Gregg Sadwick's Issue Positions (Political Courage Test)
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Gregg Sadwick is currently being tested through the 2024 Political Courage Test.
New York Congressional Election 2024 Political Courage Test
| Pro-choice | Do you generally support pro-choice or pro-life legislation? | ||
| Yes | Do you support the Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade? | ||
| Although I am pro-life, I would not take away a woman's right to choose. With that said, we need to provide women more choices than just Planned Parenthood which promotes abortion instead of life. Late term abortions, partial birth abortions and infanticide are steps to far. As for the overturning of Roe v Wade, the beauty of our country is that we can push decision making to the lowest level possible. Your vote has more power at a local level (where the denominator is smaller) than it does at the national level where you are 1 in 330M people. Any time we can push decision making lower, it's good for people. The overturning of Roe v Wade pushed decision making to a lower level, the States, giving the citizens in each state more influence than they would otherwise have at a national level. Additionally, the Constitution does not specifically give the federal government authority over this, therefore it should automatically default to the States. | |||
| Yes | Do you support expanding federal funding to support social safety net programs such as Social Security and Medicare? | ||
| Yes | Do you support a decrease in income taxes in order to balance the budget? | ||
| No | Do you support a wealth tax in order to pay for public programs? | ||
| The issue isn't that we don't have enough money to take care of our citizens; the issue is the wasteful spending with no accountability. Earmarks that are tacked on to other legislation needs to be stopped as these items should be able to stand on their own if they are worthy of funding. | |||
| Yes | Do you support the regulation of indirect campaign contributions from corporations, unions, and individuals? | ||
| We know that we are a government of, for and by the people. Corporations and unions are not people. Each district contains about 750,000 citizens. Those citizens should decide their representatives, and no one else. Allowing money to flow in from influencers outside the district is like having 435 "at-large" representatives, which we obviously wouldn't do, so why do we allow people outside the district to influence an outcome. The most egregious example is that Non-Profits from outside the district, where there is no traceability to who is donating to it, can contribute amounts that are substantially higher than any single individual from the district can. Why? Get the outside money out of politics! | |||
| Yes | Do you support protecting government officials, including law enforcement officers, from personal liability in civil lawsuits concerning alleged misconduct? | ||
| Unless there is fraud involved, I am for protecting officials from lawsuits. To do otherwise would cause bigger issues as officials would be overly cautious in doing their jobs. Caution is one thing. To be overly cautious is another thing. | |||
| Yes | Do you support increasing defense spending? | ||
| We are in a dangerous world with threats on many fronts. Our infrastructure is very vulnerable right now, so we need to have some urgency in protecting it, particularly since we have no idea who has come across the southern border the last 3 years. | |||
| 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? | ||
| No | Do you support the federal government taking action, beyond those of the Federal Reserve, to alleviate inflation? | ||
| I'm for the federal gov't letting taxpayers keep their money and let them determine how to distribute it, however at this point in our country's development, I don't see where we can change this anytime soon, so in regards to grants and tax incentives, I am for them as long as the gov't isn't putting its thumb on the scale and picking winners and losers as we have seen in the past, and it appears that we are seeing it again as technologies that may not be ready for primetime are being forced on us. Let the market decide the winners and losers. As for housing programs, there is certainly a need, however, how do we help people become vested in these programs, or said otherwise, how do we help them get "skin in the game". I'm not for the gov't taking actions outside the federal reserve to alleviate inflation because then the gov't can do things that could be politically motivated instead of doing what is right for the people. Auditing the Fed and pulling back the vail of secrecy around it may be more productive. | |||
| No | Do you support the forgiveness of federal student loan debt? | ||
| I realize this may help upper- and middle-income students who made a contract to repay their debt, but why would we make those that may be below middle income and didn't go to college foot the bill? Why would we make those that made a decision to go into the trades, instead of going to college, responsible for the debts of those who did go to college. Also, this is so typical of the gov't to treat a symptom instead of a cause. Why are we not holding universities responsible for an inferior product if their graduates can't get jobs to repay those loans, while the tuitions and endowments grow. By insuring payments to the universities, there is no incentive for them to provide a better product. | |||
| Yes | Do you support requiring a government-issued identification in order to vote at the polls? | ||
| I'm shock this is even a question as it defies common sense. We need an ID for everything else in society except the most sacred act of all, the right to vote. If ID's don't work, why do I need one to board a plane? Buy alcohol? Vote in a school board election? Buy Nyquil? It is also my understanding that pretty much every other civilized nation requires IDs to vote. | |||
| Yes | Do you support government funding for the development of renewable energy (e.g. solar, wind, geo-thermal)? | ||
| Yes | Do you support the federal government allowing permits for drilling on public lands? | ||
| I am for the gov't sparking development on such things as fusion, fission, geo-thermal, etc., however I am not for the gov't subsidizing production after development as the market should decide what we want to buy. For instance, if we were serious about renewable energy, we would be building nuclear power plants but instead the gov't is picking winners and losers with wind and solar. I am for allowing for new permits and I am not for the assault on fossil fuels which has put us at a disadvantage to our international adversaries while also harming our lower income families the most. The policies of the last 3 years have demonstrated how we have given away our leverage on energy and the world has become less safe. | |||
| No | Do you generally support gun-control legislation (e.g. red flag laws, boyfriend loopholes)? | ||
| I am for States determining what laws their citizens want. | |||
| No | Do you support a government-run (e.g. single-payer) healthcare program, such as Medicare-for-All? | ||
| No | 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? | ||
| I think the less gov't is involved, the more efficient and cost-effective things are. As for prescription drugs, competition brings lower costs. I also don't believe drug companies should be using the American health care system to subsidize lower costs to their emerging markets, while the American consumer bares the cost of it. | |||
| Yes | Do you support increasing security along the southern US border? | ||
| Yes | Do you support requiring immigrants to return to their country of origin before they are eligible for citizenship, regardless of their immigration status? | ||
| We need immigrants, however, there needs to be a process and what has been happening the last three years has put America at great risk. Without borders, you don't have a country. With returning immigrants to their country of origin, the question is binary (yes or no); there needs to be some leeway as there needs to be a rational process where we determine who stays and who goes. | |||
| 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? | ||
| We shouldn't be giving away money without benefits attached to us, as we don't have money to give away anymore. China doles out loans with their belt and roads initiative, while we give money away, and our allies don't always support us in return. The Ukraine question is much more complex than a Yes or No. Where is the accountability for what we've already sent? What is the end game? Is a 5- or 10-year stalemate with loss of Ukraine life and US tax dollars where this is going? | |||
| Yes | Do you generally support increased regulations on social media companies (e.g. Tik Tok, Facebook, etc.)? | ||
| Our children are being exploited. It's a slippery slope with free speech, however something needs to be done about the damage it is doing to our children. We have guardrails for our children when it comes to smoking and drinking; guardrails on social media algorithms would seem appropriate too. | |||
| 1) The economy is working for those with money, but for those living paycheck to paycheck, it is disastrous. Policies of the current leadership has made everyday life unaffordable for many, yet they keep making short term decisions (emptying our oil reserves, printing money, eliminating gas taxes for a couple months, etc.) instead of providing serious solutions which may not be popular in the short term, but are necessary for long term economic health. 2) The border needs to be enforced. We need immigrants; however, it needs to be on our terms, and with a vetting process that doesn't cause the FBI Director to say about a possible internal threat, "it's not a matter of if something happens, it's a matter of when." 3) We need to fix Washington politics by limiting time and money. Time meaning term limits and money meaning campaign finance that allows outsiders to contribute more than the people that actually live in the district. The only people that benefit from the current system are the 535 Reps and Senators already in office. |
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