for Medicaid except in cases of rape, incest, or life endangerment • Advantages: Abortions good, reproductive access good, promotes gender equality/solves patriarchy, international modeling • Federal Government Warrant: Can have either Supreme Court or Congress Act * Courts: have the Supreme Court strike down the Hyde Amendment prohibition on Medicaid funding by applying the equal protection clause * Congress: Can defend, careful of being extra topical (cannot repeal the Hyde Amendment) - Georgetown Plan: The United States federal government should eliminate nearly all Medicaid funding restrictions on abortion (solvency cards defend Congress)

20. Tax Credits • Extend Federal Tax Credits • Federal Government: Changing federal code • Question of whether topical or not topical, but 2 affs that may be …. They are….

21. Tax Credits • Aff 1 – EITC • Earned Income Tax Credit: refundable, which means the government pays you even if you don’t own income taxes, but you still have to file which means you still need a job, and the overall cost to the government is offset by payroll taxes – described as the largest poverty reduction program in the US • Aff: Expand the maximum available credit, triple it for the childless individuals and expand it for people with more than 2 dependents • Also, could abolish the part that says if you are childless and under 25 you are not eligible even if you are in poverty

22. Tax Credits • Aff 2 – Child Care Tax Credit • More topicality concerns than the first • Provides up to 1000 dollars to people in poverty per child, based on income, is not refundable, and not limited to people in poverty – you only get 1000 dollars if you have a 1000 dollars of income tax liability • Affs to make it more effective: recommend making it refundable, up to 1000 per child for childcare

23. Disaster Relief • Natural disasters affect the poor more than the non-poor, especially in recovery efforts • In 1986, Congress prohibited FEMA from means-testing federal relief money – stopped letting poor communities get FEMA money first, instead all must be treated equally • Eliminating means-testing is not topical, but can still help in disaster areas, ex. Federal government should fund health care in New Orleans for disaster victims Why in category 1 then? While it does involve an increase in money, it also is an abolition of a restriction specifying how many be used - Adv: Racism, biopower, etc

24. Medicaid • Two Medicaid Affs Medicaid = A Health Insurance plan that reimburses health care providers for the cost of treating eligible persons • Elderly Aff • Waiting Period Aff

25. Elderly Aff • Under Medicare, people who require long term care under Medicaid are forced to do it in institutional settings – like nursing homes • can’t currently get money in home-based or community-based environments Aff would eliminate this requirement Federal Government Warrant: • Federal signal/social signal about how we treat individuals with disabilities • Federal requirement that states must use Medicaid funding to reimburse these institutions • Advantages: Disability rights, reducing health care costs generally (home-based care is substantially cheaper)

26. Waiting Period Aff • Currently, people with work-related disabilities attempting to qualify for Medicare have to wait 2 years – plan would remove this UNT Plan Text: The United States federal government should eliminate the 24-month waiting period for persons with work related disabilities attempting to qualify for Medicare. Advantages: disease spread, competitiveness

27. Food Stamps • Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program – helps low-income people obtain food, and it also aids victims of disasters by providing emergency food relief • Benefit to reading this aff = politically popular (politics debates) • Advantages: Decrease poverty, nutrition, food • Types of affs: • Lift asset restrictions (currently, families who have more than 2000 dollars in savings are ineligible for food stamps, so it discourages savings) • Reduce bureaucratic obstacles – currently only about 50% of eligible families participate • Expand the scope of benefits - expand amount of money they help families save

28. Needle Exchange Funding • Lift the federal ban on funding needle exchange programs • Advantages: AIDS, human rights credibility, soft power

29. Marriage Incentives • Remove marriage incentives from Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)– it allows states to give cash bonuses to people on welfare who got married. Potential plans: Require states give the same level of TANF funding to unmarried families as married ones? Or end the Healthy Marriage Initiative and revert that money to welfare Adv: Sexual regulation, coercion

30. Category 2 • Affs that increase funding for existing programs • Almost every program does not have enough money – the problem is making sure the federal government is key and that social services are needed * specific or general groups

31. Food Stamps • Notice this is also in category 1, several of the affs overlap… • UNT Plan: The United States federal government should substantially increase benefits for the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program • Program was expanded in February, but amount of money is not enough • Advantages: hunger, state budget collapse, obesity/military readiness

32. Block Grant Spending • Aff: Increases antipoverty spending in block grants – gives them for community developed antipoverty programs • Federal funding of local antipoverty plans boost employment, job training, economic justice FG warrant: States don’t have ability to deal with the size/cost of the program, need a national spotlight, federal leadership

33. Native Americans • Federal government has a unique trust obligation towards Native Americans (Most assume good federal warrant) • Primary justification for providing federal social services rest with the Bureau of Indian Affairs and Health and Human Services • Tons of affs to expand current services to Native Americans: - Increase legal services, increase funding for victims of domestic violence, expand health care funding, expand prenatal services, increase drug and alcohol treatment

34. Veterans • Current medical infrastructure to meet veterans mental health care needs – dealt with by the VA (Veterans Administration) • Georgetown Plan: The United States federal government should expand mental healthcare services for veterans in poverty. • Advantage examples: Patriarchy, mental health, military readiness

35. Homeless • Example of an Aff - Housing First – attempt to end homelessness • provide homeless people with housing quickly and then providing services as needed. • “housing-based,” with an immediate and primary focus on helping individuals and families quickly access and sustain permanent housing. - Adv: Key to decreasing social services in the future (turns net-widening), economy, poverty, etc.

36. Other groups • Military • Prisoners • Refugees

37. Broadband/Digital Divide • Broadband (data transmission via fiber optic cables) is expanding locally, but in low income housings is declining – in poverty means you are less likely to have computers or the Internet • Georgetown Plan: The United States federal government should substantially increase Lifeline and Link Up to Include Broadband - assures universal phone service to include Broadband

38. Head Start • Done by the Department of Health and Human Services – provides education, health care, and social services to eligible – Early Childhood • Advocates say it needs substantially more funding • Advantages: Any advantage connected to boosting education generally, like competitiveness and poverty

39. Legal Services • Can be both Category 1 or Category 2 • Federal Legal Services Corporation was created by the federal government (1974) as a federally-funded, private, nonprofit corporation. It has severe funding problems, preventing many from participating in class action suits, claim court-ordered attorneys’ fee awards, and conducting advocacy before legislatures and administrative bodies • Ex. of category 1 - Georgetown plan: The United States federal government should eliminate restrictions on the use of non-federal funds applicable to the Legal Services Corporation. - Adv – free speech, public-private partnerships • Another example of category 1 – Lift the restriction on attorney’s receiving federal funding from filing and arguing class action lawsuits - Adv – poverty, economy, free speech • Ex. of category 2 – Congressional expansion of funding, and/or mandatory pro bono requirements for lawyers

40. Faith Based Services • Category 1 and/or 2 depending on the plan: Faith based organizations need more money, constitutional concerns with giving money • Samford Plan: The United States federal government should clarify that government funding of faith based social services for topically affected persons is constitutional and fully fund a 15 billion bridge loan package for faith-based social services which provide for topically affected persons. We’ll clarify. • Adv: Poverty and Ethno-Religious Conflicts (strict separation of Church and State bad)

41. Category 3 Affs that change the way that poverty is defined – will either alter the definition of the poverty line or expand the poverty line • While this category of affs have nothing to do with the resolution, but they are the core of the poverty topic • People will run these affs, federal government warrants exist – only the federal government controls Federal Poverty Guidelines and Census Guidelines

42. Change the Census • Aff may change the way people in poverty are counted via the US Census • Claim = number of persons currently below the poverty line is substantially greater than current stats • Aff would increase funding for social workers to count the homeless, immigrants, or go to rural areas (however, doesn’t directly increase social services) • Advantages: Democracy, racism, political representation, etc.

43. How to choose your aff? • Picking an aff is about strategy, not laziness… • Does it meet the federal government and social services tests? • Is it the type of aff you like to run (“Big Stick,” “Small and Squirrely,” or “Critical”)? • Do you have a defense of your impacts/weigh to evaluate the debate (moral obligations, consequences, systemic, quick time-frame, etc)?

44. More aff tips • Constantly update your aff • 1ac: Write and re-write and re-write again • 2ac blocks: the more the better – know them well, update them, write for new arguments, have multiple versions of blocks, don’t number them • 2ac add-ons are your friends • 1ar and 2ar: you can have blocks too… don’t be too dependent • And most importantly….

45. HAVE FUN WINNING!!!!!!!!!!