Boys State 11

Debate Committee

Commissioner of Insurance
As it has been shown natural disasters are a rude reminder to rural farmers, that they have nothing to fall back on. How will it be ensured that rural farmers can sustain and possibly increase revenue before and after a possible disaster? Compared to oil and gas counties, farming counties have a much harder time generating and stabilizing revenue. Couple that with the current budget decit. How can you, as commissioner of Insurance, ensure that farmers will still get their benets? When Reading, Kansas was hit by a tornado earlier this year, it showed how quickly a home and life can be lost. As Commissioner of Insurance, how do you plan to extend all benets so that it better covers the expenses that families have to deal with after a natural disaster? With the economy the way it is taxes are taking the livelihood of the average working man. Because of the many cannot aord the cheapest insurance. How do you plan to make all insurances more aordable for the lower class while still maintaining the same level of coverage for all classes? As Kansas is in the center of Tornado Alley, disaster can strike at any time. Fraudulent claims waste valuable resources that could save lives. How do you plan to allocate money to aected towns and citizens and deal with fraud at the same time?

Boys State 11

Debate Committee

Secretary of State
Minorities are shown to make lower wages than the majority, which can lead to life of poverty that continues through generations. Though this does erode the belief in free market economy, what would you do to increase the wages of minorities to similar rates to the majorities? One of your platform initiatives is to give farm subsidies. Realizing that not all of you farms are in need of subsidies, such as commercial farms, what are you qualications and regulations for distributing farm subsidies? As the decit continues to climb, the job market remains unstable especially for minorities. What would your tax system due to lower the decit and stimulate job growth for minorities? As Secretary of State you will have the power to control state purchases and the set wages of non-elected state employees. What would you do to balance the budget and keep state workers employed without reducing their wages and sinking them into poverty? One of your key issues is eliminating the decit. Specically towards education, the proposed budget has more than doubled from the previous year. What vital state programs will you need to cut in order to keep adequate funds for education? Tourism in Kansas is one of the main sources of income, a contributing factor to tourism in Kansas is hunting and shing, how as sectary of state will you make Kansas an even more attractive option for eco tourists?

Boys State 11

Debate Committee

State Treasurer
Big industry is the largest provider of jobs in our state. Your partys proposed income taxes will force the business class to lay o employees to maintain current prot levels. Why does your party support such egregious proposals that eradicate a large number of jobs? Your party states it is for business but you proposed income taxes will discourage venture capitalist from hiring new employees, investing, and entrepreneurship. What justication can you provide for these incredibly detrimental tax hikes? Poverty and unemployment are prevalent issues in many cities and counties. How are you going to combat continuing poverty while oering tax breaks to big businesses, keeping the money out of the peoples hands? Local government is the rst line of defense and the educators of our children, yet your tax decreases force cities and counties to do more with less. What programs would you axe to ensure that cities and counties can still function properly? A lack of infrastructure and transportation development is causing industry, tourism, and city growth to crumble and fail. How do you rationalize tax breaks and scal incentives to big businesses while decreasing the infrastructure budget that cities and counties depend on? Between the tax credits for the corporations, the industrial sector the promise of universal health care, disaster relief, and you increased education budget, you administration will only worsen our states debt. What is you plan for decreasing the decit while covering these increased costs?

Boys State 11

Debate Committee

Attorney General
Many cities and counties are developing police stations and correctional facilities. How are you going to eectively utilize these facilities to reduce rising crime rates in our states? With over-crowding in Kansas prisons and the building of more prisons and the building of more prisons being extremely expensive, what changes would you make to already existing sentencing guide lines, such as drug-related or non-violent crimes to decrease the amount of lesser criminals in prisons? Statistics show the crime rates are higher in youth of lower socioeconomic status. As the Attorney General candidate, how do you plan to end this perpetual cycle? Currently in the Kansas legislature there is a concealed and carry bill that is trying to be pushed into law. If this passes, those with conceal and carry license will have the right to carry a concealed weapon. As Attorney General, how will you ensure the safety of your citizens while protection the right to bear arms? KSHAA mandates drug-testing for athletics that attempt to gain an unfair advantage using performance enhancers over their competitors. Both recreational drugs and similar enhancers are utilized in sports such as debate and scholars bowl. In order to reduce drug use in children, would you support expanding the KSHAA mandates to all sports?

Boys State 11

Debate Committee

Lieutenant Governor
With the decit being perpuated by the inecient and over-extended state programs in the high-valued laissez-faire market of America, how do you plan to resolve the various state programs that are running Kansas deeper into decit while remaining true to the ideals of a free market? As the cities and counties nd functioning smoothly and eectively increasingly dicult on their limiting budgets. How will you change regulations on oil, gas, and agricultural organizations as well as provide nancial help to small businesses and still benet the counties of Boys State? The Nationalist platform states that for oil and gas industries to lease new lands for prospecting and drilling they must opt into a carbon tax, how do you justify putting a tax on the lands that are necessary to the production of oil and gas when the cost for oil companies to develop those lands is already astronomical? With the Federalists supporting a strong policy of trickle-down economics and the Nationalists supporting a progressive tax policy, how will your partys plan bolster the ailing private sector while balancing the budget? Education is internationally believed to be the key to future success and societal longevity. Your party platform suggests a bolstered quality in education. What are some specic areas or programs you plan on focusing to support future quality education?

Boys State 11

Debate Committee

Governor
Taxes are a vital source of revenue, but can easily be taken out of hand, damage the economy, and ruin lives especially in our rural communities. Describe your tax plan on farmers and small businesses and the eects on both. In recent decades, trickle-down economics has shown that the wealthy have chosen not to reinvest their savings toward economic prosperity. How can you justify your support for such a historically invalid policy? The star of Kansas has one of the nations best highway systems, you parties platform states nothing on the maintenance of building of the highway system. As governor how could you ignore the state treasure? As unemployment remains as a problem in the state and people remain on welfare, how would you encourage big businesses such as oil and industry to hire those in our communities who need it most? As higher wages would correlate to increased tax revenue how would you provide education and infrastructure that would bring in companies that have higher paying new jobs? As energy moves closer and closer to alternative energies and farther from oil and gas sole dependency, how would you keep fossil fuels organizations in the picture of the energy market while also protecting the economy of said businesses while introducing alternative energies? Higher taxation and regulation would slow industry and oil/gas production, which dealing when the budget how would you adjust these taxes when pertaining to either the industry or oil and gas organizations? Education is vitally important to all parts of the economy. We have already seen action from some candidates promoting education through funding and construction. Do you plan to aid our education system either through new facilities or new programs?

Boys State 11

Debate Committee

Your party platform wants to increase some welfare programs to include all social classes. With unemployment sky rocketing in a handful of counties many are in dire need of support. How can you possibly believe our current welfare infrastructure is up to the task of getting them back on their feet while burdening them with upper class recipients? Within your partys platform, you provide far-fetched tax subsidies and socialized medicine alongside rampant increases in program funding. With this unbelievably comprehensive plan that does not increase taxes, what vital programs will you decide to cut? Universal healthcare has repeatedly faced national opposition, particulary in Kansas and neighboring states. Considering that Kansas prides itself on democratic representation, why are you blatantly turning a blind eye to your constituency and popular opinion? Rather than providing incentives for industry, you propose more nes for safety violations that reduce worker retention and ultimately drive business away. How can you believe an increase in penalties yields a prosperous industry that continues to thrive in the state of Kansas?