Young Americans for Liberty had their Second Annual Spring Debate at San Francisco State University on March 1, 2016. Teams of libertarians and progressives did an excellent job pointing out the downsides and the benefits of a managed economy. The truly free market vs. elected socialism.The first set of debaters tackled health care. Progressives rallied behind a single-payer system under which everyone would be insured, overhead necessitated by competition would be eliminated, robust negotiation with drug companies by government would be possible, costs to individuals would decrease because out of pocket expenses would be eliminated. Libertarians argued that cost estimates of a single-payer system are unrealistic because government would need to absorb costs now borne by private employers, government’s track record running Medicare, Medicaid, and the VA would predict equally poor outcomes in a government-run health care system, competition and accountability which are principal means of quality control would disappear, and voluntarism would be further discouraged.
The second set of debaters responded to the question of how the U.S. economy was doing and what policies need to be promoted. Progressives noted that the chance at a good economy was being sabotaged by the 1% elite; therefore, government needs to level the playing field by implementing free education and health care for all funded by a tax on Wall Street, strong regulation of big businesses, and other measures to discourage corporate greed. Libertarians pointed that government intervention now in effect such as federal student loans, the Affordable Care Act, Fannie May/Freddie Mac have done nothing to improve the lot of the disappearing middle class; therefore, the solution to a poor economy would be removal of barriers that discourage innovation, removal of subsidies that encourage dependency, and elimination of all other impediments to a functioning free market.
Thus, the debaters presented two very different visions – some would say two extremes – of what
their ideal U.S. would look like. Good job, debaters and organizers!
For information on Young Americans for Liberty (YAL) at San Francisco State University, visit http://www.yaliberty.org/chapters/san-francisco-state-university