Joe Staloch's Issue Positions (Political Courage Test)
On The Ballot: Running, Democratic/Farmer/Labor for State House (MN) - 23A
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Minnesota State Legislative Election 2024 Political Courage Test
| Pro-choice | a) Do you generally support pro-choice or pro-life legislation? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support legalizing abortion when the pregnancy resulted from incest or rape? | ||
| No | c) Do you support the prohibition of public funds (e.g. Medicaid) for organizations that perform abortions? | ||
| No | a) In order to balance the budget, do you support limiting state government spending on social programs (e.g. SNAP, TANF)? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support a decrease in income taxes in order to promote economic growth? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support a wealth tax in order to pay for public programs in your state? | ||
| I do not believe we should be balancing budgets on the backs of the neediest among us. I believe in looking on at ways of making social programs more effective in achieving their state goals and improving the overall disposition of those receiving these benefits to the point where they no longer require them. I believe that the most effective tax cuts are those that are given to those that are most likely to make use of the extra income in ways that benefit the economy the most, by spending it. We obviously need those with the capacity to invest as well but my belief is that there are better incentive mechanisms we can employ to encourage or support those with a desire to invest in their local communities or businesses than an across board tax cut. On the wealth tax I will build off of my previous answer on tax cuts. "Trickle down" or supply side economics has been suggested and tried, I believe it's been the prevailing economic and tax policy for most if not my entire life and still income inequality continues to widen as the rich get richer and the poor grow in number. I believe we all do better when we all do better. I have to add nuance to this however and stress that we absolutely MUST make sure that such a wealth tax does not target family farmers or small business owners who may be asset rich due to the nature of their industries but manage to earn a much more modest income. | |||
| No | a) Do you support capital punishment for violent crimes? | ||
| No | b) Should an individual under 18 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 the use of private prisons? | ||
| No | e) Do you support mandatory minimum sentences for nonviolent drug offenders? | ||
| Yes | f) Do you support Minnesota's recent legalization of marijuana for recreational use? | ||
| Our legal system, while one of the best in the world for protecting an individuals rights even those who commit crimes, occasionally makes mistakes and for that reason alone I oppose capital punishment. I am movable on whether or not an individual under 18 should be prosecuted as an adult for violent crimes. I am against it in general but prosecutorial discretion should exist for special cases. I am against state and local police acting as immigration enforcement officers for routine law enforcement encounters such as loitering, speeding, fix it tickets, etc. I just don't see it as the best use of their time and it's not the job their being paid, and more importantly funded, supplied, and staffed, to do. For violent offenses I have much more conflicted views. Violent offenders are likely going to be detained for a longer period of time such that involving immigration personnel would be less likely to cause any additional or undue burden to local law enforcement. I do not support private prisons in their current form but I will not say that there couldn't be a public-private partnership that I couldn't support. The motive of filling prison cells and beds in pursuit of profit does not strike me as compatible with what our justice system should be striving to achieve which is the rehabilitation and correction of behavior of offending individuals with their eventual reintroduction to the general population as productive members of society. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support state government spending as a means of promoting economic growth (e.g. grants, tax incentives)? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support reducing state government regulations on the private sector (e.g. for business or the environment)? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support an increase of the minimum wage in Minnesota? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support government spending on affordable housing projects in Minnesota? | ||
| My support for deregulation is on a case by case basis informed by data on the effectiveness and cost as well as public and expert support. I support a higher minimum wage and higher wages in general. I would support tax incentives for businesses who commit to establishing themselves in economically struggling communities, pay a living wage, and/or welcome cooperation with labor. I believe that these are things that should be rewarded in our tax policy and that, over time, can and should lead to broadening of the tax base while putting downward pressure on marginal tax rates and the need for state funded social programs. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support adopting federal education standards (e.g. Common Core) in Minnesota? | ||
| No | b) Do you support state funding for charter schools? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support increasing teacher salaries AND/OR benefits in Minnesota? | ||
| Yes | d) Should immigrants in the United States who graduate from Minnesota high schools be eligible for in-state tuition at public universities, regardless of immigration status? | ||
| I strongly believe that Public dollars should stay with public schools. I don't see the distinction between public high school and public university in terms someone's eligibility to attend or what they would pay for their attendance. If they or their family have earned wages and paid taxes into the system that funds them I see no reason for another standard. These students would naturally be ineligible for certain financial aid programs | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support state funding for the development of renewable energy (e.g. solar, wind, geo-thermal)? | ||
| No | b) Do you support state governments allowing permits for drilling on public lands? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support increasing state funding for clean drinking water initiatives? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support the continued allotment of revenue generated by the state-operated lottery to the Environment and Natural Resources Fund through the end of 2050? | ||
| The question regarding drilling needs additional information. I am not aware of any hydrocarbon reserves or exploration in our MN and I would lean towards opposing but I wouldn't want my answer to impede the exploration and extraction of newly discovered helium deposits that have significant implications for medical technologies and research. | |||
| Yes | a)Do you support limiting campaign contributions from corporations, unions, and individuals? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support the use of an independent or bipartisan commission for redistricting? | ||
| No | c) Do you support requiring a government-issued photo identification in order to vote at the polls? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support automatic voter registration? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support the implementation of ranked choice voting in Minnesota? | ||
| I support an independent commission for redistricting but I feel this is something that needs to be broadly implemented across all states. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you generally support gun-control legislation (e.g. red flag laws, closing the boyfriend loophole)? | ||
| Yes | b) Should background checks be required on gun sales between private citizens at gun shows? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support the right to concealed carry in Minnesota? | ||
| Yes | a) Should the state government increase funding for treatment facilities to combat opioid abuse? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support a government-run (e.g. single-payer) healthcare program such as Medicare-for-All? | ||
| Yes | c) Should an individual have the right to choose to die (e.g. those with a terminal illness) through euthanasia? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support mandating vaccinations (e.g. for school or employment)? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support expanding paid family AND/OR medical leave benefits (e.g. maternity leave)? | ||
| Yes | f) Should the government be able to regulate the cost of prescription drugs? | ||
| If the state needs to increase funding in the short term to combat opioid abuse then that's what we have to do but I believe that this really needs to be addressed at the Federal level. I believe that a single payer system is something that we should be working towards but need to have an executable plan that has broad support for finding new jobs or training opportunities for workers in sectors that might be negatively affected by such a change. Bodily autonomy should extend to end of life care. I believe it's necessary to put limits and guardrails in place and any decision should be done with the consultation with medical and mental health professionals. I don't believe an otherwise healthy person experiencing a mental health episode should qualify for instance but I don't believe that anyone should be forced to needlessly suffer through the pain of an end stage illness if that's not their wish. I believe it's much more companionate to allow in such cases for an individual to choose the time and place to say their goodbyes and get their other affairs in order. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support inclusion of sexual orientation in Minnesota's anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support the inclusion of gender identity in Minnesota's anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support greater efforts by Minnesota's state government in closing gender, racial, and other wage gaps? | ||
| If elected it would be important for me to work with other representatives from rural districts on the important issues of Rural healthcare access, childcare, and changing the formula for how local government aid is calculated to provide greater state support to local governments to help alleviate rising property taxes. All three of these issues are making it more difficult to live, raise a family and even retire in greater MN. |
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