Everett Baudean's Issue Positions (Political Courage Test)
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Everett Baudean has provided voters with clear stances on key issues by responding to the 2019 Political Courage Test.
Louisiana State Legislative Election 2019 Political Courage Test
| Pro-choice | a) Do you generally support pro-choice or pro-life legislation? | ||
| Yes | b) Should abortion be legal when the pregnancy resulted from incest or rape? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support the prohibition of public funds for organizations that perform abortions? | ||
| I recognize that there are strong arguments on both sides of the issue, even among other Libertarians such as myself. That being said, my general principle is that unclear issues and ambiguity should always be resolved to err on the side of government inaction, not government action. When in doubt, keep the government out. | |||
1) Budget Stabilization:Indicate which proposals you support (if any) for balancing Louisiana's budget.
| Yes | a) Do you support local governments' say over the Industrial Tax Exemption Program (ITEP), which allows approved manufacturing companies to be exempt from paying local property taxes for up to ten years? | ||
| Yes | b) Reducing state employee salaries AND/OR pensions | ||
| Yes | c) Instituting mandatory furloughs AND/OR layoffs for state employees | ||
| No | d) An income tax increase on any tax bracket | ||
| Unnecessary spending and wasteful bureaucracy need to be stopped wherever they are found. Then, if we can reduce government spending only to the necessary, we should take an even closer look at those assumptions and ask whether those things truly are necessary, or if there are non-government solutions to the same problems. Taxation and spending are inherently coercive, and we should take any and all steps to move further toward a voluntary, noncoercive society. | |||
| No | a) Do you support a limit on campaign contributions to state candidates? | ||
| No | b) Do you support the regulation of indirect campaign contributions from corporations and unions? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support the use of an independent AND/OR bipartisan commission for redistricting? | ||
| No | d) Do you support requiring a government-issued photo identification in order to vote at the polls? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support automatic voter registration? | ||
| It is important to understand that campaign contributions from individuals or entities are difficult to separate from free speech. To the extent that such contributions are bad, the solution to any problems with free speech should be more speech. There should be absolute transparency in who is making such contributions. | |||
| No | a) Do you support capital punishment for certain crimes? | ||
| No | b) Should a minor accused of a violent crime be prosecuted as an adult? | ||
| No | c) Do you support the enforcement of federal immigration laws by state and local police? | ||
| No | d) Do you support legislation that would ban holding cell phones while driving? | ||
| I oppose the criminalization of drugs, the death penalty, and cash bail. I believe that anyone convicted of any crime should have all of their rights fully restored after the completion of their sentence. I oppose any gun control legislation. I don't believe that any "victimless crime" should be illegal. | |||
| No | a) Do you support state government spending as a means of promoting economic growth? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support lowering state income taxes as a means of promoting economic growth? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support reducing government regulations on the private sector? | ||
| No | d) Do you support expanding access to unemployment benefits? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support requiring welfare applicants to pass a drug test in order to receive benefits? | ||
| No | f) Do you support an increase of the minimum wage of Louisiana? | ||
| No | g) Do you support requiring employers to provide paid family leave? | ||
| Yes | h) Do you support using toll revenue to help fund a new bridge over the Mississippi River? | ||
| i) Other or expanded principles: | |||
| No | a) Do you support adopting federal education standards in Louisiana? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support state funding for charter schools? | ||
| Yes | c) Should immigrants unlawfully present in the United States who graduate from Louisiana high schools be eligible for in-state tuition at public universities? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support legalizing sports betting for the purpose of funding early childhood education programs? | ||
| I think it is important to point out that many of these issues are not so easily binary. I support state funding for charter schools, but only if the state funding would happen anyway. Competition is always good. That being said, I generally don't support state funding of anything in the long run, so charter schools are a short-run position. Further, I support legalizing sports betting generally, not just for a specific purpose. Gambling is a victimless crime and should not be illegal. | |||
| No | a) Do you support state funding for the development of renewable energy (e.g. solar, wind, thermal)? | ||
| No | b) Do you support government regulations of greenhouse gas emissions? | ||
| No | c) Do you support increasing state funding for clean drinking water initiatives? | ||
| It may not seem like it from these responses, but I do care about environmental issues. However, I don't think the state is the best route to accomplishing these ends. Renewable energy makes economic sense. State funding should not be necessary. First, we need to stop subsidizing fossil fuels. The state should not fight against itself. | |||
| No | a) Do you generally support gun-control legislation? | ||
| No | b) Should background checks be required on gun sales between private citizens at gun shows? | ||
| Yes | c) Should teachers be allowed to bring guns into the classroom? | ||
| No | d) Should a license be required for gun ownership? | ||
| I oppose all gun control. Repeal the NFA and the Gun Control Act. | |||
| No | a) Should the state government increase funding for treatment facilities to combat opioid abuse? | ||
| No | b) Do you support Medicaid expansion through Louisiana's health care programs? | ||
| No | c) Do you support requiring individuals to purchase health care insurance? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support legislation that grants citizens the right to choose to die through euthanasia? | ||
| No | e) Do you support eliminating religious exemptions for vaccinations? | ||
| Again, binary choices can be misleading. I would support more funding for treatment for opioid abuse, but only if it came directly from a cut to what we are spending on prosecution and incarceration of drug offenders, for example. I further don't think the state should be able to compel someone to vaccinate, but I am also 100% pro-vaccine. I support the rights of anyone else to refuse to associate with unvaccinated people and to keep unvaccinated people out of schools/hospitals, etc. | |||
| No | a) Do you support the inclusion of sexual orientation in Louisiana's anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| No | b) Do you support the inclusion of gender identity in Louisiana's anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| No | c) Do you support greater efforts by Louisiana state government in closing the pay gap between men and women? | ||
| I think people should be allowed to discriminate against one another (in the private sector at least), but I also believe that discrimination is deplorable. People who choose to discriminate should be allowed to, but everyone else should be equally allowed to discriminate against them for being discriminatory bigots. I think this will end discrimination faster than state-mandated silence. | |||
| My priorities are to maximize individual freedom and to end government intrusion into people's lives wherever possible. However, I do intend to do so in a holistic, rather than drastic, way. For example, cutting incarceration by ending the drug war, but using the money saved on rehabilitation in the short run until drug abuse rates decline. | |||
| My top priority is not to ask what the government must do for people, but rather to ask what the government must stop doing to people. As such, funding is not an issue. Cutting away oppressive government action can only save money. My top priority is to end the war on drugs, or more accurately, the war on people who use drugs. This has been the most disastrous domestic policy of the 20th century, and there is really no other issue it has not touched and corrupted. |
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