tejretics

17-year old male in Chennai, State of Tamil Nadu, India.

Online:	3 Weeks Ago	Name:	- Private -
Updated:	3 Weeks Ago	Gender:	Male
Joined:	4 Years Ago	Birthday:	December 19, 2001
President:	Not Saying	Email:	- Private -
Ideology:	Undecided	Education:	High School
Party:	Democratic Party	Ethnicity:	East Indian
Relationship:	Single	Income:	Other
Interested:	No Answer	Occupation:	Student
Looking:	No Answer	Religion:	Atheist

About Me:	I'm a junior in high school. I'm interested in economics, math, and political science.
Activities:	Apart from schoolwork, which takes up most of my time, I read blogs, textbooks, and nonfiction books for fun, and listen to music. I also often watch things on Netflix.
Books:	Poor Economics, Sapiens, Stubborn Attachments, Justice, Animal Liberation, Feminism Is for Everybody, Freakonomics, David and Goliath
Music:	Snow Patrol, Paramore, Radical Face, Ben Howard, Radiohead, Mazzy Star, Civil Twilight, Yanni, Rickie Lee Jones, Pink Floyd, Alanis Morissette, Sufjan Stevens, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Linkin Park, Chvrches, Massive Attack, Ryan Adams, Jeff Buckley, The Black Ryder, The Rolling Stones

147 Debates

"Women" couldn't recognize EQUALITY if it slapped them in the face

In the next few rounds, I will put forward several SCENARIOS OF EQUALITY that "women" don't normally recognize or appreciate. Your task will be to unmask the inequality within them or demonstrate their irrelevance. I used quotation marks for "women" in the title because I don't mean women. I refer to the few women (and fewer men) who make sweeping claims about "obvious and significant inequalities" between men and women--even when referring to present day USA. If you are one of these people,...

Post Voting Period

4 Comments

Updated 5 Months Ago

Does God exist?

No kritiks. "God" is defined as "a sentient, conscious entity that created the universe," or an "omnipotent, transcendent being." If I affirm either one of those definitions, I win; Con needs to negate both of those definitions. First round is for acceptance. BOP is shared....

Debating Period

9 Comments

Updated 1 Year Ago

In 2019 government should be of BJP

I think for the development of country like India we need a government that can take bold decisions. This is not a time when a government would survive only by protecting its vote bank or to win sympathy of a particular section. A leader should invest fund in the growth of country rather than his own future. Infrastructure of country should be developed so that we can stand proudly in front of world....

Debating Period

1 Comments

Updated 1 Year Ago

Abortion should be legal

Pro has to defend abortion being legal for some period of time during pregnancy. Con has to defend bans on all abortion except in cases where abortion is required to save the parent's life and in cases of sexual assault. First round is for acceptance. No new arguments in the final round....

Debating Period

3 Comments

Updated 1 Year Ago

The US should abolish affirmative action

Hayd must start in Round 1, and waive the final round. All rounds up until Hayd's Round 2 and my Round 3 should be copy/pasted from here (http://www.debate.org/debates/The-US-should-abolish-affirmative-action/1/)....

Post Voting Period

10 Comments

Updated 1 Year Ago

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Debate Statistics
Debates:	137
Lost:	6
Tied:	9
Won:	122
Win Ratio:	95.31%
Percentile:	99.94%
Elo Ranking:	6,660
Statistics based on completed debates.

Activity Statistics
Forum Posts:	6865
Votes Cast:	739
Opinion Arguments:	9
Opinion Questions:	2
Poll Votes:	97
Poll Topics:	4

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The BIG Issues
This list identifies where tejretics stands on popular issues. The choices are limited to the following:

N/O - No Opinion
N/S - Not Saying
Und - Undecided
Con - Against
Pro - In Favor

If you are logged in, you will also see green or red bullets next to each issue, which indicate whether you agree or disagree with tejretics on that particular issue.

You can also click each issue to find other members that agree with tejretics' position on the issue.

Disagree: 0.00%

Agree: 0.00%
•	Abortion	ProComments Pro-choice for the first 24 weeks, uncertain after. In cases of sexual assault, I'm fine with late-term abortion as well (see Thomson's violinist analogy). The fact that we're uncertain about which moral theory is correct makes the ethics of abortion a difficult issue, but abortion bans lead to harmful effects (e.g., back-alley abortions).
•	Affirmative Action	ProComments Depends on the context. Mainly, we need to weigh the benefits of affirmative action (e.g., offsetting discrimination, creating positive externalities such as role models and reduced stereotypes) against the backlash against it resulting in less support for other, potentially more effective policies to combat discrimination.
•	Animal Rights	ProComments I'm not compelled that there are significant moral differences between "marginal case" humans (i.e., infants and the severely mentally enfeebled) and nonhuman animals. Under moral uncertainty, the kinds of harms we inflict upon animals daily seem unacceptable, and there is much scope for caring more about animal welfare.
•	Barack Obama	UndComments Don't have enough knowledge about macroeconomics, social policy, or foreign policy to comment.
•	Border Fence	UndComments In terms of immigration policy, I err on the side of wanting to take in more migrants, though I'm worried about political backlash effects. As far as the specific issue of a border fence goes, I'm not sufficiently well-informed.
•	Capitalism	ProComments Would have to look more closely at the data, but the trend in countries that have liberalized economically (e.g., India, China) has been increased economic growth and lower poverty. Furthermore, the consensus among economists seems to be in favor of capitalist societies.
•	Civil Unions	N/SComments Ideally, I support complete marriage equality. But civil unions for same-gender couples are better than nothing.
•	Death Penalty	ConComments Whether capital punishment is a good idea, in my view, is largely a function of (1) whether it has a deterrent effect and (2) what the scale of that deterrent effect is. While much of the economics literature seems to suggest that (1) is true, a majority of criminologists disagree, and the research has been widely criticized, so that issue is unresolved. I would err on the side of opposing it, due to moral considerations.
•	Drug Legalization	UndComments Depends on which drug, I suppose, and even there, I'm unsure (I think there's a sufficiently strong case both against legalizing soft drugs and in favor of legalizing all drugs, i.e., the two extremes). I wouldn't put people who used drugs in prison, though.
•	Electoral College	UndComments In practice, seems undemocratic. In theory, democracy is imperfect at protecting minorities -- it places equal weights on all interests without considering for disparities in current situation -- so it's possible that some form of Electoral College could work. Uncertain.
•	Environmental Protection	ProComments Unsure what exactly to do when there's a trade-off between environmental protection and long-run economic growth -- it differs based on context -- but in general, some form of environmental protection is necessary.
•	Estate Tax	UndComments Insufficient knowledge.
•	European Union	UndComments In theory, seems like the Eurozone would be a bad idea, but am not sufficiently informed about the euro and about monetary policy in general. The rest of the European Union, however, seems fairly good, and abolishing it may hurt economic growth (e.g., Brexit alone seems likely to cause major economic harm). Overall, I'd have to think about it more.
•	Euthanasia	ProComments Difficult issue, but this compelled me, in cases of people who are terminally ill: https://slatestarcodex.com/2013/07/17/who-by-very-slow-decay/ Assisted suicide, and euthanasia for people who're not terminally ill more generally, on the other hand, is an even harder issue that I am undecided about.
•	Federal Reserve	ProComments I don't really think this is debatable from most moral perspectives -- the degree of independence of central banks correlates with higher economic growth, lower unemployment, and lower (and more stable) inflation. Not sure what the ethical libertarian argument is on this, would have to think about it.
•	Flat Tax	ConComments A majority of economists oppose a flat tax rate. I don't have the knowledge -- though it seems like progressive taxes are better at getting revenue and reducing inequality -- but I'm going to go with the majority of the economics profession here.
•	Free Trade	ProComments Same as above, except in this case, there is an almost overwhelming consensus among economists that free trade, on balance, does more good than harm. In the context of developed countries, then, it seems like there's a strong case in favor of it. In developing countries, I'm less certain, in light of Dani Rodrik's "premature deindustrialization" argument.
•	Gay Marriage	ProComments Bans on gay marriage are unjust and worsen prejudice against LGBT people.
•	Global Warming Exists	ProComments Seems that the consensus is that global warming (a) exists, (b) is primarily human-caused, (c) poses a significant (but not existential) threat, and (d) is tractable, though I'm uncertain about the nature of the trade-offs involved. Might be one of our time's most important policy issues. Some skeptics -- such as Nir Shaviv -- have compelling arguments against (c), but I think being risk-averse is a good idea.
•	Globalization	ProComments Haven't read research about its social, cultural, and environmental effects. Judging by personal experience and intuition, it seems like the intermingling of cultures and greater diversity are good things. Its economic effects seem straightforwardly positive, based on the consensus in the economics profession, with the possible exception of development aid (which is still an important debate among economists).
•	Gold Standard	ConComments Almost every economist opposes it, for good reason. In this survey of leading economists, there was unanimous opposition (http://www.igmchicago.org/surveys/gold-standard). DDO user 16kadams does a good job explaining why here (https://www.debate.org/debates/The-United-States-Should-Return-to-the-Gold-Standard/1/).
•	Gun Rights	UndComments Depends on a variety of uncertain factors, such as its effect on homicide rates, its effect on other gun-related crimes, its effect on accidents and suicides, the extent of gun culture in society and the potential backlash from gun control, and so on.
•	Homeschooling	UndComments On the one hand, I'm hesitant to violate parental rights. On the other hand, I'm not into the idea of parents teaching kids that creationism is the only truth. Maybe there's some middle ground. Also depends on the culture in question and how good the school system is.
•	Internet Censorship	ConComments In general, I'm against China-style censorship and similar violations of free speech. There are some exceptions, tied to what kinds of speech is allowed in a society; for example, the state should block child pornography and websites that engage in illegal trafficking of drugs/guns.
•	Iran-Iraq War	N/OComments I'm not sure how this is a "Big Issue." It was a historical event.
•	Labor Union	UndComments I'm not knowledgeable enough about what unions have done for workers' rights and how they impact the economy.
•	Legalized Prostitution	UndComments There's four common models -- legalization (i.e., the Dutch model), in which prostitution is legal but regulated and only allowed in particular areas such as red-light districts, with specific licenses for brothels to operate; decriminalization (i.e., the model in New Zealand), in which prostitution is legal and regulated, and treated like any other business; the Swedish model, in which johns and pimps are prosecuted but not sex workers; and the criminalization model, in which everyone involved is prosecuted. I oppose the latter, but am torn on the remaining three, because we need to balance considerations of autonomy, economic opportunity, and human trafficking. My intuition points toward decriminalization, however.
•	Medicaid & Medicare	ProComments Seems to have worked fairly well.
•	Medical Marijuana	UndComments Don't have sufficient knowledge on medicine or marijuana.
•	Military Intervention	UndComments Probably depends heavily on context, but in general, I'm not knowledgeable enough on foreign policy issues and the literature on the effectiveness of various kinds of intervention is very divided.
•	Minimum Wage	UndComments Economists are very divided and the literature is mixed on the effects on unemployment, which has to be traded off in this case against poverty reduction for people who retain their jobs.
•	National Health Care	UndComments Depends on the country; it works in many parts of Western Europe, for example. In most developing countries, it seems like too much of a cost. Haven't done enough reading, so unsure, in general.
•	National Retail Sales Tax	UndComments Depends on what the alternative is. But even if I knew the alternative, I wouldn't be able to say, since I'm not sufficiently knowledgeable (as with many other issues). Seems like a good idea in India.
•	Occupy Movement	ConComments Meh. They generally seemed insufficiently knowledgeable about economics and public policy (consider the weird Ec 10 protests at Harvard in 2011). Not too much epistemic modesty either.
•	Progressive Tax	ProComments Some form of progressive tax seems like the right option, whether that's a progressive income tax or an X-tax on consumption. Just going with the opinion of most economists.
•	Racial Profiling	UndComments Would have to look at the data on whether it's effective, which I haven't done. Instinctively, seems like it would have the negative effect of worsening stereotypes among both law enforcement officials and ordinary people, and could worsen mass incarceration. Those concerns need to be quantified and balanced against effects (if any) on crime.
•	Redistribution	ProComments To some degree, because income and wealth both have diminishing marginal utility.
•	Smoking Ban	UndComments Need to balance health harms to the individual, effects on economic productivity, and the effects of secondhand smoke against the harms of a potential black market and personal autonomy. Haven't done enough reading.
•	Social Programs	ProComments Reducing poverty and giving people access to essential services seem like good goals that these programs often effectively accomplish, and I'm not sure I buy the philosophical libertarian argument against redistribution.
•	Social Security	UndComments Insufficient knowledge. I'm also unclear what most economists think.
•	Socialism	ConComments There's two forms of socialism -- central planning and libertarian socialism. Central planning fails because states lack information about what goods and services are most wanted by people and what prices they're willing to pay for them (markets naturally accomplish this goal), because it often leads to authoritarianism, and because it diminishes technological progress and innovation. Libertarian socialism seems unworkable and wouldn't create incentives for new and better ideas either.
•	Stimulus Spending	UndComments In Econ 101 theory, depending on what the marginal propensity to consume is, it would have a multiplier effect that offsets a demand shock. However, there are many considerations: (1) Its effects vary depending on what interest rates are right now and will be as a result of deficit spending. (2) Central banks have the capacity to offset fiscal policy through open market operations in some situations. (3) It could have unpredictable effects on confidence. I'm simply not knowledgeable enough.
•	Term Limits	UndComments Depending on context, they could help or hurt democracy.
•	Torture	UndComments Haven't seen enough research on its effectiveness, and don't know how to balance that against increased backlash (if any) and moral issues. My instinct is that torturing innocents -- as will inevitably happen since most people are tortured before trial -- is sufficiently immoral to outweigh most benefits.
•	United Nations	ProComments Don't have enough knowledge, but it does some good work via UN peacekeeping operations (which are highly effective), organizations like UNICEF and the World Health Organization, and in terms of bettering relationships between countries.
•	War in Afghanistan	UndComments As mentioned under the issue "military intervention," I simply don't know enough about foreign policy or history.
•	War on Terror	UndComments Same as above.
•	Welfare	ProComments Same answer as "social programs" and "redistribution." I'm not sure how the welfare system should be structured, but most economists support a negative income tax, so I'll default to supporting that.