Joseph Buchman's Issue Positions (Political Courage Test)
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Joseph Buchman is currently being tested through the 2023 Political Courage Test.
This candidate has responded to a Political Courage Test in a previous election. As a continued effort to provide the American public with factual information on candidates running for public office, these archived responses are made available here.
Utah Congressional Special Election, District 3, 2017 Political Courage Test
| Pro-choice | Do you generally support pro-choice or pro-life legislation? | ||
| While I believe life begins at conception, as a Libertarian I am opposed to tyranny. We should not pass laws we are unwilling/unable to enforce. The size and power and invasiveness of a government that could act to protect the life of the unborn, especially in early term, would cause more harm than good. I oppose use of any taxpayer funds for abortion. IMO Roe v. Wade is about right - full choice in first trimester, protect the unborn in the third, and judicial review in the second trimester. | |||
| Yes | In order to balance the budget, do you support reducing defense spending? | ||
| No | In order to balance the budget, do you support an income tax increase on any tax bracket? | ||
| Our government does not have a revenue problem - it has a spending problem. The cost of maintaining 800 overseas military bases is not in our national security interests. $20,200,000,000,000+ in debt is not in our national security interests. A balanced annual budget, bringing most of our military back inside our borders and beginning of paydown of the debt is. | |||
| No | Do you support the regulation of indirect campaign contributions from corporations and unions? | ||
| I support full transparency of donations, and not more massive federal regulation (which can always, it seems, be avoided/gamed by those in power). Most federal election financial reporting requirements act to discourage third party candidates, and those with limited funding who seek R or D nominations. | |||
| No | Do you support capital punishment for certain crimes? | ||
| Yes | Do you support alternatives to incarceration for certain non-violent offenders such as mandatory counseling or substance abuse treatment? | ||
| No | Do you support mandatory minimum sentences for non-violent drug offenders? | ||
| DNA studies have shown that 10 percent of those currently on death row (about 150 of the 1500) are innocent. Only those who believe the government is infallible should support the death penalty. As a Libertarian the thought of even one innocent prisoner being deprived of not only Liberty but of her/his Life is antithetical to the Right to Life and Liberty guaranteed in our Constitution. | |||
| No | Do you support federal spending as a means of promoting economic growth? | ||
| Yes | Do you support lowering taxes as a means of promoting economic growth? | ||
| No | Do you support providing tax incentives to businesses for the purpose of job creation? | ||
| Government interference into the marketplace always increases costs and comes with unintended consequences no matter how good the intention. The Jones Act is one example - designed to protect shipping, but destructive to our interstate highway system, and doubles the cost of goods in Hawaii and Puerto Rico. | |||
| No | Do you generally support requiring states to adopt federal education standards? | ||
| Our government schools are based in a non-working model of moving students along from grade-to-grade in collective groups. The best education is individually directed, competency based and self-paced. A revolution in AI and CATI delivered instruction and free autodidactically driven rich learning environments is already operating on top of our government schools with providers as diverse as MIT, the Khan Academy, and other nations (especially for foreign language). | |||
| No | Do you support building the Keystone XL pipeline? | ||
| No | Do you support government funding for the development of renewable energy (e.g. solar, wind, thermal)? | ||
| No | Do you support increased regulations on the hydraulic fracturing ("fracking") industry? | ||
| I don't support "government funding" for any of these projects. Remember with an unbalanced budget, all the above is being paid for by borrowing/debt. | |||
| No | Do you believe that human activity is contributing to climate change? | ||
| No | Do you support the federal regulation of greenhouse gas emissions? | ||
| These are not, or should not be, matters of BELIEF. Science and "belief" are not compatible. Belief belongs in the area of faith, or religion. The question is "What conclusions have been reached by scientific research?" IMO there is significant scientific evidence that human activity is causing/has caused climate effects. The biggest source of damage appears to be from the cattle industry - both in methane emissions, the destruction of forests for grazing and water use. | |||
| No | Do you generally support gun-control legislation? | ||
| Those governments which have the most invasive gun control laws have not proven effective at stopping violent crime. Where guns are effectively banned, mass murder has occurred with cars, airplanes, explosives. While the idea that government can somehow keep us safe with increased regulation, police presence security checks is seductive, it is simultaneously the greatest threat to our personal liberty. | |||
| Yes | Do you support repealing the 2010 Affordable Care Act ("Obamacare")? | ||
| This is legislation written by big pharma and big med to create a massive crony-government intervention into our relationships between our physicians and other health care providers - for over 70 years government has acted to increase costs and decrease quality of care. | |||
| No | Do you support requiring immigrants who are unlawfully present to return to their country of origin before they are eligible for citizenship? | ||
| I support those who came to the USA fleeing tyranny, starvation and death in their native lands. I support the sentiment of the Statue of Liberty - "Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free." Many of those are seeking the American Dream - a chance to earn a living/to be a contribution - that an entitled generation of citizens born here have forgotten, or even repudiate. | |||
| No | Do you support same-sex marriage? | ||
| I do not support government being involved in marriage in anyway whatsoever. I support the right of every peaceful adult to be left alone by government. | |||
| No | Do you support increased American intervention in Iraq and Syria beyond air support? | ||
| No | Should the U.S use military force in order to prevent governments hostile to the United States from possessing a nuclear weapon? | ||
| We're already shown that we cannot/do not do this. We must use nonviolent ways of getting what we desire from others - up to the point that they initiate violence, or declare a clear intention to cause harm/declare or initiate war. | |||
| Yes | Do you support allowing individuals to divert a portion of their Social Security taxes into personal retirement accounts? | ||
| Social Security is a government protected Ponzi scheme that would see any private entity shut down by our justice department. I support individuals in taking all legal means to minimize their risk of being further defrauded. | |||
SpendingIndicate what federal spending levels (#1-6) you support for the following general categories. Select one number per category; you can use a number more than once.TaxesIndicate what federal tax levels (#1-6) you support for the following general categories. Select one number per category; you can use a number more than once.
| Eliminate | a) Agriculture | ||
| Eliminate | b) Arts | ||
| Greatly Decrease | c) Defense | ||
| Eliminate | d) Education | ||
| Eliminate | e) Environment | ||
| Greatly Decrease | f) Homeland Security | ||
| Eliminate | g) International aid | ||
| Eliminate | h) Medical Research | ||
| Eliminate | i) Scientific Research | ||
| Eliminate | j) Space exploration | ||
| Eliminate | k) United Nations | ||
| Eliminate | l) Welfare | ||
| Eliminate | a) Capital gains taxes | ||
| Eliminate | b) Corporate taxes | ||
| Eliminate | c) Small business taxes | ||
| Eliminate | d) Excise taxes (alcohol) | ||
| Eliminate | e) Excise taxes (cigarettes) | ||
| Eliminate | f) Excise taxes (transportation fuel) | ||
| Eliminate | g) Income taxes (low-income families) | ||
| Eliminate | h) Income taxes (middle-income families) | ||
| Eliminate | i) Income taxes (high-income families) | ||
| Eliminate | j) Inheritance taxes | ||
| Eliminate | k) Payroll taxes | ||
| While I would advocate for the elimination of each of the above, I do not anticipate that will happen in my lifetime, nor would I advocate for it to happen overnight. Libertarians honor contracts made between governments and their citizens - however, at some point our political leadership will say something to the effect of, "those who came before us, lied." We are on an unsustainable path of debt, and overspending. One that hurts each of the areas above more than it benefits. (Environmental issues are best handled in the courts, not by more regulation.) | |||
| Libertarians pledge that - "I hereby certify that I do not believe in or advocate the initiation of force as a means of achieving political or social goals." Taxation is a form of non-voluntary force; taxation is theft. Today the average taxpayer (about one third of US citizens - the others are children, government employees, or government benefit receivers) pays over 50 percent in taxes - federal, state, local; income, sales, user fees - plus the effect of taxation on all raw materials used in production. We must start reducing each of these, or face a socialist economic collapse. | |||
| Cut the size, power, influence and waste of our Federal Government drastically. Close most overseas military bases; bring the troops home and house/employ them within our own borders. Pass legislation protecting government, and government contractor, whistleblowers. Eliminate any contractual agreements that prevent disclosure of their knowledge of waste, fraud and criminal activity. Hold open hearings. |
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