Rob Jacobs' Issue Positions (Political Courage Test)
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Minnesota State Legislative Election 2010 Political Courage Test
| Pro-life | a) Do you consider yourself pro-choice or pro-life? | ||
| No | b) Should abortion be legal only within the first trimester of pregnancy? | ||
| Yes | c) Should abortion be legal when the pregnancy resulted from incest or rape? | ||
| Yes | d) Should abortion be legal when the life of the woman is endangered? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support requiring parental notification before an abortion is performed on a minor? | ||
| Yes | f) Do you support requiring parental consent before an abortion is performed on a minor? | ||
| Yes | g) Do you support sexual education programs that include information on abstinence, contraceptives, and HIV/STD prevention methods? | ||
| No | h) Do you support abstinence-only sexual education programs? | ||
| I believe that education is a crucial component of reducing unwanted pregnancies, thus reducing abortions. | |||
1) State SpendingIndicate what state funding levels (#1-6) you support for the following general categories. Select one level per category; you may use a number more than once.2) State TaxesIndicate what state tax levels (#1-6) you support for the following general categories. Select one level per category; you may use a number more than once.3) Budget StabilizationIndicate which proposals you support (if any) for balancing Minnesota's budget.
| Maintain Status | a) Education (higher) | ||
| Maintain Status | b) Education (K-12) | ||
| Maintain Status | c) Environment | ||
| Maintain Status | d) Health care | ||
| Maintain Status | e) Law enforcement | ||
| Maintain Status | f) Transportation and highway infrastructure | ||
| Maintain Status | g) Welfare | ||
| Greatly Decrease | h) Other or expanded categories | ||
| Maintain Status | a) Alcohol taxes | ||
| Greatly Increase | b) Cigarette taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | c) Corporate taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | d) Gasoline taxes | ||
| Slightly Decrease | e) Property taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | f) Sales taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | g) Income taxes (low-income families) | ||
| Maintain Status | h) Income taxes (middle-income families) | ||
| Slightly Increase | i) Income taxes (high-income families) | ||
| Yes | a) Tapping into Minnesota's "rainy day" fund | ||
| Yes | b) Issuing the early release of certain non-violent offenders | ||
| No | c) Increasing tuition rates at public universities | ||
| No | d) Instituting mandatory furloughs and layoffs for state employees | ||
| No | e) Reducing benefits for Medicaid recipients | ||
| No | f) Privatizing certain government services | ||
| I believe that we need to reduce spending by purging the glut of managerial and supervisory positions in state government. I worked almost 31 years in the Dept of Corrections and witnessed the central office staff grow from 5 in 1980 to about 300 today. None of these folks ever see an inmate but many of them are making 6 figure incomes. Most state agencies are very top heavy and that is where we need to start before we do any across the board cuts. | |||
| Raising the cigarette tax will discourage young people from starting the bad habit. This will save millions in the future. In Minnesota, the most recent tax incidence study (done by the Dept. of Revenue) shows that the wealthiest Minnesotan's pay 7.7% of their income in state and local taxes while the middle class pays 12.8%. We need to make taxes fair so everyone pays their fair share. Too much of what we need tax wize has been shifted to the property tax by the "no new tax" leadership. | |||
| We need to take a close look at the Minnesota Sex Offender Program (MSOP) where sex offenders are committed after they have served their sentances. This cost is $300 per resident per day compared to $80 per inmate per day in our prisons. This so called "program" has grown to almost 600 residents and no one ever completes the program and gets released. In addition, MSOP is being run by retired administrators form the Corrections Dept who are drawing full state retirement and being paid as "consultants." This is a scam! | |||
d) Do you support limits on the following types of contributions to candidates for state government?
| Yes | a) Do you support a state constitutional amendment mandating a retention election system for all judges? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support limits on the number of terms for Minnesota governors? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support limits on the number of terms for Minnesota state legislators? | ||
| Yes | 1) Individual | ||
| Yes | 2) Political Action Committee | ||
| Yes | 3) Corporate | ||
| Yes | 4) Political Party | ||
| Yes | e) Should candidates for state office be encouraged to meet voluntary spending limits? | ||
| Yes | f) Do you support requiring full and timely disclosure of campaign finance information? | ||
| g) Other or expanded principles | |||
| No | a) Do you support capital punishment for certain crimes? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support alternatives to incarceration for certain non-violent offenders, such as mandatory counseling or substance abuse treatment? | ||
| No | c) Should the possession of small amounts of marijuana be decriminalized? | ||
| Yes | d) Should a minor accused of a violent crime be prosecuted as an adult? | ||
| Yes | e) Should a minor who sends sexually-explicit or nude photos by cell phone face criminal charges? | ||
| Yes | f) Do you support the enforcement of federal immigration laws by state and local police? | ||
| g) Should all funds raised from the sale of seized property be turned over to the state general fund? | |||
| G. funds raised from the sale of seized property should go to the local law enforcement agency that seized the property, not the state. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support reducing government regulations on the private sector? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support expanding gaming at race tracks? | ||
| c) Do you support public funding for construction of a new Vikings stadium? | |||
| Yes | d) Do you support increased state funding for job-training programs that re-train displaced workers? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support expanding access to unemployment benefits? | ||
| Yes | f) Do you support providing financial incentives to the private sector for the purpose of job creation? | ||
| No | g) Do you support increased spending on infrastructure projects for the purpose of job creation? | ||
| No | h) Do you support providing direct financial assistance to homeowners facing foreclosure? | ||
| c. I support the building of a Vikings stadium without using taxpayer funding. One possibility is the creation of one state run casino to build the stadium. User fees is another possibility. We must tackle this issue (parden the pun) and not allow the vikings to leave when their lease runs out in 2011. This would cost the state 10's of millions each year and cost state businesses even more. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support national education standards? | ||
| No | b) Do you support alternative pathways to teacher licensure? | ||
| No | c) Do you support requiring public schools to administer high school exit exams? | ||
| No | d) Do you support using a merit pay system for teachers? | ||
| No | e) Do you support state funding for charter schools? | ||
| Yes | f) Do you support the state government providing college students with financial aid? | ||
| No | g) Should illegal immigrants who graduate from Minnesota high schools be eligible for in-state tuition at public universities? | ||
| The funding formula for our schools needs to be revamped. We must get away from property tax increases (levy's) to fund our local schools. Outstate schools often are underfunded compared to metro schools using the current funding formula. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support state funding for the development of alternative energy? | ||
| No | b) Do you support state funding for the development of traditional domestic energy sources (e.g. coal, natural gas, oil)? | ||
| c) Do you support lifting the state moratorium on the construction of new nuclear power plants? | |||
| Yes | d) Do you support providing financial incentives to farms that produce biofuel crops? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support state funding for improvements to Minnesota's energy infrastructure? | ||
| Yes | f) Do you support state funding for open space preservation? | ||
| Yes | g) Should mining companies be required to provide financial assurance to cover the estimated cost of environmental impact before starting operations? | ||
| No | h) Do you support enacting environmental regulations aimed at reducing the effects of climate change? | ||
| c. I would support lifting the moratorium on nuclear power plants if we came up with a solution to the problem of storing the radioactive waste. | |||
| No | a) Do you support restrictions on the purchase and possession of guns? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support requiring background checks on gun sales between private citizens at gun shows? | ||
| c) Do you support allowing individuals to carry concealed guns? | |||
| No | d) Do you support requiring a license for gun possession? | ||
| c. if they have a conceal and carry license than I support their right to carry. If not, I support law enforcements right to arrest them. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support a universally-accessible, publicly-administered health insurance option? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support expanding access to health care through commercial health insurance reform? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support interstate health insurance compacts? | ||
| Yes | d) Should individuals be required to purchase health care insurance? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support monetary limits on damages that can be collected in malpractice lawsuits? | ||
| No | f) Do you support legalizing physician-assisted suicide in Minnesota? | ||
| Yes | g) Do you support allowing doctors to prescribe marijuana to their patients for medicinal purposes? | ||
| e. I support tort reform to put a cap on the "pain and suffering" portion of the lawsuit. No cap on loss of wages or future medical costs. Several states have done this, California's cap is 250k, Wisconsin 400K. | |||
| a) Should marriage only be between one man and one woman? | |||
| Yes | b) Should Minnesota allow same-sex couples to form civil unions? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support state funding for stem cell research? | ||
| No | d) Do you support state funding for embryonic stem cell research? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support the state's use of affirmative action? | ||
| Yes | f) Do you support the inclusion of sexual orientation in Minnesota's anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| Yes | g) Do you support the inclusion of gender identity in Minnesota's anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| a. The religious sector and the churches should be the ones making the marriage decision, not the state. I believe the state should allow civil unions so same-sex couples have the same rights and protections of all citizens. | |||
| My top issue has to be the budget, unless we solve this 6 billion shortfall nothing else can be accomplished. Restructuring the state agencies from the top down, trimming the fat if you will, is where I would start. Eliminate MINCOR, put MSOP back under the Department of Corrections and eliminate an added layer of buerocracy while setting a goal of cutting the resident cost per day in half. Add revenue through the racino and an added top teir on the tax rates so all Minnesotan's pay their fair share. Make job creation a priority, build Vikings stadium with Casino. |
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