Stock Issues of Proposition of Policy

1
Stock Issues of Proposition of Policy
2
Building Government Cases

• Stock issues are hunting grounds for arguments.
  They provide the general phrasing of potential
  issues that correspond to the inherent
  obligations of the advocate of change.
• Categories
• Jurisdiction derives from the obligation of the
  advocates of change to provide proposals
  consistent with the scope of the proposition.
• Ill the obligation of advocates to show a
  significant past, present, or future problem or
  harm.
• Blame the obligation of advocates to relate a
  particular ill causally to the basic structure or
  philosophy of present policy.
• Cure the obligation of advocates to outline a
  specific plan of action and demonstrate how it
  will solve the problem of ill.
• Cost the obligation of the advocate to respond
  to disadvantages in terms of material cost or
  social burden.

3
Basic Stock Issues in a Government Case

• Is there a need for a change in the status quo?
• Does a significant problem exist sufficient to
  warrant a change?
• Does the problem exist as an inherent part of the
  status quo?
• Does the affirmative proposition offer a solution
  to the problem presented? Does the plan meet the
  need?
• Is the proposition practical and workable?
• Is the proposition the best available solution to
  the problem?
• What are the implications of adopting the
  proposition?
• Does the proposition itself have inherent faults
  which would create greater problems
  (disadvantages) than the proposal seeks to
  alleviate?
• Does the proposition have any benefits
  (advantages)?

4
Identifying the Stock Issue

• Each of the following statements emphasizes a
  particular stock issue. For each statement,
  identify whether the issue involves jurisdiction,
  ill, blame, cure, or cost.
• Federal funding and management of nursing homes
  would improve the quality of life for
  institutionalized elderly citizens.
• Private nursing homes are profit motivated. The
  profit motivation leads them to cut corners and
  to get by with minimum care, supplies, and
  personnel.
• The care the elderly receive in nursing homes is
  substandard. Many elderly people suffer and die
  because of the horrible conditions found in many
  privately owned nursing homes.
• If the federal government were to take over
  nursing homes, there would need to be cuts in
  other federal programs. The federal government
  just doesnt have the money to run nursing homes
  in addition to maintaining a strong national
  defense.
• Nursing homes are defined as institutions that
  provide, on a long-term basis, specialized
  medical and custodial care to individuals unable
  to provide for their own needs.