Thomas Krouse's Issue Positions (Political Courage Test)
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Thomas Krouse submitted the 2016 Political Courage Test after the official deadline.
California State Legislative Election 2016 Political Courage Test
| a) Do you generally support pro-choice or pro-life legislation? | |||
| 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? | ||
| f) Do you support requiring parental consent before an abortion is performed on a minor? | |||
| g) Do you support the prohibition of public funds for abortion procedures? | |||
| h) Do you support the prohibition of public funds for organizations that perform abortions? | |||
| i) Other or expanded principles: | |||
1) Budget Stabilization:Indicate which proposals you support (if any) for balancing California's budget.2) State Spending: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.3) State Taxes: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.
| Yes | a) Tapping into California's "rainy day" fund | ||
| b) Decreasing funding for public universities | |||
| c) Reducing state employee salaries AND/OR pensions | |||
| d) Instituting mandatory furloughs AND/OR layoffs for state employees | |||
| e) Reducing benefits for Medicaid recipients | |||
| Maintain Status | a) Education (higher) | ||
| Maintain Status | b) Education (K-12) | ||
| Maintain Status | c) Environment | ||
| Maintain Status | d) Health care | ||
| Maintain Status | e) Law enforcement/corrections | ||
| Slightly Increase | f) Transportation/infrastructure | ||
| Maintain Status | g) Welfare | ||
| Maintain Status | a) Alcohol taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | b) Cigarette taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | c) Corporate taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | d) Small business taxes | ||
| Slightly Increase | e) Gas/Oil taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | f) Property taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | g) Sales taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | h) Income taxes (low-income families) | ||
| Slightly Decrease | i) Income taxes (mid-income families) | ||
| Maintain Status | j) Income taxes (high-income families) | ||
| Yes | k) Do you support applying sales taxes to all online purchases? | ||
| l) Other or expanded principles: | |||
| California's State pension programs CalPERS/CalSTRS should incorporate prudent investment return assumptions as detailed by the State Auditor. The current overly optimistic return expectations lead to additional unfunded pension expenses and understated current costs for Cities, Counties, the State and the public agencies that utilize these funds for pension management. If the true current costs were fully reflected, our elected officials would have to make more realistic budget choices which would be more efficient in the long run. | |||
| As the economy continues to recover from the Great Recession, California tax revenues will naturally increase. This creates an opportunity for the State to address its unfunded liabilities and deferred maintenance needs. We shouldn't rush into committing General Fund or bond sale proceeds into new programs until we've fully funded the obligations that the state already has. Furthermore, California should align its budgetary priorities to address the priorities of the people - not those of politicians. And we need to make prudent decisions in spending every dollar to ensure that we receive the maximum benefit from every tax dollar spent. | |||
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? | ||
| f) Other or expanded principles: | |||
| 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 legalizing the possession of small amounts of marijuana? | ||
| d) Should a minor accused of a violent crime be prosecuted as an adult? | |||
| e) Do you support the enforcement of federal immigration laws by state and local police? | |||
| f) Do you support delaying the seizure of assets by law enforcement officials until after a conviction? | |||
| Yes | g) Should the minimum age for purchasing tobacco products be 21? | ||
| Non-tobacco vape technology (electronic cigarettes) should not be commingled with tobacco regulation without reliable science substantiating the appropriateness of doing so. To the extent that vape technology can be shown to be an effective path to reducing traditional smoking, then it should be treated accordingly. | |||
| a) Do you support government spending as a means of promoting economic growth? | |||
| Yes | b) Do you support lowering taxes as a means of promoting economic growth? | ||
| c) Do you support reducing government regulations on the private sector? | |||
| Yes | d) Do you support increased state funding for job-training programs that re-train displaced workers? | ||
| No | e) Do you support expanding access to unemployment benefits? | ||
| No | f) Do you support requiring welfare applicants to pass a drug test in order to receive benefits? | ||
| g) Do you support providing financial incentives to the private sector for the purpose of job creation? | |||
| h) Do you support providing direct financial assistance to homeowners facing foreclosure? | |||
| Yes | i) Do you support an increase of the minimum wage? | ||
| j) Should employers be able to ask about applicants' criminal history before interviewing them? | |||
| Regulations are not uniformly burdensome. Some areas clearly have too much regulation, and perhaps others have not enough. There is not a one-size-fits all approach. What is clearly deficient is the process by which regulations are enforced. The PUC is clearly an example of "regulatory capture" and the California Coastal Commission's independence is questionable as well. | |||
| a) Do you support the national Common Core State Standards initiative? | |||
| b) Do you support a merit pay system for teachers? | |||
| No | c) Is the tenure process for public school teachers producing effective teachers? | ||
| d) Should parents be allowed to use vouchers to send their children to any school? | |||
| e) Do you support state funding for charter schools? | |||
| Yes | f) Do you support the state government providing college students with financial aid? | ||
| g) Should illegal immigrants who graduate from California high schools be eligible for in-state tuition at public universities? | |||
| Parents clearly deserve choices in where to send their children to school. These choices will also improve education effectiveness and efficiency. The public policy question is how to go about creating choices and opportunities, while maintaining the quality of education and managing the costs of infrastructure and operations. Clearly, local school boards should have the most impact on these decisions because they are in reach of the parents whose children are in their district(s). | |||
| a) Do you support state funding for the development of renewable energy (e.g. solar, wind, thermal)? | |||
| No | b) Do you support state funding for the development of traditional domestic energy sources (e.g. coal, natural gas, oil)? | ||
| c) Do you support state funding for improvements to California's energy infrastructure? | |||
| Yes | d) Do you support state funding for open space preservation? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support government regulations of greenhouse gas emissions? | ||
| Yes | f) Do you support increased regulations of the hydraulic fracturing ("fracking") industry? | ||
| g) Do you support permanent statewide water usage restrictions? | |||
| I clearly am in favor of promoting renewable electricity generation. Whether the State of California should fund development is a different question, and in general I believe that is a Federal role, not a State role. That said, if the State of California would like to provide financing or other incentives to municipal agencies and schools to implement cost effective renewable generation, that is appealing to me. I also believe that local jurisdictions should be allowed to operate their own utilities if approved by their voters. | |||
| a) Do you generally support gun-control legislation? | |||
| Yes | b) Should background checks be required on gun sales between private citizens at gun shows? | ||
| c) Should citizens be allowed to carry concealed guns? | |||
| d) Should a license be required for gun possession? | |||
| Common sense weapons regulations do exist, and most gun owners support them. That said, I understand the sanctity of the US Constitution, and the 2nd Amendment was clearly intended to allow the citizenry the ability to maintain sufficient physical deterrent to resist any attempted tyranny, foreign or domestic. | |||
| 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? | ||
| d) Do you support Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act ("Obamacare")? | |||
| e) Do you support requiring individuals to purchase health care insurance? | |||
| 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? | ||
| h) Other or expanded principles: | |||
| a) Do you support same-sex marriage? | |||
| Yes | b) Do you support the inclusion of sexual orientation in California's anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| c) Do you support the inclusion of gender identity in California's anti-discrimination laws? | |||
| Discrimination should not be allowed relating to anyone's gender identity just as it is not allowed relating to anyone's gender, race, age, or ethnicity. | |||
| 1) We must remove the corrupting influence of money on elections and in our government. 2) We must live within our financial means taking into account all of our unfunded liabilities, deferred maintenance expenses, and environmental externalities. 3) We must spend taxpayer dollars transparently and in a manner that reflects the state's real priorities - not the political priorities of bureaucrats and career politicians. |
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