Cristina Grappo's Issue Positions (Political Courage Test)
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Cristina Grappo has provided voters with clear stances on key issues by responding to the 2016 Political Courage Test.
California Congressional Election 2016 Political Courage Test
| Pro-choice | Do you generally support pro-choice or pro-life legislation? | ||
| Pro-choice does not mean pro-abortion. Pro-choice means having the competency and educational resources for effective family planning. While many pro-choice advocates state that abortions are simple reproductive surgeries that allow women and families to stop bringing unwanted births into the world, belief systems vary--from Church-to-personal. Abortions trim population rates, but what pro-life advocates fail to recognize is the need for pregnancy education counseling. Pro-choice and pro-life leaders must concord on resources and education to splinter teen pregnancy rates and raise strong American families. Planned Parenthood will be more effective when Church teachings including abstinence, contraception, and condom usage are included. | |||
| Yes | In order to balance the budget, do you support reducing defense spending? | ||
| No | In order to balance the budget, do you support an income tax increase on any tax bracket? | ||
| Balancing the budget is necessary for the United States of America to champion the globe for business & leadership. Reduction of spending means to stay in the framework of taxation surplus while curbing the national deficit. Tax increases must apply to determined wealthy big business and wage earners. Certain products must also be taxed to bring national and state revenue. Balancing the budget requires reducing defense spending in terms of military weaponry, but not necessarily military personnel. Balancing the budget also means to benchmark costs, associated with new constructions. Balancing the budget is possible with the right team aboard California. | |||
| No | Do you support the regulation of indirect campaign contributions from corporations and unions? | ||
| America, as a nation, is based upon independence values. Independent corporations and unions must retain the right to support the candidate that best suits their development goals and advancements. Indirect campaign contributions cannot control the actual voting practices of elected leaders. The power of the purse must be voluntary in support of a better democracy and a better tomorrow. Indirect campaign contributions must ameliorate election standards in good faith without propaganda. Indirect campaign contributions allow for more visibility and entice more voters to participate in elections. Indirect campaign contributions should not stab another candidate from participating fully in traditional elections. | |||
| 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? | ||
| Yes | Do you support mandatory minimum sentences for non-violent drug offenders? | ||
| Capital punishment is testified cruel and unusual punishment. California must remain non-violent and lead the nation against the death penalty. Heinous crimes must be incarcerated. Abuse must stop. Non-heinous crimes must be regulated. For non-violent offenders, punishment must include community service, wage docking, and certain civil restrictions. Non-violent drug offenders and criminals must be fined in addition to receiving mandatory minimum sentences. The war on drugs must continue and target serious addictive drugs that create addiction, cause violent behavior, and impair driving and roadways. Drug offenders that contribute to rape statistics must receive longer sentences to swat global human trafficking. | |||
| No | Do you support federal spending as a means of promoting economic growth? | ||
| No | Do you support lowering taxes as a means of promoting economic growth? | ||
| No | Do you support providing tax incentives to businesses for the purpose of job creation? | ||
| Our founding fathers upheld capitalistic principles of free capitalism. While we know now that capitalistic ventures and business must be monitored in order to support labor standards and environmental law, the market must control itself to a certain extent. Competition of prices, determined entrepreneurs, and perseverance make up the grains for all American goods and services. Profit gains are important for business owners and competitive wages are equally important for employees. We cannot overspend to generate more economic growth because of our deficit. We must stick to the budget and drive the champion workforce with loyalty, consumerism, choice, and protection. | |||
| No | Do you support requiring states to implement education reforms in order to be eligible for competitive federal grants? | ||
| Each and every state must receive the same federal grants when available. Federal grants do not make or sustain strong public schools. Public schools vary in what accommodations are necessary to suit the vicinity. Public education for youngsters may require nutritious hot meals in urban areas while needing more AP class offerings in suburban areas. Community colleges, state colleges, and state universities require educated faculty, diversity of majors, and land. Community gestures and charity investments from fortune 500 businesses can help for addressing mentoring, coaching, and adding computers or computer upgrades to the classroom. Competitive federal grants overspend education concerns. | |||
| No | Do you support building the Keystone XL pipeline? | ||
| Yes | Do you support funding for the development of renewable energy (e.g. solar, wind, thermal)? | ||
| Yes | Do you support increased regulations on the hydraulic fracturing ("fracking") industry? | ||
| Renewable energy businesses must dominate energy trends in the twenty-first century. Solar, wind, and thermal allowances must have priority for clean energy. Electric cars and planes must begin to dominate our roadways way. This includes law enforcement, military, and United States Postal Service vehicles. In addition, hydraulic fracking must be abolished in California, as it has in Vermont and New York. The fracking industry hurts California soil and causes unnatural earth turbulences in nature, including man-made earthquakes. National restrictions and regulations must secure a better environment for tomorrow's United States of America. Congress must enact legislation that secures priority progress. | |||
| Yes | Do you believe that human activity is contributing to climate change? | ||
| Yes | Do you support the federal regulation of greenhouse gas emissions? | ||
| Human activity is contributing to climate change because, as a people, we emit greenhouse gasses from cars, automobiles, and vehicles. Air pollution is related to coal fuel and other "dirty" energy sources. Chemical companies often release discharges that also pollute the air and create a toxic environment for natural habitats and ecosystems. Environmental Protection Agency standards must remain in tact through the right voices and representation in the United States Senate. Federal regulation of greenhouse gas emissions allows states and businesses to cooperate more efficiently. Even so, California must support all legislation that protects its own land, people, and environment. | |||
| Yes | Do you generally support gun-control legislation? | ||
| The Second Amendment cannot be upheld for an American utopia. Military veterans and retired law enforcement must learn to put the gun away and shift away from national pastimes, such as hunting. Gun control legislation is important because it prevents urban and suburban violence, but it is expensive to implement. States must decide for themselves whether they want gun free zones, regions, or entire states. Banning gun usage for civilians will protect abuses of mankind inside cities, in particular. Military veterans should be able to put their old weapons in museums without being able to keep them for private use. | |||
| No | Do you support repealing the 2010 Affordable Care Act ("Obamacare")? | ||
| Obamacare is one step forward to drive universal and more affordable insurance coverage for all American citizens. However, this 2010 Affordable Care Act is geared more towards middle class affordability and does not support universal healthcare for illegal immigrants and the poor who need universal access at the time of need before being able to participate in the bureaucracy of Medical and Medicare applications. Universal healthcare and public health hospitals would instantly prevent pandemic spread of disease and nurture more families. Private insurance companies and healthcare can still be on the market for another clientele and continued consumer healthcare options. | |||
| No | Do you support requiring illegal immigrants to return to their country of origin before they are eligible for citizenship? | ||
| Forcing law abiding illegal immigrants to return to their country of origin is too expensive. The solution is to prevent illegal immigrants from entering our borders at usual checks. Upgrades in technology should be in place to do instantaneous background checks in order to stop misuse of American and California American identification. Illegal immigrants who are already here must be forced into the citizenship role. If they do not come forward, do not take stock in our history and United States Constitution, then they must be forced to their country of origin or rerouted to a country out of turbulence. | |||
| Yes | Do you support same-sex marriage? | ||
| As long as the United States Supreme Court upholds the decision for same sex marriage, same sex marriage is case law. Same sex marriage partners must be able to hold the same matrimony, tax, healthcare, and inheritance privileges. Because the United States of America believes in separation of Church and State, Church communities should be able to control their own moral leanings, as far as ceremonies go, but some accommodations should be made with individual Church leaders. However, same sex couples should not be expelled from Church, mosque or temple service. Every citizen has the right to freedom of religion. | |||
| No | Do you support targeting suspected terrorists outside of official theaters of conflict? | ||
| Yes | Should the U.S use military force in order to prevent governments hostile to the United States from possessing a nuclear weapon? | ||
| The United States of America cannot prosper in another McCarthy era. Targeting suspected terrorists outside of official theatres of conflict is just as bad as another Cold War, red scare, and building up of nuclear stock piles. People act bizarre when they feel they cannot take control of their community or are continued to be threatened by an outside military force. The principles of democracy must allow for truth and justice to make headway. Changing the world away for the Second Amendment prototype takes more diplomacy. Nations around the world must begin to restrict all weaponry sales, use, and distribution. | |||
| Yes | Do you support allowing individuals to divert a portion of their Social Security taxes into personal retirement accounts? | ||
| American citizens must be able to control their Social Security assets more efficiently. Diverting a portion of Social Security taxes into personal retirement accounts will allow more interest for maximum spending during retirement years. Personal retirement accounts must be frozen in order to prevent early access. Some leans can be made to address early retirements or disability issues. Diverting only a portion of Social Security taxes is not completely everything. This means regular Social Security benefits will arrive with retirement. The Internal Revenue Service can also allow for more deductions in order for retirees to gain more entitlements with retirement. | |||
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 Decrease | a) Agriculture | ||
| Slightly Decrease | b) Arts | ||
| Slightly Decrease | c) Defense | ||
| Slightly Decrease | d) Education | ||
| Slightly Increase | e) Environment | ||
| Maintain Status | f) Homeland Security | ||
| Maintain Status | g) International aid | ||
| Maintain Status | h) Medical Research | ||
| Slightly Increase | i) Scientific Research | ||
| Maintain Status | j) Space exploration | ||
| Maintain Status | k) United Nations | ||
| Maintain Status | l) Welfare | ||
| Maintain Status | a) Capital gains taxes | ||
| Greatly Increase | b) Corporate taxes | ||
| Slightly Increase | c) Small business taxes | ||
| Greatly Increase | d) Excise taxes (alcohol) | ||
| Greatly Increase | e) Excise taxes (cigarettes) | ||
| Slightly Increase | f) Excise taxes (transportation fuel) | ||
| Maintain Status | g) Income taxes (low-income families) | ||
| Slightly Increase | h) Income taxes (middle-income families) | ||
| Greatly Increase | i) Income taxes (high-income families) | ||
| Slightly Increase | j) Inheritance taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | k) Payroll taxes | ||
| Increasing spending levels for environment and scientific research will enhance existing environmental trends in energy, commodities, and services in order to positively buffer climate change. Electric planes and trains will be the wave of the near future. Scientific research will carefully dispose of nuclear waste materials and allow the National Aeronautics and Space Administration new venues to propel space travel and the construction of space stations. California must support new environment and scientific research in order to make capital gains in renewable energy sources, as well. In this way, California can put pressure on worldwide progress within these necessary domains. | |||
| Federal tax levels must adjust to changing needs. While greatly increasing corporate, excise, and extremely wealthy family taxes, can help level the playing field, these priorities may not be permanent. The problem is that the United States of America has a national deficit that puts a burden on the economy. The national deficit must be solved and the United States Senate must stick to the budget and not incur any more expenses. At the same time, controls must not stab the undercurrent of society. The U.S. Senate cannot challenge or make enemies of the poor who live at subsistence levels. | |||
| My top two priorities include the fight to abolish human trafficking and extend American diplomacy abroad. I intend to fight human trafficking within California and the United States by working with law enforcement to share data with Interpol and not let felons escape State lines. American businesses must employ the same labor standards abroad as they do at home. Americans cannot engage in promiscuous practices that hurt children, abuse women, and make unlawful pornography. On another note, extending American diplomacy means more conflict resolution negotiations. The United States military can adapt to stellar standards of conduct without engaging in war. |
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