Simon Russell's Issue Positions (Political Courage Test)
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Hawaii State Legislative Election 2012 Political Courage Test
| Pro-choice | a) Do you generally support pro-choice or pro-life legislation? | ||
| Yes | b) Should abortions be illegal after 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? | ||
| No | g) Do you support the prohibition of public funds for abortion procedures? | ||
| No | h) Do you support the prohibition of public funds for organizations that perform abortions? | ||
| With the utmost respect for life (I am a vegetarian) I think that abortion can be necessary, and if illegal, would be conducted illegally at great peril to the mother. That being said, I think late term abortion is not necessary, and the mother should carry out her term, except in instances of rape, incest, or danger to her life. If she does not want the child, she can give it up for adoption. | |||
1) State Spending:Using the key, indicate 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 Taxes:Using the key,indicate 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 Stabilization:Indicate which proposals you support (if any) for balancing Hawaii'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/corrections | ||
| Maintain Status | f) Transportation/infrastructure | ||
| Maintain Status | g) Welfare | ||
| Maintain Status | h) Other or expanded categories: | ||
| Maintain Status | a) Alcohol taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | b) Cigarette taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | c) Corporate taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | d) Gas/Oil taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | e) Property taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | f) Sales taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | g) Income taxes (low-income families) | ||
| Maintain Status | h) Income taxes (mid-income families) | ||
| Maintain Status | i) Income taxes (high-income families) | ||
| No | j) Do you support expanding the film and television tax credit? | ||
| No | a) Tapping into Hawaii's "rainy day" fund | ||
| No | b) Increasing tuition rates at public universities | ||
| No | c) Reducing or eliminating public worker collective bargaining | ||
| Yes | d) Reducing state employee salaries AND/OR pensions | ||
| Yes | e) Instituting mandatory furloughs AND/OR layoffs for state employees | ||
| Yes | f) Reducing benefits for Medicaid recipients | ||
| We must work hard to eliminate waste, fraud and abuse in the government, and bring it into balance. The Borrowing, spending and taxing must balance out so that the state does not incur debt for the future generations to deal with. Constantly politicians kick that can down the road, to appease special interest groups as well as constituents. We need leaders who will constrain government to live within it's means, and pay for what we need, not what we want. I will stand for a clean and lean government that will work for the people. | |||
| My position on taxes is to reduce them in them in the long term and shrink the size of government to a manageable size that serves the needs of the people. For now, there are bills to pay, so we need to maintain current spending levels. However, in the near-term, we must search out redundant and useless agencies/offices/personnel within the government that are not wise public investments. This will take leaders that are not attached to the status quo, and can operate independently of party politics, the the more-of-the-same attitude that in infecting our leadership. | |||
| Some state agencies must face budget cuts as the state does not have the money to pay for what it is doing anymore. I do not support selling state lands to developers to pay for state functions, so we must streamline the government by any means prudent, responsible and legal. This will include layoffs, furloughs and elimination of government functions. However, monies may just shift from one department to another, and realistically we may just eliminate departments through attrition as people retire. Medicaid must have sufficient oversight to ensure fraud is not taking place, eliminating benefits for unqualified recipients. | |||
a) Do you support limits on the following types of contributions for state candidates?
| Yes | 1) Individual | ||
| Yes | 2) Political Action Committee | ||
| Yes | 3) Corporate | ||
| Yes | 4) Political Party | ||
| Yes | b) Should candidates for state office be encouraged to meet voluntary spending limits? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support requiring full and timely disclosure of campaign finance information? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support the use of an independent AND/OR bipartisan commission for redistricting? | ||
| No | e) Do you support requiring a government-issued photo identification in order to vote at the polls? | ||
| Registered voters on the voter rolls should be able to vote without their ID card. Where in the constitution does it say you need an ID? This just make one more hurdle to voters. | |||
| 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? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support decriminalizing the possession of small amounts of marijuana? | ||
| No | d) Should a minor accused of a violent crime be prosecuted as an adult? | ||
| No | 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? | ||
| Killing people is wrong no matter who does it. That goes for late term abortion as well. Drug use is a personal choice, and the government has no place regulating morality or our personal behavior if it does not harm others. Drug users should get addiction treatment not prison terms. Minors who commit violent crimes should be incarcerated, but their parents should be held partially responsible, as the minors are under their authority. This will motivate parents to make sure their children behave. Nude photos are not criminal, and people here illegally need to be deported. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support reducing government regulations on the private sector? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support increased state funding for job-training programs that re-train displaced workers? | ||
| No | c) Do you support expanding access to unemployment benefits? | ||
| No | d) Do you support providing financial incentives to the private sector for the purpose of job creation? | ||
| No | e) Do you support increased spending on infrastructure projects for the purpose of job creation? | ||
| No | f) Do you support providing direct financial assistance to homeowners facing foreclosure? | ||
| Supporting unemployed people beyond the current limit of 99 weeks is financially impossible without more borrowing, because the federal, state and local governments are deeply in debt. Jobs need to be created where there is market demand for them, not the government creating artificial demand at the expense of the taxpayer. If the government spends on unneeded infrastructure to create jobs, this leads to waste and crony capitalism, something I abhor. The government should only spend money where it is needed and cannot be provided for privately, and leave the rest to the market demand for goods and services. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support the national Common Core State Standards initiative? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support a merit pay system for teachers? | ||
| No | c) Is the tenure process for public school teachers producing effective teachers? | ||
| Yes | d) Should parents be allowed to use vouchers to send their children to any school? | ||
| Yes | 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 Hawaii high schools be eligible for in-state tuition at public universities? | ||
| Many of my friends are teachers, and they tell me the tenure system is making some teachers lax and careless with students. I am in favor of elimination of this tradition, and the adoption of a merit based system that will get results for the people of Hawaii and our children. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support state funding for the development of alternative energy? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support state funding for the development of traditional domestic energy sources (e.g. coal, natural gas, oil)? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support state funding for improvements to Hawaii's energy infrastructure? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support state funding for open space preservation? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support enacting environmental regulations aimed at reducing the effects of climate change? | ||
| Energy production is the largest financial sector on earth, comprising about 30% of the global economy. State agencies need to regulate and provide an even playing field for energy producers and consumers alike. The state needs to prevent the energy monopoly from gouging us with their shareholders profit margins, and encourage competition in the form of de-centrallized energy production with tax credits and exemptions for energy farms that create power for communities.Oahu's current and future energy needs should not dictate to the outer islands how energy is produced in the state, energy must be produced near where it is needed. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support restrictions on the purchase and possession of guns? | ||
| Yes | b) Should background checks be required on gun sales between private citizens at gun shows? | ||
| Yes | c) Should citizens be allowed to carry concealed guns? | ||
| Yes | d) Should a license be required for gun possession? | ||
| We are assured the right to carry guns by 2nd amendment to the US constitution. Sometimes people need to protect themselves from other people with guns. Having a gun is the best way to do this, because calling the police when someone is shooting at you does not help. That being said, the government must do what it can to keep guns away from irresponsible people and criminals. I do not believe that the government should have a monopoly on force, that is a one way road to tyranny. | |||
| 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? | ||
| No | d) Do you support requiring individuals to purchase health care insurance? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support monetary limits on damages that can be collected in malpractice lawsuits? | ||
| Yes | f) Do you support allowing doctors to prescribe marijuana to their patients for medicinal purposes? | ||
| Hawaii medicare is already available to qualified citizens for free. The problem with access to health care is the cost. As long as the medical industry is for profit, people will continue to pay exorbitant prices. When the state provides health insurance this will take away the profit motive of the insurance companies out of the equation, but the system must be closely monitored for waste, fraud and abuse, and regulators need to be vetted for impartiality, and no conflicts of interest, just like any government agency should. End the profit motive in the medical industry, and people will heal. | |||
| No | a) Should marriage only be between one man and one woman? | ||
| Yes | b) Should same-sex couples be allowed to form civil unions? | ||
| No | c) Do you support the inclusion of sexual orientation in Hawaii's anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| No | d) Do you support the inclusion of gender identity in Hawaii's anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| I believe in individual rights. Women's rights, gay rights, children's rights, they are all the same, they are human rights. Everyone has the same right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, just so long as my liberty does not interfere with your liberty, the government should stay out of it, until people are discriminated against, then the government should intervene. The government should not be involved in the marriage business either. If 2 people want to spend the rest of their lives together, and form a partnership, nobody has any business denying them that pleasure. | |||
| #1 Farm Tax Credit - A bill to exempt farmers and consumers from any tax on locally produced food. Also a stimulus through a state tax exemption for any business owned by a person farming in excess of $20,000/yr of food production. this will stimulate small business in my district, as well as food production. #2 Audit the Department of Education - Eliminate waste in the DOE, and decentralize it's fiscal authority to local school boards which will be accountable to the parents of the school children. This will help educate our citizens and stimulate the economy and food production. |
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