High taxes are necessary for an effective state.

Taxes are the basis of a basic give and take between the state and its people. The people provide the state with money and the state in return gives them security. Originally this only meant security against enemies but since from the 19th century security has also meant security against disease,...

Experience is the key success for entrepreneurship.

Is half a billionaire’s fortune enough?

A billion dollars is a vast amount of money, many times more than is needed to live even a very luxurious lifestyle. Yet many of those who have it do not seem to inclined to give it away to those who are in much more need. Bill Gates and Warren Buffet have kicked off a philanthropy campaign which...

Should India give Kashmir up?

Agreed that this suggestion is unlikely if not impossible to ever occur. However, given that there are only two factions in Kashmir; a larger one that calls for an independent Kashmir and a smaller group that wants to join up with Pakistan. And neither wants to be a part of India. Evidence of t...

Oil Companies Should Not Be Allowed To Drill Offshore

With the recent oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, there has been outrage at BP's lack of planning which led to this environmental disaster. However, only some of the blame can lie with BP - similar disasters litter the history of offshore drilling (such as the Ixtoc 1 spill in the Gulf of Mexico 3...

Are London Underground staff justified in their strike action?

London Underground staff are going on strike on Monday 6th September 2010. They state it is because they do not agree with the regulation of safety measures for both passengers and staff. But is this really a case of greedy workers trying to get more money for a job that is already adequately pai...

Pensions should be privatised

With pension time bombs sprouting across liberal democracies and more and more pensioners being brought below the poverty line this house would privatize pensions. This proposition supports a gradual phasing out of government pensions to be accompanied with a regulatory framework to ensure fair c...

Can government lending targets for banks work?

Banks are making big profits once again and the pressure is increasing to force them to lend more so that the rest of the economy can bounce back too. However it seems that while profits are going up lending is not. Many businesses need money lent to them if they are to be able to invest in order...

High taxes are necessary for an effective state.

Taxes are the basis of a basic give and take between the state and its people. The people provide the state with money and the state in return gives them security. Originally this only meant security against enemies but since from the 19th century security has also meant security against disease,...

Experience is the key success for entrepreneurship.

Leaders of countries that use extra-territorial rendition should be tried for war crimes

We the proposition define the motion(LEADERS OF COUNTRIES THAT USE EXTRA-TERRITORIAL RENDITION SHOULD BE TRIED FOR WAR CRIMES) as:'Leaders are responsible for the practice,execution and admission/permission of extra-territorial detention.They are wary of the covenants that they or their predecess...

Oil Companies Should Not Be Allowed To Drill Offshore

With the recent oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, there has been outrage at BP's lack of planning which led to this environmental disaster. However, only some of the blame can lie with BP - similar disasters litter the history of offshore drilling (such as the Ixtoc 1 spill in the Gulf of Mexico 3...

Interest rates on personal lending should be capped by law at 20%

Team South Africa is over the moon to be proposing this most orgasmic of debate motions ;) The context is clear: the world is barely emerging from a banking crisis that caused near-irreparable damage in countless local economies, and the international banking system more generally. The causes,...

Are Muslims able to Integrate with British Society

Islam, 'like' many other Religions, promotes active discrimination between Believers & Non-Believers as a part of its core doctrine. Unlike the Bible it has never been Reformed. Quranic Quote Surah 3:28 States "Do not take un-believers as friends...". Such divisions in Brit...

Will the Digital Economy Bill Undermine our Basic Rights?

The Digital Economy Bill is about to be passed in the UK Parliament with almost no proper debate by MPs. This bill will allow a whole host of legal actions, including disconnection, to be taken against home and business internet users purely on the basis of an accusation. Should this bill, which ...

BIRT (be it resolved that) honesty does more harm than good.

Should we lie to people so as to not hurt them.

Is it fair to describe the current crop of England players as our 'Golden Generation?

The England football team often offer so much promise but rarely deliver. They scrape through the group stages of tournaments only to go out in the Quarters. This current generation has been described as the ‘golden generation’ and expected to perform as such, so have been a disappointment so far...

EU subsidies on agricultural production should be focused on small scale, non-intensive methods

It is estimated that 80% of the CAP goes to the largest and richest farmers. After the Agenda 2000 Reform, direct payments to farmers were made based on what they had received in previous years. This means that the CAP is in a vicious cycle of paying out to large farmers and giving a pittance to ...

University education needs to be capped and more selective

With thousands more students graduating from university every year, Britain has more graduates than ever before, and it is becoming harder for potential employers to distinguish candidates by education alone, meaning a degree has less and less value in the workplace.

Should Germany slash university fees again?

There was no tuition fee for German universities until a few years ago.Now the limit is 1300 u.s.d a year; which to Brits and Americans is meager.But to German students free education even at that level is an integral part of what makes Germany great. Education is a fundamental human right. One ...