Hello my name is Milind Singh and I strongly believe that the Federal Government has not failed in rebuilding the Gulf Coast after Hurricane Katrina.

Assertion: People whose homes were destroyed, got money from the government to have their homes rebuilt.

Reasoning: The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) received $16.7 million dollars of Federal funding for their Community Development Block Grants (CDBG) at President Bush's request.

Evidence: HUD has been working with hurricane-impacted states to make hurricane victims' homes stronger or have them relocated. HUD approved the States’ rebuilding plans in record time. The HUD program represents the largest

single housing recovery program in U.S. history.

(http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/150082.pdf)

Assertion: The People who are displaced are being moved into long term solutions.

Reasoning: HUD is working with FEMA to build and lease homes to displaced people.

Evidence: To date over 10,000 HUD homes have been leased to displaced families. The Housing Authority of New Orleans (HANO), which had been under HUD

receivership since 2002, had 7,000 public housing units of which approximately

5,000 were occupied.

(http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/150082.pdf)

In the end of your argument you stated that the prop has won this debate. I'm pretty sure you meant opp. In a real debate, that would cost you points.

Assertion: Cigarettes kill more than 6 million people a year.

Reasoning: Many diseases are caused by cigarettes such as Cancer, heart disease, stroke, atherosclerosis, and peripheral vascular disease.

Evidence: There are more than 100 ingredients in a cigarette. Here are some of the worst- Acetone, Methanol, DDT, Cadmium, and Arsenic.(www.hubpages.com) On tobacco farms, the soil is so badly affected that nothing else can grow in the soil. When cigarettes are produced, they leave behind so much harmful waste. The soil is depleted of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium. My name is Milind Singh and I believe the proposition has won this debate.

Assertion: If cigarettes are banned then there will be a black market and crime happening around them.

Reasoning: A lot of people buy cigarettes. If they are banned people will do anything to get them, such as crime.

Evidence: When alcohol was banned in the 1920's there was a period of time called the "Drug Wars". There was an increase in organized crime and black market selling surrounding the banning of alcohol. The Drug Wars affected the country so badly, the government made alcohol legal again. If we don't want that to happen to cigarettes, they should not be banned. This is Milind Singh and I believe that the opposition has won this debate.

Assertion: Using different materials could lower the cost of making a penny

Reasoning: The LA Times did some research and found that the U.S. Mint could save 59 Million Dollars.

Evidence:

Copper prices fell in 2014 saving the Mint 29 Million Dollars (latimes.com)

Research suggests that if the Mint started using different materials in their coins, taxpayers could save $5 million to $59 million dollars (studentnewsdaily.com)

Since 2012, the price of the penny has been falling down every year(studentnewsdaily.com)

Prop:

Assertion: The government is losing a lot of money on making pennies.

Reasoning: It costs 1.7 cents to create one penny, which is worth 1 cent (washington post)

Evidence:

90.5 Million dollars are being wasted on pennies a year (studentnewsdaily.com)

This is the ninth straight year in which the price of making one penny has been above its face value (latimes.com)

Before 2006 the cost of the penny was pretty low. After 2006, the price of the penny did not stop going up