Mark Zetzer's Issue Positions (Political Courage Test)
Key
Official Position: Candidate addressed this issue directly by taking the Political Courage Test.
Inferred Position: Candidate refused to address this issue, but Vote Smart inferred this issue based on the candidate's public record, including statements, voting record, and special interest group endorsements.
Unknown Position: Candidate refused to address this issue, or we could not infer an answer for this candidate despite exhaustive research of their public record.
Additional Information: Click on this icon to reveal more information about this candidate's position, from their answers or Vote Smart's research.
Other or Expanded Principles & Legislative Priorities are entered exactly as candidates submit them. Vote Smart does not edit for misspelled words, punctuation or grammar.
Issue Positions
For Presidential and Congressional candidates who refuse to provide voters with their positions, Vote Smart has researched their public records to determine their likely responses. These issue positions are from 2014.
- Despite exhaustive research, Vote Smart was unable to find information about this candidate's position.
- Despite exhaustive research, Vote Smart was unable to find information about this candidate's position.
- Despite exhaustive research, Vote Smart was unable to find information about this candidate's position.
- Despite exhaustive research, Vote Smart was unable to find information about this candidate's position.
- Despite exhaustive research, Vote Smart was unable to find information about this candidate's position.
- Despite exhaustive research, Vote Smart was unable to find information about this candidate's position.
- Despite exhaustive research, Vote Smart was unable to find information about this candidate's position.
- Despite exhaustive research, Vote Smart was unable to find information about this candidate's position.
- Despite exhaustive research, Vote Smart was unable to find information about this candidate's position.
- Despite exhaustive research, Vote Smart was unable to find information about this candidate's position.
- Despite exhaustive research, Vote Smart was unable to find information about this candidate's position.
- Despite exhaustive research, Vote Smart was unable to find information about this candidate's position.
- Despite exhaustive research, Vote Smart was unable to find information about this candidate's position.
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.
| Pro-life | Do you generally support pro-choice or pro-life legislation? | ||
| I support reducing abortions through local, private sector efforts to close abortion mills and to provide pregnancy, adoption, contraception and family planning services. No taxpayer funds should be used for these services. | |||
| 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? | ||
| True defense spending would cost much less than offense spending. The invasion, occupation and nation building of third world countries only weakens our national defense by wasting precious American blood and treasure. If elected, I would follow Ronald Reagan's foreign policy of peace through strength, and intervene in foreign affairs only when a clear plan for victory and exit has been voted on by Congress. The budget should be balanced by cuts to spending and regulation and not by tax increases. Government service monopolies should be busted up and privatized so that austerity measures are not necessary. | |||
| No | Do you support the regulation of indirect campaign contributions from corporations and unions? | ||
| Money is speech and should not be regulated in any way. Campaign finance laws serve only to protect incumbents by raising the barriers to challengers. The problem with government isn't the corruption of power with money, it's the power to corrupt. Reduce government's unconstitutional powers and you will reduce the influence of money in government, as well as reduce the wealth being sent to the Washington DC metro area. | |||
| No | Do you support capital punishment for certain crimes? | ||
| I do not trust the government to carry out the death penalty fairly. Our prisons should be emptied of nonviolent drug offenders so that more resources can be spent on protecting the public from violent criminals though more secure incarceration and more effective rehabilitation. | |||
| No | Do you support federal spending as a means of promoting economic growth? | ||
| Yes | Do you support lowering taxes as a way of promoting growth in the economy? | ||
| No | Do you support providing tax incentives to businesses for the purpose of job creation? | ||
| A Constitutional government is an economic umpire, not a player. Government does not create wealth, it consumes wealth. Government should protect our rights to life, liberty and property, but not try to serve businesses and individuals. Products and services are best delivered in the private, voluntary sector where customers can choose which to buy and how much they are willing to pay. | |||
| No | Do you support requiring states to implement education reforms in order to be eligible for competitive federal grants? | ||
| The 10th Amendment strictly limits the federal government's power over the states, and should not be able to coerce or bribe the states with federal tax dollars. The federal Department of Education should be abolished, so that states and individuals can have more control over their own educational services and costs. | |||
| Yes | Do you support building the Keystone XL pipeline? | ||
| Yes | Do you support reducing restrictions on offshore energy production? | ||
| Investment in energy production should be made by the private sector only. Ownership of land and waters resources should exist only in the private sector. America's largely privately-owned energy sector is what allowed innovations like hydraulic fracturing to be developed here rather than in other countries, where risks are less rewarded by personal gain. Recent innovations in America's oil and gas industry have created perhaps the only booming sector in our economy. The keys to success in our energy industry of more private ownership of both risks and rewards should be spread throughout our economy ASAP. | |||
| No | Do you believe that human activity is contributing to climate change? | ||
| No | Do you support the federal regulation of greenhouse gas emissions? | ||
| The science of climate change is unproven and should not dictate government policy. Should climate change ever become a problem, the IPCC's most recent report recommends adaptation over mitigation as the best way to minimize extreme weather. To that end, free markets can give our economy the most strength to adapt to any changes in climate, including the more likely and eventual severity of returning glaciers. | |||
| No | Do you support restrictions on the purchase and possession of guns? | ||
| The Second Amendment does not refer to hunting rifles. It was written after our founders had fought and won a long and bloody war against the most powerful military empire in the world. They succeeded mainly because the colonial militia and continental army had the same 'assault-style' guns as the British invaders. Today, government militaries, police forces and criminals all have access to the most advanced guns available, so it's vital that free and law-abiding citizens can bear the same type of arms as everyone else. | |||
| Yes | Do you support repealing the 2010 Affordable Care Act? | ||
| Government intervention in health care markets goes back 50 years or more, and is the source of its high costs today. The ACA should be repealed and free market solutions implemented that give health care consumer more choices in price, quality and providers. Veterinary care costs one-tenth as much as human health care for the same procedures because pet and livestock owners are given much more choices than human health consumers get. | |||
| Yes | Do you support requiring illegal immigrants to return to their country of origin before they are eligible for citizenship? | ||
| America is a nation of immigrants and should always welcome legal immigration, as long as our borders are secure and immigration procedures are made easier and more efficient. Immigration usually is not a problem during strong economic times, so free markets must be restored so that our economy grows again and creates more jobs and wealth for both native- and foreign-born citizens. | |||
| No | Do you support same-sex marriage? | ||
| Marriage should be privatized and tax laws regarding marriage should be neutralized. Marriage is a private bond between individuals and should be administered by churches and other private sector institutions, not by government. Neither opposite-sex nor same-sex marriage should be supported by taxpayers. | |||
| Yes | Do you support targeting suspected terrorists outside of official theaters of conflict? | ||
| Yes | Should the U.S use military force in order to prevent governments hostile to the United States from possessing a nuclear weapon? | ||
| I support foreign interventions only if permission is granted by Congress, in which case a clear plan for victory and exit is established and no nation building is proposed. | |||
| Yes | Do you support allowing individuals to divert a portion of their Social Security taxes into personal retirement accounts? | ||
| Social Security is a legal ponzi scheme and should be phased out. There is no money set aside for future recipients who have already paid taxes for it. Federals assets should be sold to create annuities for current and near term dependents, so that younger people can opt out and manage their own retirement accounts, or spend their money elsewhere as they see fit. | |||
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 | ||
| Slightly Decrease | c) Defense | ||
| Eliminate | d) Education | ||
| Eliminate | e) Environment | ||
| Eliminate | f) Homeland Security | ||
| Eliminate | g) International aid | ||
| Eliminate | h) Medical Research | ||
| Eliminate | i) Scientific Research | ||
| Eliminate | j) Space exploration | ||
| Eliminate | k) United Nations | ||
| Greatly Decrease | l) Welfare | ||
| Eliminate | a) Capital gains taxes | ||
| Greatly Decrease | b) Corporate taxes | ||
| Greatly Decrease | c) Excise taxes (alcohol) | ||
| Greatly Decrease | d) Excise taxes (cigarettes) | ||
| Greatly Decrease | e) Excise taxes (transportation fuel) | ||
| Eliminate | f) Income taxes (low-income families) | ||
| Eliminate | g) Income taxes (middle-income families) | ||
| Eliminate | h) Income taxes (high-income families) | ||
| Eliminate | i) Inheritance taxes | ||
| Eliminate | j) Payroll taxes | ||
| A constitutional government allows that the only service provided is a common defense (AKA Homeland Security). Homeland security and defense should be merged, while most other services -- including charity -- be privatized so that only those who use them pay for them. The elimination of government services does not require austerity if the private sector is allowed to provided them instead, which it can at lower costs and better quality. Austerity is the false choice of socialist dictatorships, in which taxes are raised while service monopolies are cut. End monopolies and you end austerity. | |||
| A constitutionally limited government would be much smaller that today's federal behemoth and would require much less taxes to run. If taxes must be collected, the taxation of consumption (sales taxes) is the leasts egregious, because people can choose not to consume. Next would be the taxation of foreign trade (import and export taxes), if necessary. The taxation of capital (profits) and labor (income) should be abolished. The resulting boom in the creation of wealth from people free to keep the fruits of their labors will more than finance and limited government. | |||
| 1.) cut spending and regulations to Constitutional limits. This would be funded without austerity measures by busting up federal service monopolies in retirement insurance, health care, charity, transportation, communication, etc., that prevent the private sector from providing these at lower cost and better quality. 2.) restore sound money by allowing free competition in currency, in which people can choose the form of payment they use to buy for goods and services, be it in US dollars, foreign currencies, precious metals, crypto currency or barter. 3.) restore the power of Congress to legislate over that of the executive and judicial branches. |
Vote Smart does not permit the use of its name or programs in any campaign activity, including advertising, debates, and speeches.