Dennis Kim's Issue Positions (Political Courage Test)
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Dennis Kim has provided voters with clear stances on key issues by responding to the 2014 Political Courage Test.
Hawaii State Legislative Election 2014 Political Courage Test
| Pro-life | 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? | ||
| Abortion should be a last resort for an expectant mother. In the case of minors, the parents need to know and consent prior to the procedure. In my many years of a clergyman, I have interviewed numerous women who chose abortion, but years later expressed regret that they made that decision. Guilt and wondering what that child would be like were the two main concerns they expressed. Many said that if they found themselves in the same situation, they would not have chosen to abort that child. | |||
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.
| Slightly Decrease | a) Education (higher) | ||
| Slightly Decrease | b) Education (K-12) | ||
| Greatly Decrease | c) Environment | ||
| Greatly Decrease | d) Health care | ||
| Maintain Status | e) Law enforcement/corrections | ||
| Maintain Status | f) Transportation/infrastructure | ||
| Maintain Status | g) Welfare | ||
| Maintain Status | a) Alcohol taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | b) Cigarette taxes | ||
| Slightly Decrease | c) Corporate taxes | ||
| Slightly Decrease | d) Gas/Oil taxes | ||
| Greatly Decrease | e) Property taxes | ||
| Greatly Decrease | f) Sales taxes | ||
| Greatly Decrease | g) Income taxes (low-income families) | ||
| Greatly Decrease | h) Income taxes (mid-income families) | ||
| Slightly Decrease | i) Income taxes (high-income families) | ||
| Yes | a) Tapping into Hawaii'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 | ||
| Government should allow the private sector to handle health care. One way to reduce runaway expenses is to have tort reform. Less defensive procedures will result and both liability and legal expenses will be reduced over time. State Insurance regulators already monitor and approve rate increases, so they should be the watchdog to prevent rate abuses. Education is important, but I believe there are many inefficiencies that could result in lower expenses if they are corrected. | |||
| I am against tax increases in general except the "sin taxes." At this point in time, it would be difficult to reduce taxes and fees immediately as I indicated above. In the long run, as the economy grows, tax revenue will automatically increase. The middle class and lower income citizens are the ones who pay the bulk of taxes in Hawaii. They need a reprieve. | |||
| We cannot continue on our present course of increasing wages and taxing the middle class to pay for it. All sides need to come together and chart a common sense approach to state budgeting. We need to do a better job negotiating fair contracts in good faith. Most savings could be achieved with natural attrition or eliminating already vacant positions. Even legislators should be willing to take a pay cut and perform their duties as a public servant. Unchecked, our state will someday be on the brink of bankruptcy like many cities have experienced. | |||
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? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support requiring a government-issued photo identification in order to vote at the polls? | ||
| Many well qualified candidates do not run for office because of two things: Money and regulations. Powerful people currently control our legislators through various contributions. If the playing field was level, more people would have an active interest in the political process and vote for individuals and what they stand for, rather than the party or a particular special interest group. Because there are so many regulations, many potential candidates back off because of the fear of missing deadlines, or failing to read the small print, etc. Voter IDs prevent voter fraud. | |||
| 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? | ||
| No | c) Do you support legalizing 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? | ||
| No | g) Do you support requiring labels on foods that have been genetically engineered or contain genetically modified ingredients? | ||
| Capital punishment should be used very rarely. I am in favor of rehabilitation of offenders because they can re-enter the work force and become a contributing citizen in society. However, repeat offenders or habitual offenders should be off the streets. Immigration laws are broken. How come illegal immigrants are welcomed and defended, while those who follow the law (like my wife) have to wait months and years and pay hundreds of dollars before even entering the country, then wait an additional couple of years to become a US Citizen? What happened to "fairness?" | |||
| 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? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support providing financial incentives to the private sector for the purpose of job creation? | ||
| No | e) Do you support government spending as a means of promoting economic growth? | ||
| No | f) Do you support providing direct financial assistance to homeowners facing foreclosure? | ||
| No | g) Do you support an increase of the minimum wage? | ||
| I am in favor of reducing government regulations on the private AND public sector. These regulations create undue burden on those that must follow them. Many requirements are redundant and have the opposite result of what the intentions the writer had in mind. For example how much disclosure paperwork do realtors have to give a prospective buyer? In reality, how many buyers actually read all those disclosures, and if they did, how many understood what they read? Also some regulations were enacted to give another entity an unfair advantage in their business. | |||
| No | 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? | ||
| No | 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? | ||
| Not all Common Core Standards are bad, but having the Federal Government and State Government mandating course content without regard to input from parents and the local communities is wrong. In Hawaii, having one standard for all schools is not acceptable and puts a burden on local school administrators. The principal of Ka'u High School in Pahala has completely different issues to deal with than the principals of Kaiser High School or Waialua High School. More authority should be given to the local school administrators to make decisions that affect their schools. | |||
| 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? | ||
| No | d) Do you support state funding for open space preservation? | ||
| No | e) Do you support government regulations of greenhouse gas emissions? | ||
| The people of Hawaii not only need relief from burdensome taxes, they need relief from increasing utility costs and user fees. We have seen utility bills skyrocket. I believe that part of this is the rush to make Hawaii energy independent. Maybe we should slow down that rush and look for ways to lower production costs including considering natural gas and other sources of cheap energy. We are paying for infrastructure to produce alternative energy through tax credits and higher prices for the energy we buy from those producers. | |||
| No | 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? | ||
| No | d) Should a license be required for gun possession? | ||
| The right to bear arms is a Second Amendment Right. Making sure the guns don't get into the wrong hands is critical, thus back ground checks. Taiwan outlaws all private ownership of guns, yet in the late evening and early mornings, I saw policemen with M-16s at various road blocks. Why? Because the bad guys had the guns and the good guys didn't, so the bad guys didn't have to worry when they did bad things. | |||
| 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 Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act? | ||
| No | e) Do you support requiring individuals to purchase health care insurance? | ||
| Yes | f) Do you support monetary limits on damages that can be collected in malpractice lawsuits? | ||
| Yes | g) Do you support allowing doctors to prescribe marijuana to their patients for medicinal purposes? | ||
| The ACA is expensive, loaded with regulations, full of new levels of administration requiring more taxpayer dollars to operate. The private sector will do a more efficient job if more competition is allowed in Hawaii. Right now, new companies hesitate to open business here because of the myriads of regulations and anti-business legislation on the books. Tort reform will help keep medical costs down. Regarding medicinal marijuana, there has to be controls on the distribution and prescription side to avoid wholesale abuses of the system. | |||
| No | a) Do you support same-sex marriage? | ||
| No | b) Do you support the inclusion of sexual orientation in Hawaii's anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| No | c) Do you support the inclusion of gender identity in Hawaii's anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| Marriage should be defined as a union between a man and a woman. No clergy should be forced to marry same-sex couples or be mandated to allow such a celebration of that marriage in their facilities. An individual with deeply held religious convictions should not be forced to provide his services to a gay couple when there are many other competitors who would provide those same services to that couple. Why does the government have to legislate this? What happened to separation of Church and State? Isn't this issue about the State controlling the Church? | |||
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