Christopher Stark's Issue Positions (Political Courage Test)
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Christopher Stark has provided voters with clear stances on key issues by responding to the 2015 Political Courage Test.
Mississippi State Legislative Election 2015 Political Courage Test
| Pro-choice | a) Do you generally support pro-choice or pro-life legislation? | ||
| No | 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? | ||
| No | g) Do you support the prohibition of public funds for abortion procedures? | ||
| No | h) Do you support the prohibition of public funds for organizations that perform abortions? | ||
| In order for informed consent to be given for the abortion procedure, a minor must have parent or legal guardian sign off. Informed consent is a legally binding agreement and minors are not capable of legally signing such document by themselves. However, I wish that parents would have a positive relationship with their children that this may be openly discussed without fear of repercussion. Further, I encourage age appropriate sex education, positive women's health checkups, and access to contraception to help lower the instances of childhood pregnancy. | |||
1) Budget Stabilization:Indicate which proposals you support (if any) for balancing Mississippi's budget.2) 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.3) 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.
| Yes | a) Tapping into Mississippi's "rainy day" fund | ||
| No | b) Decreasing funding for public universities | ||
| No | c) Reducing state employee salaries AND/OR pensions | ||
| No | d) Instituting mandatory furloughs AND/OR layoffs for state employees | ||
| No | e) Reducing benefits for Medicaid recipients | ||
| Greatly Increase | a) Education (higher) | ||
| Greatly Increase | b) Education (K-12) | ||
| Slightly Increase | c) Environment | ||
| Greatly Increase | d) Health care | ||
| Slightly Decrease | e) Law enforcement/corrections | ||
| Slightly Increase | f) Transportation/infrastructure | ||
| Slightly Increase | g) Welfare | ||
| Slightly Increase | a) Alcohol taxes | ||
| Slightly Increase | b) Cigarette taxes | ||
| Slightly Increase | c) Corporate taxes | ||
| Slightly Decrease | d) Small business taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | e) Gas/Oil taxes | ||
| Greatly Decrease | f) Property taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | g) Sales taxes | ||
| Eliminate | h) Income taxes (low-income families) | ||
| Greatly Decrease | i) Income taxes (mid-income families) | ||
| Slightly Increase | j) Income taxes (high-income families) | ||
| I support increasing funding for all schools, k-12 as well as higher education. I believe that in order to grow our economy in the future we need skilled talented individuals. Currently our colleges are unaffordable, the crushing amount of student debt is bogging down the economy. Making colleges free would give a much needed injection into the economy, while having the added benefit of increasing salaries in the long term. We also need to ensure that our students are ready for college. By not giving our schools the needed funding, we are putting a handicap on our students. | |||
| Education spending is a smart decision. It has a high return on investment. Mississippi is ranked as one of the lowest in terms of educational achievement. Our high school graduation rates are low, with college graduation rates much lower. To improve graduation rates, I support "magnet schools" funded in part with Federal grants. Further, increasing spending on healthcare is another smart decision. Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs indicates that access to good quality healthcare is essential to the individual. We cannot look at helping people achieve the American Dream, if they are constantly 1 illness from financial disaster. | |||
| I support Mississippi small businesses and farmers. To help encourage spending at local businesses, I support giving a monthly rebate for welfare recipients when they shop at local farmer markets using their EBT/Snap benefits. I also support eliminating/reducing any interchange/service fees for small business owners when they accept credit/debit card transactions. In doing so, it will help local business compete with high traffic big conglomerate stores whom have higher purchasing power and lower processing fees. Shopping at local businesses and farmer markets helps keep Mississippi dollars in Mississippi. | |||
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? | ||
| No | e) Do you support requiring a government-issued photo identification in order to vote at the polls? | ||
| f) Other or expanded principles: | |||
| No | 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? | ||
| Yes | d) Should a minor accused of a violent crime be prosecuted as an adult? | ||
| No | e) Do you support the enforcement of federal immigration laws by state and local police? | ||
| I support charging a minor as an adult on a case by case basis. Under no situation do I support any minor under the age of 13 from being charged as an adult. Marijuana's active ingredient, THC, has medicinal benefits. Studies have shown that it is effective in treating certain disorders. Further, industrial hemp has incredibly high usage in the textile industry, by disallowing this we are doing the industry a great injustice. Illegal immigrants are constantly subjected to harassment and various forms of abuse by their employers, with little to no avenues to stop the abuse. | |||
| Yes | 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? | ||
| Yes | 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? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support expanding access to unemployment benefits? | ||
| Yes | f) Do you support providing financial incentives to the private sector for the purpose of job creation? | ||
| Yes | g) Do you support providing direct financial assistance to homeowners facing foreclosure? | ||
| Yes | h) Do you support an increase of the minimum wage? | ||
| Yes | i) Do you support the implementation of the Keep Mississippi Working fund to increase workforce training funds? | ||
| Spending promotes growth. It can be from private or public spending, they all increase growth. By raising the minimum wage, we can inject a vast amount of spending. Raising the wage will have the added benefit of generating demand for product and increasing the number of jobs. I do not support the failed "trickle-down' economics. I feel that lowering regulation on private sector can be beneficial. Unfortunately, corporations have shown an unwillingness to protect the economy, workers and environment. In return, government must step in and protect those interests. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support the national Common Core State Standards initiative? | ||
| No | b) Do you support a merit pay system for teachers? | ||
| Yes | c) Is the tenure process for public school teachers producing effective teachers? | ||
| No | d) Should parents be allowed to use vouchers to send their children to any school? | ||
| No | e) Do you support state funding for charter schools? | ||
| Yes | f) Do you support the state government providing college students with financial aid? | ||
| Yes | g) Should illegal immigrants who graduate from Mississippi high schools be eligible for in-state tuition at public universities? | ||
| Yes | h) Do you support increased funding of the Mississippi Adequate Education Program? | ||
| I support Common Core.. Unfortunately they create a nationwide standard for all states. For states like Mississippi, who are behind the national average, it makes adaptation a bit challenging. I feel that a staggered approach to implementing the standards would be the best option, rather than diving head first. I do not support the amount of testing pushed onto our students. We are spending 40% of class time prepping and taking tests. We cannot fully evaluate the success of Common Core until we remove the handicap placed on our schools. We need to increase funding to remove this handicap. | |||
| Yes | 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)? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support state funding for improvements to Mississippi'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? | ||
| The current trending prices for renewable energy shows that it is cheaper than traditional sources. By adapting to renewable energy we can also help lower the damage done to the planet. We need to ensure that our children and their children can live in an environment where a respiratory mask is not required. One way to improve our energy infrastructure is to lower the demand. The old saying "knowledge is power" is true here. I support tax rebates for home automation. Items like the Nest thermostat can help a homeowner learn about and lower their usage. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you generally support gun-control legislation? | ||
| Yes | b) Should background checks be required on gun sales between private citizens at gun shows? | ||
| No | c) Should citizens be allowed to carry concealed guns? | ||
| Yes | d) Should a license be required for gun possession? | ||
| I believe there is a common sense solution to gun violence. I believe that an enhanced background check and mental health evaluation should be required at least every five years. By adding an endorsement to your state issued ID, and requiring the previously mentioned items to get such an endorsement, we can make gun access easier and at same time safer. By adding the endorsement, all a dealer or private seller would have to do is check for the endorsement. This would ensure that measures are put in place covering gun shows, dealers and private sellers. | |||
| Yes | 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? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act ("Obamacare")? | ||
| Yes | 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? | ||
| Publicly-administered health care systems, like Medicaid, Medicare and the Veteran's Affairs, have proven to be the most cost effective way of delivering healthcare. The price of healthcare goes down as the number of uninsured goes down. By covering 100% of the population we can see drastic savings in delivering healthcare, as such there would be no net increase on an individual's taxes. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support same-sex marriage? | ||
| Yes | b) Should same-sex couples be allowed to form civil unions? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support the inclusion of sexual orientation in Mississippi's anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support the inclusion of gender identity in Mississippi's anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| e) Other or expanded principles: | |||
| My main priority would be to help make Mississippi more independant of the Federal Government. In order to accomplish this, we need to increase private sector spending and incomes. This will help generate revenue for the state. To begin I would increase the minimum wage over five years. This will lift millions out of poverty, savings the state much needed funding. This savings, and increased revenue from incomes, will be geared towards items with a high return on investment, like infrastructure and education. Increasing education levels would increase income and spending. This would be funded by the above mentioned items. |
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