Solvency (policy debate)

Solvency is a stock issue in policy debate, referring to the effectiveness of the affirmative plan or the negative counterplan in solving the harms or problems of the status quo. A good solvency mechanism will have a solvency advocate: a qualified professional specifically advocating the proposed course of action. After the First Affirmative Constructive speech (1AC), it is assumed that the Affirmative team can completely solve all of their harms unless the speaker indicated otherwise. This solvency can be mitigated by defensive arguments, e.g. corruption will prevent the plan from being implemented to the extent necessary to completely solve. An offensive argument (as opposed to a defensive argument) might change from one stock issue to solvency, one of which could be a Disadvantage. If the Negative team can prove that the effects of the plan make the harms worse than they are in the current situation, then the Affirmative team cannot guarantee positive benefits and therefore no reason exists as to why the plan should be adopted.