Joe Pakootas' Issue Positions (Political Courage Test)
Key
Official Position: Candidate addressed this issue directly by taking the Political Courage Test.
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Joe Pakootas has provided voters with clear stances on key issues by responding to the 2016 Political Courage Test.
Washington Congressional Election 2016 Political Courage Test
| Pro-choice | Do you generally support pro-choice or pro-life legislation? | ||
| Joe Pakootas believes that abortion should be rare, safe, and legal. Our country should take all actions possible to support a mother so that an abortion is the last possible alternative. Increasing sex education, universal healthcare that provides access to contraceptives, funding our social safety net, and increasing minimum wage can all decrease the need for an abortion. Unfortunately, the same people that want to outlaw abortion are the same people that provide little to none support for parents. Joe Pakootas believes that a woman's body should not be a governmental issue and supports the right to choose. | |||
| 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? | ||
| Now more than ever, income inequality defines our society, and the government should do more to ensure more economic opportunities across the board. When a worker is paid well and given paid sick and family leave, the company and community benefit. That is the meaning of real family values. When elected to Congress, Joe will work to raise the federal minimum wage to $15, fight to ensure that those that have done very well pay their fair share in taxes, and make sure that our most vulnerable populations are taken care of, not cast down upon by their government. | |||
| Yes | Do you support the regulation of indirect campaign contributions from corporations and unions? | ||
| The Citizens United ruling has dictated that money can buy power in government, a danger our founding fathers warned against. In the 6 years that this ruling has stood we have seen the corruption that has inhabited our government. Campaigns are more expensive than ever, votes in Congress are being bought, and legislation is pushed from the likes of private interest groups. Because of super PACs we do not know who our representative is working for; us, or her wealthy donors. This extreme need for campaign finance reform should be concerning to everyone. | |||
| No | 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? | ||
| Since the 1980?s, millions of lives have been destroyed because of jail sentences for nonviolent crimes. Nixon?s ?War on Drugs? instituted racially-biased mandatory minimums and flooded prisons with a majority of minorities. This is not due to higher crime rates among those populations, but rather the institutional racism embedded in police enforcement and reporting mechanisms. With roughly 2.2 million people locked up in prison or jail, our country now has the highest prison population in the world, at a huge cost to society (>$80B annually), families and our economy. | |||
| 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? | ||
| Joe Pakootas will support legislation that raises the Federal minimum wage to $15. Seattle?s increase in minimum wage has shown that an economy prevails when its workers are not living on paycheck to paycheck, but rather can pour discretionary income back into the regional economy. If this country were to invest in fixing its crumbling infrastructure, millions of jobs could be created while vastly updating our dangerous and dated infrastructure. Joe Pakootas will support legislation that updates national infrastructure, such as the Rebuild America Act. | |||
| No | Do you support building the Keystone XL pipeline? | ||
| Yes | Do you support government funding for the development of renewable energy (e.g. solar, wind, thermal)? | ||
| Yes | Do you support increased regulations on the hydraulic fracturing ("fracking") industry? | ||
| The old argument of jobs vs. the economy has been proven false. There is a wealth of profit and skilled labor job potential within the clean energy revolution. We are already seeing a removal of investments in coal and an inverse increase in investments in clean energy technology. For every dollar invested in energy efficiency, families and businesses see up to $4 in energy savings. For every billion dollars invested in energy efficiency upgrades, we can create up to 7,000-8,000 new jobs, roughly ten times as many jobs as we would create from the same investments in coal. | |||
| Yes | Do you believe that human activity is contributing to climate change? | ||
| Yes | Do you support the federal regulation of greenhouse gas emissions? | ||
| Climate change is proven and it is real. The continued burning of fossil fuels represents a catastrophic risk to all of humanity. Unfortunately, many of our law-makers have chosen to place the monetary interests of big oil companies before the needs of citizens. Much of our world is suffering and impoverished minorities are experiencing the devastation of climate change?s effects. Bold action is needed in order to mitigate the adverse impacts of climate change. The EPA is the regulatory agency in charge of our natural resources and it must continue to be properly funded so it can perform its job. | |||
| Yes | Do you generally support gun-control legislation? | ||
| Joe Pakootas is a gun owner, has taught his 6 grandchildren to hunt, and believes that our country can find the right balance between honoring individual rights and ensuring the safety of our communities. Unfortunately, Congress has not taken responsibility to ensure that everyday Americans do not have access to dangerous weapons. What is really common sense has become completely partisan following the flow of money, leaving us with elected officials who are too afraid of angering their campaign contributors to act in favor of citizens. The truth is a majority of Americans are in favor of sensible gun policies. | |||
| No | Do you support repealing the 2010 Affordable Care Act ("Obamacare")? | ||
| No one should be forced to go without healthcare because of their financial circumstances. Healthcare is the primary driver of personal bankruptcy, and much more has to be done to rectify that fact. In the most developed and wealthy country in the world, it is a travesty that there are countless of our most vulnerable citizens suffering with inadequate access to health care. Joe will protect the Affordable Care Act in Congress, and will fight to pass legislation to expand access to health care to every citizen in the country. | |||
| Yes | Do you support same-sex marriage? | ||
| Our country still lacks protection for LGBT individuals from discrimination based solely upon their gender identity or sexual orientation. Although the Supreme Court has given all citizens equal rights in whom they choose to marry, in many states it is still legal to fire someone or deny them a service for being gay. In the words of Pope Francis, ?Congress is called to defend and preserve the dignity of its fellow citizens in the tireless and demanding pursuit of the common good.? Joe supports legislation that affords every American equal rights under the law. | |||
| Yes | Do you support allowing individuals to divert a portion of their Social Security taxes into personal retirement accounts? | ||
| Social Security represents the best investment that America has ever made. It is an earned benefit, not an entitlement program as its critics like to say. When elected to Congress, Joe will work to protect Social Security and Medicare from those in Congress, like Cathy McMorris Rodgers, who would fight to give Social Security entirely over to Wall Street in poorly designed and thought out ?privatization? schemes. Joe opposes any efforts to increase the age of retirement or a change in calculation of benefits. | |||
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.
| Slightly Increase | a) Agriculture | ||
| Slightly Increase | b) Arts | ||
| Greatly Decrease | c) Defense | ||
| Greatly Increase | d) Education | ||
| Greatly Increase | e) Environment | ||
| Maintain Status | f) Homeland Security | ||
| Greatly Increase | g) International aid | ||
| Greatly Increase | h) Medical Research | ||
| Greatly Increase | i) Scientific Research | ||
| Greatly Increase | j) Space exploration | ||
| Slightly Increase | k) United Nations | ||
| Slightly Increase | l) Welfare | ||
| m) Other or expanded categories | |||
| Slightly Increase | a) Capital gains taxes | ||
| Greatly Increase | b) Corporate taxes | ||
| Slightly Decrease | c) Small business taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | d) Excise taxes (alcohol) | ||
| Maintain Status | e) Excise taxes (cigarettes) | ||
| Slightly Increase | f) Excise taxes (transportation fuel) | ||
| Slightly Decrease | g) Income taxes (low-income families) | ||
| Maintain Status | h) Income taxes (middle-income families) | ||
| Slightly Increase | i) Income taxes (high-income families) | ||
| Maintain Status | j) Inheritance taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | k) Payroll taxes | ||
| l) Other or expanded categories | |||
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