Robert Evans' Issue Positions (Political Courage Test)
Key
Official Position: Candidate addressed this issue directly by taking the Political Courage Test.
Inferred Position: Candidate refused to address this issue, but Vote Smart inferred this issue based on the candidate's public record, including statements, voting record, and special interest group endorsements.
Unknown Position: Candidate refused to address this issue, or we could not infer an answer for this candidate despite exhaustive research of their public record.
Additional Information: Click on this icon to reveal more information about this candidate's position, from their answers or Vote Smart's research.
Other or Expanded Principles & Legislative Priorities are entered exactly as candidates submit them. Vote Smart does not edit for misspelled words, punctuation or grammar.
Robert Evans 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? | ||
| Abortion is legal but I advocate it should be used to save the life of the mother. | |||
| 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? | ||
| We must audit every program to determine the program is working properly and doing what is expected. This will ensure all programs are not wasting our money. | |||
| No | Do you support the regulation of indirect campaign contributions from corporations and unions? | ||
| Other than disclosure of campaign money I do not support any infringement on free political speech. | |||
| Yes | 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? | ||
| There is no such thing as a non-violent crime. But the punishment must be fair and appropriate to the offence. | |||
| No | Do you support federal spending as a means of promoting economic growth? | ||
| Yes | 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? | ||
| The government must spend on those things that are basic to government: public safety, public health, education, public infrastructure, social security. | |||
| Yes | Do you support building the Keystone XL pipeline? | ||
| No | Do you support government funding for the development of renewable energy (e.g. solar, wind, thermal)? | ||
| No | Do you support increased regulations on the hydraulic fracturing ("fracking") industry? | ||
| Alternative energy sources should stand on their own merit - if the solar and/or wind generation of energy works they there is no need for government subsidy. The pipeline is needed for oil independence so the USA can stop buying oil from countries that do not like us and/or want to harm our interests. | |||
| No | Do you believe that human activity is contributing to climate change? | ||
| No | Do you support the federal regulation of greenhouse gas emissions? | ||
| Climate change is a real phenomenon but I do not think human activity is the entire cause. That said, I do support continued efforts to clean the air and water and trash. The air and water are cleaner now than when I was a child but we can, and should, do more, including replacing old galvanized water pipes that leak lead into our water with stainless steel pipes to ensure safe water delivery. | |||
| Yes | Do you generally support gun-control legislation? | ||
| I fully support taking the guys away from the thugs, thieves and crazy people among us. Otherwise I fully support the law abiding citizen having a rifle or pistol. | |||
| Yes | Do you support repealing the 2010 Affordable Care Act ("Obamacare")? | ||
| This act is nothing but a gift to insurance companies. We can and should do much better. | |||
| No | Do you support requiring immigrants who are unlawfully present to return to their country of origin before they are eligible for citizenship? | ||
|
|||
| I do not see any advantage of making people return to their country of origin. | |||
| No | Do you support allowing individuals to divert a portion of their Social Security taxes into personal retirement accounts? | ||
| Did you know that the Bureau of Labor Statistics calculates the cost of living (CPI) in two ways: for wage earners and for retired people. What CPI do you think is used to give cost of living adjustments to people receiving Social Security. The CPI used is for wage earners, because it is the lower adjustment number. Also, there is a cap of $118,700 on the Social Security tax. So millionaires and billionaires do not pay into the system their fair share. The cap should be removed so everybody pays their fair share. | |||
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.
| Eliminate | a) Agriculture | ||
| Maintain Status | b) Arts | ||
| Maintain Status | c) Defense | ||
| Maintain Status | d) Education | ||
| Maintain Status | e) Environment | ||
| Maintain Status | f) Homeland Security | ||
| Greatly Decrease | g) International aid | ||
| Maintain Status | h) Medical Research | ||
| Maintain Status | i) Scientific Research | ||
| Eliminate | j) Space exploration | ||
| Greatly Decrease | k) United Nations | ||
| Maintain Status | l) Welfare | ||
| Maintain Status | a) Capital gains taxes | ||
| Greatly Decrease | b) Corporate taxes | ||
| Greatly Decrease | c) Small business taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | d) Excise taxes (alcohol) | ||
| Maintain Status | e) Excise taxes (cigarettes) | ||
| Maintain Status | f) Excise taxes (transportation fuel) | ||
| Maintain Status | g) Income taxes (low-income families) | ||
| Maintain Status | h) Income taxes (middle-income families) | ||
| Maintain Status | i) Income taxes (high-income families) | ||
| Eliminate | j) Inheritance taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | k) Payroll taxes | ||
| Every program should first be prioritized. We should fully fund the top priority required programs; we should defund the nice to do but not necessary programs. All programs must be audited to ensure the program is required and working as expected. Those not must be eliminated. | |||
| I would eliminate all exceptions, exemptions and carve-out in the tax code. And everyone should pay into the system including persons receiving transfer payments (welfare of various kinds). Everyone must have skin in the game. I would advocate the lowest rates possible: perhaps 5 percent from $1 to 50,000, 10 percent from 50,001 to 150,000 and 15 percent for over 150,001. This will allow anyone to do their taxes and to make investments based on sound economics and not on tax incentives or avoidance issues. | |||
Vote Smart does not permit the use of its name or programs in any campaign activity, including advertising, debates, and speeches.