The British Government should provide all adult males with free beer vouchers

I should like to reply to her contributories as follows: 1 – "Tax payers should not be responsible for keeping other people happy and healthy. " Britain is a civilised country where health care is considered to be a universal right and is provided according to need rather than ability to pay. I mean, why should a man go without a potentially life-saving beer just because he doesn't have the price of a pint? 2 – "The resolution discriminates against women. " When a man and a woman fall in love they may decide to get married. By convention, the man then buys the woman an engagement ring costing the equivalent to 20% of his annual salary. Then he provides her with a wedding ring, a house to live in and pays for the honeymoon. Then when they have children he works all the hours god sends to earn enough money to allow his wife to give up work to stay at home with the kids. Then she has an affair with the milkman / postman / window cleaner and files for a divorce. Then the court rules that she gets custody of the children and gets to keep the house and half their savings and although the man is chucked onto the streets and has to shell out for somewhere else to live, he still has to pay the mortgage on his old house and give his former wife enough money to enable her to live in the manner she is accustomed to. Hardly just and equitable is it? No, but it is a typical scenario. Never mind that though, it's still not enough apparently. Now my opponent is demanding that women get FREE BEER on top of all that! And most women don't even drink beer. It's just pure spite and greed, that's all it is. 3 – "…while there are some health benefits to drinking alcohol, there are some risks as well…" This is true but adults must be given the freedom to make their own decisions about what is good or bad for them. Nevertheless, most producers and purveyors of alcohol protect themselves from lawsuits display notices advising consumers to "drink responsibly" and no doubt something similar can be printed on the beer vouchers. 4 – "Does that mean the government should be responsible for giving everyone vouchers to the gym or yoga seminars as well? " The Government does provide free gymnasium and yoga sessions to people on low incomes. Indeed, jobless women who are lone parents can even get free pamper sessions at private spas to help boost their self-esteem. (1) And yes, the government does give out vouchers for free milk, fruit and vegetables to young mothers to keep their babies healthy (2) so why shouldn't they give out beer vouchers to keep men healthy? 5 – "The government should not make their decisions solely on cost benefits alone. " Putting to one side the fact that my opponent values lower taxes over human lives, people who work longer pay for their own retirement through their National Insurance contributions – the scheme is self-financing. (3) 6 – "There's no proof that (a) Englishmen will utilize these vouchers or (b) that more employees would be needed. " The British like their beer, make no mistake about that. In fact, the British drink almost 100 litres (210 US pints) of beer each per year - compared with around 80 litres per capita per annum in the US, 50 litres in Japan and 20 in China so the vouchers will definitely be used. (3) Indeed, since a lot of British men who previously didn't drink or drank very little (Muslims, ladyboys / Tottenham Hotspur fans, etc. ) will take up drinking beer when they realise what health benefits can accrue from its consumption it stands to reason that the breweries and pubs will be busier than ever and crying out for new staff. 7 – "…you'll have a greater chance of there being people who are drunk and/or who can't handle their alcohol. " It is true that there are problems associated with misuse of alcohol, but they are normally associated with strong yet cheap drinks like cider and vodka. Beer is relatively weak and you can easily drink two pints and still be under the legal limit allowed to drive a car. (4) 8 – It may well be the case that vouchers will exchange hands for cash. Muslims, for example, may put their faith before their health, but there's nothing wrong with that. It is a free country. So, in conclusion we can see that there are no legitimate reasons why free beer vouchers shouldn't be given to all adult males in Britain in order to protect their health and I would urge you to vote Pro for in support of this very worthwhile scheme. Thank you. (1) . http://www.dailymail.co.uk... (2) . http://www.healthystart.nhs.uk... (3) . http://en.wikipedia.org... (4) . http://www.80mg.org.uk...