Jan McDowell has provided voters with clear stances on key issues by responding to the 2024 Political Courage Test.
| Pro-choice | Do you generally support pro-choice or pro-life legislation? | ||
| No | Do you support the Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade? | ||
| A woman must have the right to make her own healthcare decisions. Period. | |||
| Yes | Do you support expanding federal funding to support social safety net programs such as Social Security and Medicare? | ||
| No | Do you support a decrease in income taxes in order to balance the budget? | ||
| Yes | Do you support a wealth tax in order to pay for public programs? | ||
| More than a wealth tax, I support an idea I call "income is income." With both ordinary income (from a paycheck) and capital gains income (from sales of stocks) taxed under the same rules. Currently, capital gains income, which is primarily earned by wealthy taxpayers, is taxed at about half the rate of ordinary income. It's how Warren Buffett said his secretary pays at a higher rate than he does himself. | |||
| Yes | Do you support the regulation of indirect campaign contributions from corporations, unions, and individuals? | ||
| No | Do you support protecting government officials, including law enforcement officers, from personal liability in civil lawsuits concerning alleged misconduct? | ||
| Yes | Do you support federal spending as a means of promoting economic growth (e.g. grants, tax incentives)? | ||
| Yes | Do you support the federal government increasing funding for affordable housing programs? | ||
| Yes | Do you support the federal government taking action, beyond those of the Federal Reserve, to alleviate inflation? | ||
| Yes | Do you support the forgiveness of federal student loan debt? | ||
| Students should not suffer to make loan sharks rich. When rates come down, so should the rates on their student loans. The bankruptcy laws should grant relief from student loan debt, as for all other debts. | |||
| No | Do you support requiring a government-issued identification in order to vote at the polls? | ||
| Yes | Do you support government funding for the development of renewable energy (e.g. solar, wind, geo-thermal)? | ||
| No | Do you support the federal government allowing permits for drilling on public lands? | ||
| The climate crisis is an existential threat. As Greta Thunberg said several years ago, it's a "house on fire" emergency. Now several more years have gone by, with no urgent action being taken, so the emergency has become even more urgent. We must act! | |||
| Yes | Do you generally support gun-control legislation (e.g. red flag laws, boyfriend loopholes)? | ||
| I prefer to frame the discussion as gun safety. People deserve to be able to feel safe as they go about their daily lives. Keeping guns out of the hands of people who could be reasonably thought to pose a danger to themselves or others is just common sense. | |||
| Yes | Do you support a government-run (e.g. single-payer) healthcare program, such as Medicare-for-All? | ||
| Yes | Do you support expanding paid family AND/OR medical leave benefits (e.g. maternity leave)? | ||
| Yes | Should the government be able to regulate the cost of prescription drugs? | ||
| Healthcare is a human right, not a privilege for only those who can afford it. Everyone benefits when everyone can access the care they need to be healthy. | |||
| Yes | Do you support increasing security along the southern US border? | ||
| No | Do you support requiring immigrants to return to their country of origin before they are eligible for citizenship, regardless of their immigration status? | ||
| I support working on the chaos, which seems to be the "scary" part of the situation at the border. The people trying to come into our country are not invading aliens. They are people who are trying to make a life for their families. Rather than spending money on walls or razor wire, let's spend it on functioning ports of entry, and fully-staffed courts. Step 1 is a thorough, efficient background check. An immigrant who fails that should be immediately sent out of the U.S. Otherwise, Step 2 is essentially a national employment agency system. Match states, cities, and businesses around the country who are looking for workers with the people whose abilities match those openings. Then arrange transportation fot the immigrant to that location. | |||
| No | Do you support economic intervention as a means of resolving international conflicts? | ||
| No | Do you support the US providing increased offensive military aid to Ukraine? | ||
| I'm not sure I entirely understand your questions here. I support Ukraine. The U.S. must provide the economic aid that Ukraine needs to defend itself against the flagrant invasion of the Russians. I hope that we will not need to send troops to that conflict. | |||
| Yes | Do you generally support increased regulations on social media companies (e.g. Tik Tok, Facebook, etc.)? | ||
| Three priorities require little or no additional funding. Those are the codification of Roe v. Wade, a ban on assault weapons, and the passage of the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act. The fight to survive in the face of climate change likely will be a costly process. Given its existential nature, though, the cost is something we just have to face. Developing alternative, renewable energy sources will also create millions of good-paying jobs. And funding can come from changes in tax laws, such as the income-is-income approach I described earlier. |
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