[ Music ] >> Hello, everyone welcome to both sides of the story I am your host Alan Gionet from CBS4.

Thanks for joining us.

We continue our semi final rounds tonight with this second debate from our consolation bracket.

On tonight's show students from Denver East high school and Hinckley high school in Aurora compete to move on to the consolation bracket championship.

Let's meet our participants.

First up, Graham Cummings a senior from Denver East high school.

Let's hear his story.

>> My name is Graham Cummings I am a senior and I go to East high school.

Speech and debate Germany and because part of me is competitive and just likes to do well at things and when tournaments is a big thing.

And then, also just academic part of it that you could be competitive in a way that's not the usual route of sports.

Skills with communicating and researching are super important now.

It will help me in whatever I choose to do in the future.

>> Graham works incredibly hard.

He is a quiet leader.

He wants everybody in the room to feel like they belong there.

Any time that he does a round to ask questions he shares information and he takes it back to the team and he really tries to foster relationships with everybody and is just such a natural leader.

>> If I could give something to people who are new in speech and debate, it's going to be hard and you are going to hate every part of it for the first year or two but there will be a lot of losses and a lot of people that will be better than you but you will see improvement if you keep trying.

>> You met Graham now meet Kimberly Maranda, a junior from Hinckley high school and a member of the Denver urban debate league.

Let's catch up with Kimberly.

>> Hello, my name is Kimberly Maranda.

I am a junior.

I decided to join because speech and debate is very interesting to me.

Also, I talk a lot.

I just wanted to learn how to debate.

I worked with my coaches and my teachers and other students as well.

My most interesting topics to work on are probably, just issues going on in the world and the research that come with those.

Just to make the world a better place.

I'm interested in the filmmaking industry.

I want to be a director.

I want to see my vision come to life.

I want to have that vision on a big screen someday that other people can watch.

>> In class she is personable.

She is hard-working.

She gets along well with other students and, she knows how to ask questions but also how to help other students that might need a bit more help.

Her strong decided she is well spoken and she presents her ideas and her opinions very clearly.

>> I want to help my family in the future because, I know that they've gone through so much.

They inspire me a lot and they have given me a lot of opportunities.

I love them so much.

>> Two great young people.

And, we have our illustrious panelist as well.

They will offer their analysis of our debate today.

They are, Dominic, host of Colorado inside out, the weekly roundtable program here.

He is joined by Natosha Gardner.

The managing editor with history Colorado and, Bree Davies, a podcast host with city cast Denver.

All right, it is time to set our ground rules now.

Each side will present their case and ask each other questions and have a chance to offer rebuttals as well.

Both students have prepared a pros and con case for tonight.

They won't know which side they will defend until our coin flip right here in our studio.

We will then go to our illustrious panel for their questions and we will find out who they felt offer the best arguments.

So let's get started.

Here is the issue up for debate today it is resolved, affordable housing is the number one problem facing the state of Colorado.

Of course, we will have an affirmative we will have a negative let's have our coin flip we will give it underway.

I'm going to let you make the call.

Go ahead.

>> Tales.

>> Tales it is.

What would you like?

>> I will take affirmative.

He is the proponent and that means he really will have the negative.

Graham, as the proponent the first round is yours.

The floor, right now for three minutes, go ahead.

>> I affirm the resolve that affordable housing is the number one problem facing the state of Colorado.

My first contention is financial stresses, currently housing prices are skyrocketing leaving low-income individuals being forced to pay rates that they simply cannot afford.

A 2021 article finds that right now they have to earn $27 an hour to afford rent and the states minimum wage is set at just over $12 an hour.

That $15 gap means that many are living on the edge of homelessness and making agonizing choices between keeping a roof over their heads, parsing a doctor and eating a meal.

Those living off of minimum wage cannot keep up with rising housing prices leading to a massive increase.

The affordable housing study found that there has been a 36% increase in the average median rent over the last five years.

A lack of inventory and increased demands have been key contributors forcing it to be unaffordable in many portions of the state.

50% of all Colorado renters are cost burden paying 30% or more of their household income towards rent.

At the point were nearly half of all those renters are feeling some degree of financial stress this issue needs to be focused on.

Sadly, there is little to no assistance being given and these policies are being cut.

News in 2021 describes how the governor Jared Polis joined other states in the halting of addictions during the early months of the pandemic but he allowed the order to expire in 2021.

Low income families and individuals are currently being left without assistance as programs to provide housing is being cut.

Additionally, if laws to lower property taxes such as proposition 120 our past, funding will continue to decrease for affordable housing efforts.

The first impact is homelessness, drastic rises are expectantly followed by an increase in homelessness.

This is the exact trend that we are seeing in Colorado right now.

At 2021 study by the common sense Institute finds that the city of Denver saw 25% increase in its homeless population between 2017 and 2020 and a greater increase is expected to be seen because of the devastating impacts of the pandemic.

Homelessness is a cyclical problem once someone loses the stability of housing it is nearly impossible to recover.

The most probable solution is to provide fair and affordable housing to low-income individuals.

The impacts of expensive housing are not always as extreme as homelessness, however.

The financial burdens that high prices put on low-income families are massive.

The housing forward organization finds that children in stable housing do better in school and are less likely to experience disruption in their education.

Additionally, affordable housing leads to improvements in both mental and physical health.

Affordable housing also frees up funds within families tight budgets to spend on healthcare and food.

Studies have shown that children's whose parents receive housing assistance benefit from better nutrition.

A higher focus on affordable housing by the government would seek better nutrition, increased education, and improvements in the overall health of families in poverty.

>> Thank you, Graham very much.

Okay, Kimberly, right now you have two minutes for questions and cross-examination.

Go right ahead.

>> Okay.

So could you state, summarize your three points?

>> What I was saying in my first contention is currently housing prices are going up and what we are seeing is that that leads to more homelessness and more financial stress being put onto low income families.

What I would tell you with my affordable housing piece of evidence is that 50% of renters in the state are cost burden because of these increasing prices meaning, that they have less resources to spend on other important things.

>> Where did you get that from?

>> It was a study by affordable housing.

>> Do you know what year?

>> I believe 2021.

>> You mentioned something about 30% or more of the income is spent on rent where did you get that from?

>> That is the federal government defining that as being a cost burden by rent.

If you are spending 30% or more of your total income on your rent payments that means that you are cost burden.

>> Can low income families access some healthcare programs to help them?

Because, you are spending most of that money on rent, how can they not have another program that helps them with healthcare access?

>> I would argue that we actually see it go the other way.

Because they are spending so much on rent they can't afford to have that adequate healthcare and the only way to ensure that they can afford that healthcare is to make sure that they are first prioritizing the rent.

>> Human right - I'm sorry.

On a large-scale what's the number of people being impacted by that of non-affordable housing.

>> What I tell you is that 50% of all renters in the state of Colorado are considered cost burden because they are spending 30% or more on their rent in that just means that they have less opportunities to spend that money on things such as, food, healthcare, and education.

>> Can you state the minimum wage for Colorado, again?

>> It is a little bit above $12 an hour.

>> All right, we are going to have to wrap up the questions right there.

Graham is in the affirmative, Kimberly is in the negative here.

Kimberly, the floor is yours for three minutes.

Go right ahead.

>> Thank you for your argument supporting the resolution.

I, however, will be arguing against the resolution.

Affordable housing is not the number one problem facing the state of Colorado.

I'm not arguing that affordable housing is not a problem because, it is.

It's just not the greatest problem.

First, let's talk about how to evaluate the importance of one issue over another.

We do this by evaluating the stakeholders most affected by a certain issue the magnitude and the timeline.

How many stakeholders are there?

Who is most vulnerable and what are the long-term impacts?

The number one problem in Colorado is one that not only impacts a larger and more vulnerable population but also the environment.

This problem is the air quality and the air pollution in the state.

Colorado air quality over the years has diminished.

2020 had the highest levels of air pollution that the Denver Metro area has seen in a decade.

The cost has been attributed to the raging wildfires across the state from the Denver air quality index of 2020.

Other factors that contribute to poor air quality include pollution coming from fossil big-box companies.

Overconsumption of non-eco-friendly products, production and increased heat when the weather is warmer and there's more ultraviolet radiation from natural resource Defense Council 2021.

Human bodies need to be able to breathe.

We breathe about 80 breath per minute.

However, we function more efficiently with clean air because it's easier on our lungs and our respiratory system as a whole.

Not only do we need that, we have to understand with those sensitive groups like those with asthma who were more susceptible to harm from bad air quality in Colorado.

Essential body parts such as the eyes, nose and throat are most impacted and needed to be in a healthy condition.

This is from the cardiovascular symptoms which are damaged by poor air quality.

More on people with a history of respiratory issues.

We need to consider developing with children and the elderly.

Now let's look at people in the social economic classes in different groups.

There are racial and ethnic groups were among those who often face higher exposures to pollutants and who may experience greater responses to such pollution this is from the American lung Association in 2020.

It not only impacts people directly and indirectly but it's not only something that we should focus on us but the environment as well.

Poor air quality and its causes increase harm to the environment.

It can contaminate the air, the water, the soil and harm animals.

It increases global warming and also these can cause acid rain and severe weather.

This is according to the national geographic 2020.

Yes these impacts also have a negative impact on humans in the long term but, the environment and earth itself have a value of what it can provide for humans and it should be taken into greater consideration.

Air quality is a big part of a healthy environment.

Poor air quality is the number one issue in Colorado because it's not only impacting everyone to some extent.

It is especially judgmental to vulnerable populations in the environment.

>> Thank you very much.

Both sides of the story today.

Affordable housing is the number one problem facing Colorado.

He says yes, Kimberly says no.

You now have two minutes for your questions and cross examination.

Go ahead.

>> Would you say that people in poverty have the time to be thinking about air quality and the impacts of that when they are being burdened by the cost and they have to think about where their next meal is coming from or how they will pay for healthcare?

>> Well, yes, because if you are not healthy you're just worried.

Also, 90% of all people in Colorado had some sort of chronic condition with heart disease be number one which is just going to show that most of the time people in hospitals are trying to get treatment.

Also, each summer kids in Colorado suffered 32,000 asthma attacks linked to oil and gas smog populations which just goes to show its impacting young kids in the city which, we need to focus on to better that.

Also, 14% of the population smokes in Colorado.

>> So do you think that low income families or families who are living off of minimum wage have the resources to get the healthcare and the adequate medical attention in order to eliminate these effects?

>> Even if affordable housing is a problem is not the number one problem.

With the focus on air quality and air pollution because it's getting worse and worse every year.

Heart disease is the number two killer in Colorado and that is according to the American Heart Association.

So you can see that a big percentage of Colorado is being impacted by the smog in the air pollution.

>> Would you say that policymakers should prioritize keeping people out of poverty and keeping people from being homeless or this adverse air quality?

>> Well, those in poverty mostly the minorities, they are impacted more by the smog in the air pollution in the air quality.

>> All right, thank you very much.

We have to wrap up those questions right here.

However, now you have two minutes for a rebuttal.

Go ahead.

>> So, the first thing that I would like to bring up is that in Colorado air quality is the number one issue still facing Colorado citizens.

But I would say that the air quality isn't as important of as affordable housing because when you look at those numbers 50% of people according to that organization study in 2021 are cost burdened by the amount of rent that they are having to pay because of increased prices and what's important there is that people are having to prioritize versus getting healthcare that they would need to protect against the impacts of this adverse air quality.

I would also say that affordable housing developments are more helpful towards the environment because under the American rescue plan that Joe Biden proposed as a response, all of the housing policies within that had a strict energy performance standards and sustainability guidelines that made sure that those developments were safe for the environment and were protecting the health of those who are going to be living in those buildings.

I would also say that if people in poverty do not have time to be thinking about things such as air quality or the impact on their lungs when they are constantly thinking about how they are going to be paying for the rent, how they are going to be able to afford to live in this city where rent keeps on increasing.

Next, I would also say that she claims that it impacts more people sorry, that it impacts them in a greater way.

But I would argue that being homeless or being out on the streets is much more important because when you lose your housing, you do not have access to a home address which means you can't do things such as open a bank account, get a job, register to vote or get adequate healthcare.

So essentially it's become illegal to become homeless in the United States.

That has to be the top priority.

Because when people fall into homelessness it is a cyclical issue and it's nearly impossible to get out of.

That just means that it will be impacted even worse by this air quality.

>> Thank you very much.

Now, Kimberly you have three minutes to respond and close.

Go ahead.

>> This debate is not just how to solve these problems just to show what is the number one problem in Colorado which is the air pollution in the air quality that has diminished over the time and is getting worse and worse and impacting everybody.

Affordable housing only affects humans.

What about the environment?

What about the water in the soil?

You have to take that into consideration all of these around us.

If we just believe that we should fix these for ourselves, it's just being selfish.

Air quality and air pollution impact all of us.

Like I said.

And affordable housing just impacting humans.

If we focus on something like proposing a law to tax companies that are putting this smog and pollution into the air and just polluting the air that we breathe, then we can focus on other things like affordable housing which we should start with baby steps in just work our way up because, when we start with something, it just helps us gradually increase into other things and solve other things as well.

Also, since a lot of people have cardiovascular issues and heart issues and respiratory diseases, it's very hard to manage day by day.

Just constantly being in pain and trying to get the medication which is why Colorado should provide services for respiratory diseases and research into that.

We should stop polluting the air and contaminating it because it will impact us all.

It will affect humans, the environment, our animals, the water.

Everything.

We all need to work hand-in-hand.

We cannot just keep taking from the earth.

We need to, you know, work with that him thrive off of each other.

And also, I would like to mention that solving the air quality would benefit all of us.

Humans, animals and environments.

We just have to educate people on how to stop polluting the earth and get better air quality.

>> Thank you very much, Kimberly.

Now, Graham you have one minute to close.

Go ahead.

>> The most important thing that you are looking at here is that homelessness is a problem that is increasing in the status quo and it will continue to increase as the impacts of the pandemic will be felt more.

What I would tell you with the common sense Institute pieces that homelessness has increased 25% from 2017 until 2020 and that also, the Gov.

Jared Polis has stopped the eviction than from the pandemic just meaning that those who are in unaffordable housing feeling cost burdened will be more impacted by their rent in these incoming months.

I would also say that having the stable housing stops the root cause of these health issues that my opponent brings up.

When you don't have to worry about the cost of the housing.

It brings up more opportunities for education and health and for better nutrition with the impacts of bad air quality that won't be felt as much.

>> Thank you very much, Graham.

Affordable housing is the number one problem facing the state of Colorado.

Graham is in the affirmative and Kimberly is proposing another answer.

There are very significant problems with housing.

Other things as well.

Let's go to our illustrious panel.

What do you think?

>> You are absolutely right.

This is a big issue from many that are being debated whether it is a city Council beyond.

Graham, Kimberly, you've done a fantastic job.

But as we say, your job is not over.

It's time to get some questions from your judging panel.

Why don't we start with you with your first question?

>> Sure.

Graham, are there any studies or research that can show how housing could protect people from that bad air quality in any way?

>> I don't have anything specifically pertaining to bad air quality but what I do have is the housing organization and their study that proved that overall having stable housing leads to better health effects.

Also, I think that when you're inside of a stable home.

If you are living with in a home that has the adequate developments to provide air purification were to have higher air quality.

>> Natasha your question.

>> Graham, thank you for your comments today.

In your discussions you talked quite a bit about finances and affordability being able to do things.

Is perhaps wages and addressing that topic perhaps a more important issue than housing?

>> Yes, as I mentioned in the beginning of my case.

The minimum wage in Denver is not high enough to support the rising housing market.

But I do not think that that's the root cause of the issue because we never saw that before these recent rises in housing prices.

So what we are actually seeing is that the rise in housing prices is what is causing the minimum wage to not be enough and it's not that the minimum wage was never enough.

I do think that either way if we were to increase the minimum wage it would help.

>> Kimberly it's your turn let's get some questions for you.

Your first thought?

>> Kimberly, I'm thinking about our own house population and wondering what in affordable housing or the option for affordable housing protect folks who are normally out on the streets in some way by having somewhere to go where they may have an air purification system or some other way to protect themselves?

>> Of course.

When you are in a house you are obviously protected from the air pollutants.

But, like I said, air pollution impacts everybody is a hole in the environment.

What about the environment?

Why are we just protecting humans in the first place?

>> And Natasha your question for Kimberly?

>> Kimberly thanks for your comments today.

One thing that's interesting is you presented an alternative matter that Colorado should focus on but what about other topics in front of mind for me might be the pandemic today.

>> Like I said, because it is really hard to solve a big problem.

We need to work our way up and see what works and what doesn't.

But we are just trying to see what is the number one problem.

We need to get more research and more education to solve these problems and by doing that, we need to educate and advocate and to tell people what's going on.

>> Allen, I greatly appreciate the challenge that our students have taken on today, a value debate like this may seem easy for folks at home but take on the same questions yourself and you will see the great job that they've done.

Allen, give us a couple of minutes as we try to figure this out.

>> A lot of perspective.

We are going to give our illustrious panel a moment to consider who they have felt oneness debate which gives me a moment to let you know that this is part of our expanded season of both sides of the story.

Next week we will kick off the semi final round in our winners bracket with students from Cherry Creek high school and Mountain Vista high school you do not want to miss that one.

All right, panel, a big issue.

Is it the biggest, and how did our students do?

Let's get your decision.

>> First of all, you both did a fantastic job and it really in the final-round I want you to know how much that means to me as part of this program both doing a fantastic job.

But our job is to name a winner so we can know who moves on to that championship.

Graham, we did decide that you oneness debate based on how you addressed your opponent's arguments, how you adapted and answered questions but, we also want to make an important point, Kimberly your presentation and particularly the passion involved was not only appreciated but it was admired by the judging panel.

You both did great.

Graham, congratulations we will see you in the championship.

>> It's good to have fans.

Congratulations to you.

You will move on to the consolation bracket championship that comes up on 10 December.

Kimberly, we will see you next time in the third-place match on November 26.

You both gave our viewers a wonderful debate tonight.

Both of you should be very proud we are very proud of both of you here.

That is all the time that we have for our program tonight.

I want to thank these excellent students and our illustrious panel for doing what they do.

I want to thank you as well for tuning in.

It is the support of viewers like you and our sponsors that help to make this show a reality.

You can catch up on past episodes of this program on PBS12.org and you can catch me on CBS4 for all of the latest news and information impacting Colorado.

From everyone here at PBS12 I am Alan Gionet, thanks for watching and that is Both Sides of the Story .

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