Steve Isakson's Issue Positions (Political Courage Test)
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Steve Isakson has provided voters with clear stances on key issues by responding to the 2016 Political Courage Test.
California Congressional Election 2016 Political Courage Test
| Pro-choice | Do you generally support pro-choice or pro-life legislation? | ||
| I feel a woman has the right to choose, but only after sufficient counseling to consider the long range effects of the decision. If it is financial, health, or social circumstances that resulted in an unwanted pregnancy, or an inability to provide adequately for the child, it is better for society to prevent the conditions that lead to child abuse or neglect. | |||
| Yes | In order to balance the budget, do you support reducing defense spending? | ||
| Yes | In order to balance the budget, do you support an income tax increase on any tax bracket? | ||
| Without major change, in six years the debt will be $25T and the interest on the debt will exceed the defense budget -- over half the discretionary budget. No budget item should be off limits to achieve a balanced budget. Nobody wants to cut the defense budget, but the hunt for pork-barrel waste must always continue if we are to get our fiscal health in order. Likewise, nobody wants their taxes to increase. But a balanced budget requires a balance in revenue and spending. And our tax system is broken, with the rich contributing less than their share. | |||
| Yes | Do you support the regulation of indirect campaign contributions from corporations and unions? | ||
| Campaign finance reform is greatly needed today. Members of Congress spend literally half their time raising money for their next campaign and their political party rather than representing all the voters of their district and state -- their actual job. If money is given in the limited amounts allowed under campaign finance laws, as the laws are intended, the chances for buying influence is minimal. However, large amounts donated directly or indirectly create an obligation that influences legislation for special interests rather than for the good of the people. Citizens United, in particular, should be overturned. | |||
| Yes | 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? | ||
| I rarely support the the death penalty. However, if an offender that has so little regard for others that they are not likely to ever contribute to the good of society and might still pose a threat to others, even other prisoners, they should receive the death penalty. On the other hand, our jails have filled with non-violent offenders. I am not talking about excusing them for their offense; but jails are generally designed to punish rather than reform. Restitution combined with counseling, work release, or even boot-camp style training is more likely to reform and benefit society. | |||
| Yes | 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? | ||
| Yes | Do you support providing tax incentives to businesses for the purpose of job creation? | ||
| Each of these can to be used in a limited manner with an intended long-term result to pay for itself. Where these programs frequently fail is because they become permanent fixtures that either stop promoting growth or promote unhealthy growth that cannot sustain itself without the dole. Example: Recent temporary lowering of the payroll tax did inject money into the system that resulted in economic growth. Now that the economy has returned, it is time to return the tax to the normal level since the local economies can stand on their own. | |||
| Yes | Do you support requiring states to implement education reforms in order to be eligible for competitive federal grants? | ||
| If those grants are for education, then it is reasonable to require education reforms to match what the grants are trying to achieve. On the other hand, if the grants are in unrelated fields, such as agriculture, I would have to be convinced that educational reform is necessary to justify exclusion from competitive federal grants. | |||
| No | Do you support building the Keystone XL pipeline? | ||
| Yes | Do you support funding for the development of renewable energy (e.g. solar, wind, thermal)? | ||
| Yes | Do you support increased regulations on the hydraulic fracturing ("fracking") industry? | ||
| Keystone XL will promote further fossil fuel consumption which raises carbon dioxide levels further. The possibility of accidents, and safe guards to mitigate this occurrence, must be carefully considered. Hydraulic fracturing usually consumes fossil fuels to get fossil fuel, multiplying the amount of carbon dioxide produced as well as using (or contaminating) other needed natural resources. This district has an extremely abundant natural green energy source available in wind and solar. This should be developed to benefit the nation. Congress must act to support energy storage research, so that green energy will be available at night and on calm days. | |||
| Yes | Do you believe that human activity is contributing to climate change? | ||
| Yes | Do you support the federal regulation of greenhouse gas emissions? | ||
| There is scientific certainty carbon dioxide levels are higher now than any time in the last half million years. There is scientific certainty the global climate is hotter than previous recorded history. There is scientific certainty human activity has caused these changes. The effects are seen as melting of glaciers and record global temperatures in ten of the last twelve years. The result will be cooler in some areas and hotter in others. The major effect will be economic -- shifts in agriculture and water availability. We must regulate green house gas emissions or suffer major economic shifts. | |||
| Yes | Do you generally support gun-control legislation? | ||
| The right to gun ownership for legal purposes (such as self defense) has been established by the Supreme Court. But with that right also comes limitations and responsibilities. Few people dispute the limitation that you cannot own a fully automatic gun -- its use would rarely be for a legal purpose and that conflicts with other rights, such as public safety. Gun owners must be responsible for use and access of their weapon. What is suitable in the Wyoming back country is different from Wall Street. States need to decide the appropriate limitations, with broad guidance from federal authorities. | |||
| No | Do you support repealing the 2010 Affordable Care Act ("Obamacare")? | ||
| The ACA has provided many health benefits to the public and repeal makes no sense. In the long run it will provide adequate insurance to nearly everyone as the law becomes full enacted. The act may have some minor flaws, but these will be worked out in time. However, the Affordable Care Act has one major problem -- for many it is not affordable. This does need to be addressed. Possible causes and solutions: Insurance companies have a captive audience? Provisions are not being implemented? Single-payer system might help? Competition across state lines (or wider) for insurance and pharmaceuticals? | |||
| No | Do you support requiring illegal immigrants to return to their country of origin before they are eligible for citizenship? | ||
| No, except perhaps for some of the few that have arrived recently. But the bulk of the illegals have been here a long time and have integrated into our economy and neighborhoods, and most have families here. To make them return home when we have been allowing them to do jobs that are difficult to fill otherwise is just cruel. But these people do need to come out of the shadows and be treated with respect. Generally they are good neighbors. They have been here a long time and they should be given a path to legal status. | |||
| Yes | Do you support same-sex marriage? | ||
| When the Supreme Court ruled less than a year ago to make same-sex marriage legal in the entire country, I changed my web page on the subject (which always supported same-sex couples being allowed to marry) to the following: "Finally it is the law of the land. While I know this decision does not make everyone happy, I am glad that everyone will be treated with respect and equality in the future." Same-sex couples have always been around us, and I am glad that they too can come out of the shadows (those that were hiding to prevent alienation). | |||
| No | 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? | ||
| If you have identified a terrorist, there is international law that can help apprehend, try, and punish the offender. But this question is about targeting suspected terrorists. Whether a US citizen or not, a human life deserves a fair trial. If a nation is attempting to acquire nuclear weapons for offensive purposes against the US or its allies, then it is a matter of self-defense to stop that government. Nuclear weapons always do much more damage to the environment than any actual military benefit it was used for. | |||
| No | Do you support allowing individuals to divert a portion of their Social Security taxes into personal retirement accounts? | ||
| Currently the money paid into the Social Security Trust Fund is backed by the "full faith and credit" of the United States by law. Moving some of those trillions of dollars into the private banking system will place the individual's retirement at risk, similar to what was seen in the 2008 near economic collapse. Other retirement accounts have already suffered enough. | |||
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.
| Maintain Status | a) Agriculture | ||
| Slightly Increase | b) Arts | ||
| Slightly Decrease | c) Defense | ||
| Maintain Status | d) Education | ||
| Slightly Increase | e) Environment | ||
| Slightly Decrease | f) Homeland Security | ||
| Maintain Status | g) International aid | ||
| Slightly Increase | h) Medical Research | ||
| Slightly Increase | i) Scientific Research | ||
| Maintain Status | j) Space exploration | ||
| Maintain Status | k) United Nations | ||
| Maintain Status | l) Welfare | ||
| Greatly Increase | a) Capital gains taxes | ||
| Greatly Increase | b) Corporate taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | c) Small business taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | d) Excise taxes (alcohol) | ||
| Maintain Status | e) Excise taxes (cigarettes) | ||
| Maintain Status | f) Excise taxes (transportation fuel) | ||
| Slightly Decrease | g) Income taxes (low-income families) | ||
| Slightly Decrease | h) Income taxes (middle-income families) | ||
| Slightly Increase | i) Income taxes (high-income families) | ||
| Eliminate | j) Inheritance taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | k) Payroll taxes | ||
| Nobody wants to decrease the military budget and that includes myself. However, it is one of the few areas where a decrease has the potential to help balance the budget. The military needs to watch its budget carefully and use it wisely -- not allow pork-barrel spending to flow through its offices. While all budgets need to be watched for wasteful spending, few will have as significant an impact on the budget deficit as the military spending. Increase spending for the Arts because it has been cut in recent years and some of those cuts need to be restored. | |||
| In the last several decades corporate taxes have significantly decreased as a percentage of revenue. The pendulum has swung much too far. Rather than an inheritance tax, I would prefer to see the person inherit on the same basis as the person who passed. There would be no taxes for grandma when grandpa died. But if she later decided to sell the farm, only then would the income taxes on the gains be due, just as if grandpa were still living. Other examples can be shown for the fairness to the individuals and the government in such a system. | |||
| Unless something significantly changes, in six years the national debt is destined to be $25T and the interest on the debt will be larger than the military budget -- over half the discretionary budget. Our economy will not tolerate that for long. My first priority is to work with the members of congress that want to help the people, rather than the special interests, to achieve a balanced budget and return to a healthy economy. Second priority is to help the country move towards a green energy policy to slow down the climate change that will ruin the economic future. |
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