Tournament: CPS | Round: 2 | Opponent:  | Judge: 

1NC – Long

Moral uncertainty means we default to preventing extinction under any ethical framework

BOSTROM 11
(2011) Nick Bostrom, Future of Humanity Institute, Oxford Martin School and Faculty of Philosophy
These reflections on moral uncertainty suggest~s~ an alternative, complementary way of
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value. To do this, we must prevent any existential catastrophe. 

Death is the worst form of evil since it destroys the subject itself.

Paterson 03 – Department of Philosophy, Providence College, Rhode Island (Craig, "A Life Not Worth Living?", Studies in Christian Ethics.
Contrary to those accounts, I would argue that it is death per se that
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the person, the very source and condition of all human possibility.82 

State cuts have led tuition to spike harming the ability to students to enter college, especially those who come from low income backgrounds or are people of color – The impact is a blow to the national economy because a college degree is a crucial internal link to working in a skilled job, decreasing health care costs, and bringing greater wealth to local communities

Mitchell et al 16 (Report published by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities; authors were Michael Mitchell (State Budget and Tax), Michael Leachman (State Budget and Tax), and Kathleen Masterson, "Funding Down, Tuition Up: State Cuts to Higher Education Threaten Quality and Affordability at Public Colleges", http://www.cbpp.org/research/state-budget-and-tax/funding-down-tuition-up, EmmieeM)
Years of cuts in state funding for public colleges and universities have driven up tuition
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the start of the recession will make it more difficult to achieve those goals

The only thing keeping graduation rates stable is financial aid —- allows students to study full-time, encourages academic progress, and is the only way low-income students can afford to enroll

Johnson 14 (Hans Johnson – supported by the College Access Foundation of California and writing for the Public Policy Institute of California, "Making College Possible for Low-Income Students: Grant and Scholarship Aid in California", http://www.ppic.org/content/pubs/report/R'1014HJR.pdf, pg. 20-24, EmmieeM)
Students fail to complete college for many reasons, including financial constraints. Certainly it
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earn a degree if they first enroll at a four-year college. 

There’s a contradiction within government policy —- restricting free speech may be unconstitutional, but not doing so causes public colleges to lose federal funding under Title IX

Bernstein 3 (David E. Bernstein – George Mason University Foundation Professor of Law with a focus on constitutional history, "You Can’t Say That: The Growing Threat to Civil Liberties From Antidiscrimination Laws", "Censoring Campus Speech", https://books.google.com/books?id=zU2QAAAAQBAJandpg=PA60andlpg=PA60anddq=public+colleges+could+lose+funding+if+they+allow+for+racistsandsource=blandots=W67N5E3bznandsig=xXeBW8YaTy'Ilb34MIbu-grciy4andhl=enandsa=Xandved=0ahUKEwiBoqTkn'nQAhVBjFQKHcc7CIkQ6AEITDAI~~#v=onepageandq=public20colleges20could20lose20funding20if20they20allow20for20racistsandf=false, pg. 60-61, EmmieeM)
Given these constitutional barriers, public university speech codes were on the way out until
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Amendment, then so can they. Unfortunately, they may be right. 

Federal funding is used to maintain financial aid resources and colleges are only growing more dependent on it as state funding goes down

Pew 15 (The Pew Charitable Trusts – compiles evidence and non-partisan analysis to inform the public and create better public policy, "Federal and State Funding of Higher Education: A Changing Landscape", http://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/issue-briefs/2015/06/federal-and-state-funding-of-higher-education, EmmieeM)
States and the federal government have long provided substantial funding for higher education, but
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, while state funds primarily pay for the general operations of public institutions.

College credentials are crucial to social mobility and national economic growth – affects everything from health insurance to better marriages to lower unemployment rates

White House 14 (Report by the Executive Office of the President, "Increasing College Opportunity for Low-Income Students: Promising Models and a Call to Action", pgs. 10 – 11, https://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/docs/white'house'report'on'increasing'college'opportunity'for'low-income'students'1-16-2014'final.pdf, EmmieeM)
The benefits of postsecondary education are well documented and have major implications for economic growth
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their chances of moving out of the bottom increase by 50 percent.39

The impact is massive – combatting the structural barriers that prevent individuals from attending college is the main internal link to competitiveness

U.S. Department of Commerce 12 (Prepared by the U.S. Department of Commerce with consultation from the National Economic Council, "The Competitiveness and Innovative Capacity in the United States", http://www.esa.doc.gov/sites/default/files/thecompetitivenessandinnovativecapacityoftheunitedstates.pdf, pgs. 2-10, EmmieeM)
Education is a key element for promoting economic growth and increasing the innovative capacity of
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schools in 2011–2012 was lower than in 2007–2008.21 

Competitiveness is key to US dominance – we need to keep innovating faster to ensure economic prosperity and hegemony

Segal 04 – Senior Fellow in China Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations
~Adam, Foreign Affairs, "Is America Losing Its Edge?" November / December 2004, http://www.foreignaffairs.org/20041101facomment83601/adam-segal/is-america-losing-its-edge.html~~
The United States' global primacy depends in large part on its ability to develop new
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, the United States must get better at fostering technological entrepreneurship at home.

Loss of competitiveness results in great power conflict—retrenchment makes war inevitable and ensures the US would be dragged in – that causes your heg bad impacts so it’s try or die for the AFF

Khalilzad 11 — Zalmay Khalilzad, Counselor at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, served as the United States ambassador to Afghanistan, Iraq, and the United Nations during the presidency of George W. Bush, served as the director of policy planning at the Defense Department during the Presidency of George H.W. Bush, holds a Ph.D. from the University of Chicago, 2011 ("The Economy and National Security," National Review, February 8^th, Available Online at http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/print/259024, Accessed 02-08-2011)
Today, economic and fiscal trends pose the most severe long-term threat to
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leading the world toward a new, dangerous era of multi-polarity.

Independently, economic decline causes multiple war scenarios – the impact is extinction

Harris and Burrows - 2009 (Counselor in the National Intelligence Council, Member at the National Intelligence Council - Mathew J. Burrows, Global Trends 2025: A Transformed World—an unclassified report by the NIC published every four years that projects trends over a 15-year period, has served in the Central Intelligence Agency since 1986, holds a Ph.D. in European History from Cambridge University, and Jennifer Harris, Member of the Long Range Analysis Unit at the National Intelligence Council, holds an M.Phil. in International Relations from Oxford University and a J.D. from Yale University, 2009 ("Revisiting the Future: Geopolitical Effects of the Financial Crisis," The Washington Quarterly, Volume 32, Issue 2, April, Available Online at http://www.twq.com/09april/docs/09apr'Burrows.pdf, Accessed 08-22-2011, p. 35-37)
Of course, the report encompasses more than economics and indeed believes the future is
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within and between states in a more dog-eat-dog world.