# Great Debates **URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/c/great-debates/13.md?page=230 [Latest](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md) · [Categories](https://boards.straightdope.com/categories.md) · [Tags](https://boards.straightdope.com/tags.md) **Page:** 231 --- ## [What are the negative repercussions of offering workers too much money](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-negative-repercussions-of-offering-workers-too-much-money/689343)
**Author:** [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Replies:** 10\ **Last updated:** [June 3, 2014, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-negative-repercussions-of-offering-workers-too-much-money/689343 "2014-06-03T22:41:22Z")
I don’t know if this is a question or a debate. Assume that an international labor movement and the majority of the world’s governments get together and create an international minimum wage of $9/hr for companies that ar… --- ## [Partitioning Ukraine ?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/partitioning-ukraine/682758)
**Author:** [@Lantern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lantern)\ **Replies:** 109\ **Last updated:** [June 3, 2014, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/partitioning-ukraine/682758 "2014-06-03T21:41:03Z")
How about this as a long-term solution to the current crisis? A certain number of East Ukrainian provinces and Crimea get to vote on a referendum on whether they want to join Russia. The referendum is overseen by inte… --- ## [Do people have a right to be "safe"?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-people-have-a-right-to-be-safe/689922)
**Author:** [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Replies:** 10\ **Last updated:** [June 3, 2014, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-people-have-a-right-to-be-safe/689922 "2014-06-03T19:02:56Z")
Certainly people like being safe, and where possible take steps to make themselves safe. But especially in situations regarding the actions of other people, at what point does the quest to be safe become tyrannical? Aft… --- ## [Is the US President really the top man in charge?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-us-president-really-the-top-man-in-charge/689547)
**Author:** [@Urbanredneck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Urbanredneck)\ **Replies:** 28\ **Last updated:** [June 3, 2014, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-us-president-really-the-top-man-in-charge/689547 "2014-06-03T15:45:30Z")
Quite frankly, I’ve always had the feeling that the president, while having great influence, really isn’t the person in charge and in truth, there are powerful groups who work behind the scenes who really pull all the st… --- ## [Rank Hypocrisy over Guantanamo](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rank-hypocrisy-over-guantanamo/689754)
**Author:** [@Pjen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pjen)\ **Replies:** 111\ **Last updated:** [June 3, 2014, 8:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rank-hypocrisy-over-guantanamo/689754 "2014-06-03T08:01:20Z")
A few hours after the release of American’s only prisoner of war, who had been held in captivity for five years, his parents joined President Obama at the White House. The President had telephoned Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl… --- ## [The American constitution is ineffective](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-american-constitution-is-ineffective/689463)
**Author:** [@blindboyard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blindboyard)\ **Replies:** 97\ **Last updated:** [June 3, 2014, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-american-constitution-is-ineffective/689463 "2014-06-03T01:01:40Z")
Or as effective as a wall made of paper can be against tyranny. “Written laws are like spiders’ webs, and will like them only entangle and hold the poor and weak, while the rich and powerful will easily break through th… --- ## [Recent spate of court rulings overturning gay marriage bans](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recent-spate-of-court-rulings-overturning-gay-marriage-bans/688859)
**Author:** [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Replies:** 29\ **Last updated:** [June 2, 2014, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recent-spate-of-court-rulings-overturning-gay-marriage-bans/688859 "2014-06-02T21:08:06Z")
Seems like within the past few weeks, there have a been a number of court rulings to effectively legalize gay marriage in numerous states: Arkansas, Oregon, Utah, Pennsylvania. And it appears that Maine, Ohio, and Wisco… --- ## [Should Lavabit and Groklaw have shut down because of the NSA?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-lavabit-and-groklaw-have-shut-down-because-of-the-nsa/666767)
**Author:** [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Replies:** 49\ **Last updated:** [June 2, 2014, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-lavabit-and-groklaw-have-shut-down-because-of-the-nsa/666767 "2014-06-02T15:16:16Z")
This editorial argues no, using (among other things) the “letting the terrorists win” style argument, wondering who else is going to fight the fight the operators want to have fought if not them, and saying that (in Grok… --- ## [The Haymarket Affair and Communism.](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-haymarket-affair-and-communism/688876)
**Author:** [@Jim\_B](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_B)\ **Replies:** 11\ **Last updated:** [June 1, 2014, 10:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-haymarket-affair-and-communism/688876 "2014-06-01T10:32:28Z")
You’ll have to bear with me for a moment here. It has been a while since I took a high school history course. But I remember when we did, we briefly touched on the Haymarket Affair. The Haymarket Affair happened May 4, … --- ## [So, let's talk about that whole Veterans Health Administration thing](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-lets-talk-about-that-whole-veterans-health-administration-thing/689115)
**Author:** [@ITR\_champion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ITR_champion)\ **Replies:** 87\ **Last updated:** [June 1, 2014, 7:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-lets-talk-about-that-whole-veterans-health-administration-thing/689115 "2014-06-01T07:44:56Z")
A few years ago, Paul Krugman wrote this: I know about a health care system that has been highly successful in containing costs, yet provides excellent care. And the story of this system’s success provides a helpful cor… --- ## [Japan to engage China under the guise of 'big brother'?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/japan-to-engage-china-under-the-guise-of-big-brother/688730)
**Author:** [@iLemming](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iLemming)\ **Replies:** 38\ **Last updated:** [June 1, 2014, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/japan-to-engage-china-under-the-guise-of-big-brother/688730 "2014-06-01T03:30:25Z")
It sure reads that way: CNN.com Seems the Japanese are absolutely itching to put China back in their place and plan to use the ‘big brother’ foil as a means by which to accomplish this. China have been bullying all a… --- ## [One should cultivate the Ego over the Id.](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-should-cultivate-the-ego-over-the-id/689579)
**Author:** [@blindboyard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blindboyard)\ **Replies:** 31\ **Last updated:** [May 31, 2014, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-should-cultivate-the-ego-over-the-id/689579 "2014-05-31T20:28:17Z")
To be human is to be a rational, thinking being. It should therefore be a primary aim of any human to cultivate the mind. Obtaining new skills. Training the memory. Pursuing mental control of the body through strenuous … --- ## [Replacing heavy machinery with robots](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/replacing-heavy-machinery-with-robots/688199)
**Author:** [@Try2B\_Comprehensive](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Try2B_Comprehensive)\ **Replies:** 37\ **Last updated:** [May 31, 2014, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/replacing-heavy-machinery-with-robots/688199 "2014-05-31T17:12:52Z")
Some people worry about the world’s dependence on fossil fuels and the future of oil prices/production rates. Suggest that alternatives like solar and wind power, battery backup, electric cars and so on ought to be able … --- ## [NYC "police blindfold bill"](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyc-police-blindfold-bill/689385)
**Author:** [@Donald\_Rump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Donald_Rump)\ **Replies:** 20\ **Last updated:** [May 31, 2014, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyc-police-blindfold-bill/689385 "2014-05-31T13:44:34Z")
This topic has been out of the news for a year, but a Memorial Day controversy at Casa de Rump leads me to see if anyone at the SDMB cares to take a swipe. In June 2013, the NYC council passed a couple of measures gover… --- ## [Trigger Warnings on College Syllabi](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trigger-warnings-on-college-syllabi/689295)
**Author:** [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Replies:** 122\ **Last updated:** [May 31, 2014, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trigger-warnings-on-college-syllabi/689295 "2014-05-31T01:56:51Z")
Trigger warnings are warnings often used when an Internet post contains references to something that could cause a negative reaction (such as rape, self-harm, eating disorders). They’re common on a lot of blogs/sites, bu… --- ## [Does an increase in the capital gains tax = stifling investment?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-an-increase-in-the-capital-gains-tax-stifling-investment/689391)
**Author:** [@sweeteviljesus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sweeteviljesus)\ **Replies:** 23\ **Last updated:** [May 30, 2014, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-an-increase-in-the-capital-gains-tax-stifling-investment/689391 "2014-05-30T19:35:39Z")
While I believe it’s true that heavy taxes on a specific behavior have a chilling effect on that behavior, I don’t think it follows that the effect is linear. If we were to increase the long- and short-term capital gain… --- ## [Why did the US War for Independence not degenerate into a series of purges?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-the-us-war-for-independence-not-degenerate-into-a-series-of-purges/689441)
**Author:** [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Replies:** 20\ **Last updated:** [May 30, 2014, 6:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-the-us-war-for-independence-not-degenerate-into-a-series-of-purges/689441 "2014-05-30T06:06:19Z")
Since this went beyond both the thread topic and the bounds of General Questions, I spun it off into its own GD thread. Can I make a joke about it just taking longer and point to Joe McCarthy, or is that too unfair? N… --- ## [Are angels and devils gods?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-angels-and-devils-gods/689494)
**Author:** [@steronz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/steronz)\ **Replies:** 18\ **Last updated:** [May 30, 2014, 5:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-angels-and-devils-gods/689494 "2014-05-30T05:26:56Z")
I grew up Catholic, and my vague understanding of the Trinity is that was conjured up to make Catholicism well and truly monotheistic. If you pray to God and you pray to Jesus, that certainly sounds like polytheism unti… --- ## [Power of attorney for......Alzheimer's!](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/power-of-attorney-for-alzheimers/689392)
**Author:** [@elbows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbows)\ **Replies:** 11\ **Last updated:** [May 29, 2014, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/power-of-attorney-for-alzheimers/689392 "2014-05-29T17:22:45Z")
You can’t open a paper or turn on the news, it seems, without hearing what a disaster the Baby Boomer cohort will cause as they age to healthcare, nursing homes, family financing etc. As someone who spent a lot of years… --- ## [Is America's political dialectic broken?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-americas-political-dialectic-broken/689222)
**Author:** [@Uqbar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uqbar)\ **Replies:** 24\ **Last updated:** [May 29, 2014, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-americas-political-dialectic-broken/689222 "2014-05-29T14:50:22Z")
Does American political debate across the partisan divide produce enough useful output (inside or outside of Congress), or too much gridlock? Is it broken? if so, how to fix it? An \[AP article\](http://news.yahoo.com/ana… --- ## [If Jesus had a wife, would that change anything?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-jesus-had-a-wife-would-that-change-anything/635337)
**Author:** [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Replies:** 158\ **Last updated:** [May 28, 2014, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-jesus-had-a-wife-would-that-change-anything/635337 "2014-05-28T14:03:53Z")
A Harvard scholar of divinity alleges that she has found a slip of papyrus text, written in Coptic, that refers to Jesus’s wife and to a female disciple. I don’t mind talking about whether this claim is or isn’t likely … --- ## [Sex Selection Terminations of Pregnancy in England, Wales and Scotland](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sex-selection-terminations-of-pregnancy-in-england-wales-and-scotland/689068)
**Author:** [@Pjen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pjen)\ **Replies:** 53\ **Last updated:** [May 28, 2014, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sex-selection-terminations-of-pregnancy-in-england-wales-and-scotland/689068 "2014-05-28T04:17:20Z")
There is an interesting philosophical, political and legal debate occurring in the UK currently. UK Law allows TOP under the Abortion Act 1967 as amended in the following manner: Subject to the provisions of this secti… --- ## [All-party consent vs. one-party consent](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-party-consent-vs-one-party-consent/689396)
**Author:** [@Reyemile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reyemile)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [May 27, 2014, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-party-consent-vs-one-party-consent/689396 "2014-05-27T19:08:55Z")
I’ve been looking up rules on recording conversations, and the US states seem split on whether it should be legal for one party to secretly record a conversation that he’s part of, or whether all parties need to be infor… --- ## [Your Vote Is Inversely Proportional to Your Wealth](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-vote-is-inversely-proportional-to-your-wealth/688698)
**Author:** [@Cabbage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cabbage)\ **Replies:** 34\ **Last updated:** [May 27, 2014, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-vote-is-inversely-proportional-to-your-wealth/688698 "2014-05-27T17:57:34Z")
For a while now (especially since SCOTUS removed limits on federal campaign spending) I’ve had this idea that, since big money controls so much of the decision making in government, it might be worth considering having a… --- ## [Making a Dollar without Working for It](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/making-a-dollar-without-working-for-it/688690)
**Author:** [@OffByOne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OffByOne)\ **Replies:** 77\ **Last updated:** [May 27, 2014, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/making-a-dollar-without-working-for-it/688690 "2014-05-27T17:28:44Z")
A while ago, someone posted something on Facebook that appeared on my newsfeed, a quote that went something like, “A man that makes (or earns or gets or receives) a dollar without working for it steals that dollar from a… --- ## [Is Amazon a monopoly? Is government intervention needed?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-amazon-a-monopoly-is-government-intervention-needed/689137)
**Author:** [@KarlGauss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGauss)\ **Replies:** 17\ **Last updated:** [May 27, 2014, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-amazon-a-monopoly-is-government-intervention-needed/689137 "2014-05-27T17:06:27Z")
This article/blog in the NY Times (and many of the comments) help inform the discussion of whether Amazon (or more accurately Amazon’s book sales and its practices relating to book sales) has become a monopoly. The link… --- ## [The Badger Cull (UK)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-badger-cull-uk/689170)
**Author:** [@blindboyard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blindboyard)\ **Replies:** 34\ **Last updated:** [May 27, 2014, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-badger-cull-uk/689170 "2014-05-27T16:00:47Z")
Today I received a leaflet through my door asking me to vote out the Tories next year because of their aversion to badgers. For foreigners from countries not possessed of badgers, the badger is a large and vicious roden… --- ## [Why where cops better in the 80's and 90's?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-where-cops-better-in-the-80s-and-90s/689114)
**Author:** [@sweat209](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sweat209)\ **Replies:** 71\ **Last updated:** [May 27, 2014, 8:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-where-cops-better-in-the-80s-and-90s/689114 "2014-05-27T08:45:38Z")
There seems to be more and more police misconduct or cops going gangsta style.The trend now of cops arresting firefighters for the fire truck blocking on car crash calls ,cops pulling EMS truck over ,cops arresting perso… --- ## [Gerry Adams- Ex IRA Guman, Ex Deputy First Minister Arrested- Hoist by his own Petard?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gerry-adams-ex-ira-guman-ex-deputy-first-minister-arrested-hoist-by-his-own-petard/687425)
**Author:** [@Pjen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pjen)\ **Replies:** 146\ **Last updated:** [May 26, 2014, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gerry-adams-ex-ira-guman-ex-deputy-first-minister-arrested-hoist-by-his-own-petard/687425 "2014-05-26T18:12:26Z")
Gerry Adams has been arrested in NI and may be charged with a particularly appalling murder during the Troubles. It is alleged that he was involved in kidnapping a Roman Catholic woman whose only ‘crime’ was to go to the… --- ## [Was anti-gun activist Jennifer Longdon spit on at an Indianapolis airport?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-anti-gun-activist-jennifer-longdon-spit-on-at-an-indianapolis-airport/689078)
**Author:** [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Replies:** 34\ **Last updated:** [May 26, 2014, 12:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-anti-gun-activist-jennifer-longdon-spit-on-at-an-indianapolis-airport/689078 "2014-05-26T12:01:36Z")
I don’t know what to make of this story. On May 15 Mother Jones published an article titled Spitting, Stalking, Rape Threats: How Gun Extremists Target Women. In it they told the story of Jennifer Longdon. This article… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/great-debates/13.md?page=229) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/great-debates/13.md?page=231)