Paul Panos' Issue Positions (Political Courage Test)
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Paul Panos has refused to provide voters with positions on key issues covered by the 2016 Political Courage Test, despite repeated requests from Vote Smart and voters like you.
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.
Connecticut 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? | ||
| Yes | g) Do you support the prohibition of public funds for abortion procedures? | ||
| Yes | h) Do you support the prohibition of public funds for organizations that perform abortions? | ||
| The state should protect human life actual human life, which begins after a few months, when consciousness begins. | |||
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 Connecticut's budget.
| Slightly Decrease | a) Education (higher) | ||
| Slightly Decrease | b) Education (K-12) | ||
| Greatly Decrease | c) Environment | ||
| Slightly Decrease | d) Health care | ||
| Slightly Increase | e) Law enforcement/corrections | ||
| Maintain Status | f) Transportation/infrastructure | ||
| Greatly Decrease | g) Welfare | ||
| Greatly Decrease | h) Other or expanded categories: | ||
| Slightly Decrease | a) Alcohol taxes | ||
| Slightly Decrease | b) Cigarette taxes | ||
| Greatly Decrease | c) Corporate taxes | ||
| Slightly Decrease | d) Gas/Oil taxes | ||
| Slightly Decrease | e) Property taxes | ||
| Slightly Decrease | f) Sales taxes | ||
| Greatly Decrease | g) Income taxes (low-income families) | ||
| Greatly Decrease | h) Income taxes (mid-income families) | ||
| Greatly Decrease | i) Income taxes (high-income families) | ||
| Greatly Decrease | j) Other or expanded categories: | ||
| No | a) Tapping into Connecticut's "rainy day" fund | ||
| Yes | b) Increasing tuition rates at public universities | ||
| Yes | 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 | ||
| New state retirement benefits | |||
| Capital gains taxes | |||
| all areas of public spending except law enforcement for violent crimes, theft, and fraud, should be reduced. | |||
a) Do you support limits on the following types of contributions for state candidates?
| No | 1) Individual | ||
| No | 2) Political Action Committee | ||
| No | 3) Corporate | ||
| No | 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? | ||
| No | d) Do you support greater public disclosure of donors for all organizations that seek to influence elections? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support the use of an independent AND/OR bipartisan commission for redistricting? | ||
| Yes | f) Do you support requiring a government-issued photo identification in order to vote at the polls? | ||
| There is already public disclosure. If you list the individuals who contributed, then you expose them to violent retribution by irrational people. | |||
| Yes | 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? | ||
| 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? | ||
| The overwhelming priority of government is defense of individuals and their property from acts of harm by others. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support reducing government regulations on the private sector? | ||
| No | 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? | ||
| Reduce costs and legal barriers to hiring people. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support the national Common Core State Standards initiative? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support a merit pay system for teachers? | ||
| Yes | 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? | ||
| No | f) Do you support the state government providing college students with financial aid? | ||
| No | g) Should illegal immigrants who graduate from Connecticut high schools be eligible for in-state tuition at public universities? | ||
| I reluctantly support vouchers and charter schools. If school districts had more autonomy from state imposed mandates, vouchers would be unnecessary. | |||
| No | 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)? | ||
| No | c) Do you support state funding for improvements to Connecticut's energy infrastructure? | ||
| No | d) Do you support state funding for open space preservation? | ||
| No | e) Do you support enacting environmental regulations aimed at reducing the effects of climate change? | ||
| The increase in atmospheric CO2 has had no significant effect on global warming. | |||
| 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? | ||
| d) Should a license be required for gun possession? | |||
| A licence should be required for handgun posession, but not rifles or shotguns. | |||
| No | 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? | ||
| The state insurance commission should not be allowed to set conditions for health insurance. This is what drives up costs. Insurance should be for non-elective very high cost medical expenses. | |||
| Yes | a) Should marriage only be between one man and one woman? | ||
| No | b) Should Connecticut continue to grant marriage licenses to same-sex couples? | ||
| No | c) Do you support the inclusion of sexual orientation in Connecticut's anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| No | d) Do you support the inclusion of gender identity in Connecticut's anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| Anti-discrimination laws add unnecessary legal costs and risks to social and business relationships for no real benefit, and raise suspicions of legal favoritism. | |||
| 1. Reduce legal restrictions and legally created costs and risks on hiring or employing all legal citizens. I.e, reduce legal barriers to employment. 2. Reduce government regulations on businesses, and mandates to towns and school districts. 3. Reduce government expenditures on transfer payments to all but individuals that are physically or mentally helpless and without alternative private resources. 4. Change future state retirement benefits to be defined contribution programs fully funded in current year while honoring past committments as much as possible. |
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