THE BOTTLE We affirm the resolution: Resolved: The United States should replace means-tested welfare programs with a universal basic income. We’d like to begin with a couple of definitions. - Means-tested welfare - “The means-tested welfare system consists of 79 federal programs providing ... aid to poor and low-income Americans. Means-tested welfare programs differ from general government programs in two ways. First, they provide aid exclusively to persons (or communities) with low incomes; second, individuals do not need to earn eligibility for benefits through prior fiscal contributions. Means-tested welfare therefore does not include Social Security, Medicare, Unemployment Insurance, or worker’s compensation.” - Heritage Foundation. The goal of means-tested welfare is to reduce income inequality. - Universal basic income (or UBI) - Although the International Monetary Fund recognizes that universal basic income doesn’t have a pure definition today, the most common one seen is that “Universal basic income refers to regular cash payments made to a given population ... with minimal or no requirements for receiving the money, in order to increase people’s income”. That is the definition we will be using today. We argue that the framework for this debate should be solely based on milk, for a few key reasons. 1. Education/Nukes Milk is very important in education. Dam et. Al ’19 says that US students are falling behind our Asian and European peers. A meta-analysis of 4 studies by CoolMilk found that Milk has a beneficial effect on the cognitive ability of students in school. This is significant as another meta-analysis by Alleman ’15 found that cognitive ability is linked to improved education, and Kenausis ’18 found that Education is linked with a reduction in the chance of global nuclear warfare. 2. Obesity Milk reduces BMI and obesity rates. The CDC in June of 2019 reports that 13.7 million kids in the US are within the scope of obesity. Once again, the helpful meta-analysis of 4 studies by CoolMilk found that milk has a positive effect on body mass composition and BMI in children. Without more milk, more children will become obese, along with the CDC notifying us that obesity causes higher rates of cancer, higher blood pressure, increased diabetes risks, and so much more. 3. Osteoporosis A report by Harvard states that “Adequate, lifelong dietary calcium intake is necessary to reduce the risk of osteoporosis” and that milk is a good source of Calcium. Osteoporosis can cause premature death due to fractures which ACR ’15 gladly informs us about. Osteoporosis is dangerous and costs the US $25 billion dollars yearly in direct costs, not counting all of the lost productivity, according to the surgeon general ‘02. With that, we will move on to our main contention, milk. - Without a doubt, an increase in income leads to increased milk purchasing. - Lucas ‘19 demonstrates how milk prices have skyrocketed in the last few years. “In 2019, milk prices [rose] 16%” - Dong and Stewart ‘13 tell us how A 10-percent increase in household income: • Raises the probability of purchasing organic milk from 3 to 3.7 percent; and Raises the probability of buying low-fat milk ... from 47 to 48.6 percent; - “However, “most” Americans aged 4 and over consume less than the recommended quantity of dairy products. Fat-free and low-fat fluid milk provide necessary nutrients, such as calcium, with fewer calories than higher fat dairy products. Thus, the type of milk a household buys plays a role in its members’ health” - This is a public health issue, and to give people a UBI can immediately lead to increased milk consumption, as well as milk consumption of a more healthy variety. - Additionally, Osteoporosis affects 54 million Americans , according to the International Osteoporosis Foundation ‘11, and LITERALLY KILLS PEOPLE. Up to 45% of people with hip fractures die within the next 6 months. Misra ‘18 informs us that More U.S. women die each year from complications of hip fracture than from breast cancer. By Affirming this resolution, you give people an income. An income which they will inevitably use for milk. You can save more than 42 thousand lives at a minimum through reducing Osteoperosis, reduce the possibility of nuclear war, reduce obesity, and make sure that every family has strong and healthy bones. Thus we affirm. Thank you.