One's right to own property becomes useless when it can...
The United States federal government should provide universal health care to its citizens.
First, parameters. Universal Health care: any system of health care that the federal government pays for for all citizens Other than that, I think we're fine. If you feel other parameters are necessary, let me know. My case: The question that is important in this situation is: "What is the purpose of a government?" The answer to this question is that a government is supposed to protect the rights of the people. The people form governments to escape the so-called state of nature, in which they are completely free, but their rights have no protection. In a state of nature, one would have all the rights in the world, but they would have no protection. One's right to own property becomes useless when it can easily be taken away by a corrupt individual. So, governments are instituted to protect people's basic rights, limiting freedom as necessary so that the government can ensure that the people have basic rights. With this in mind, it becomes very clear that in no way is the federal government obligated to provide universal health care. Universal health care is in no way necessary in order for us to protect rights, and funding it requires raising taxes, and unnecessary restriction on our freedoms. Because of this, I have but one contention. Contention 1: Government health care is not necessary for the protection of rights, and therefore should not be provided. The purpose of universal health care is to help those who cannot afford health insurance pay for health care. People obviously do have the right to live healthily, and the government must ensure that they can exercise this right, sure. But, universal health care goes far beyond this point. There is no need to give the 90% who can afford health insurance the benefits, nor is it necessary to foot the whole health bill for those who can pay for at least some of the costs. Paying for health care in the form of welfare, that is, only giving people what they need is much more appropriate, so, in short, universal health care is the wrong idea.