Andy Talarzyk's Issue Positions (Political Courage Test)
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Andy Talarzyk has provided voters with clear stances on key issues by responding to the 2014 Political Courage Test.
Indiana State Legislative Election 2014 Political Courage Test
| a) Do you generally support pro-choice or pro-life legislation? | |||
| b) Should abortions be illegal after the first trimester of pregnancy? | |||
| Yes | c) Should abortion be legal when the pregnancy resulted from incest or rape? | ||
| Yes | d) Should abortion be legal when the life of the woman is endangered? | ||
| e) Do you support requiring parental notification before an abortion is performed on a minor? | |||
| f) Do you support requiring parental consent before an abortion is performed on a minor? | |||
| g) Do you support the prohibition of public funds for abortion procedures? | |||
| h) Do you support the prohibition of public funds for organizations that perform abortions? | |||
| I am not, nor have I ever been, a woman. I have never had to worry about this issue on a personal level. As a parent though, I know how miraculous children are, and I believe the term "unborn child" is apt. If you truly want abortion rates to go down, there is a solution. It's education and care. Proper sex education and insurance coverage of and public funding for family planning services. You want to reduce abortion, reduce unintended pregnancies. Ideally, abortion would be safe, legal, but rare. | |||
1) State Spending:Using the key, indicate what state funding levels (#1-6) you support for the following general categories. Select one level per category; you may use a number more than once.2) State Taxes:Using the key, indicate what state tax levels (#1-6) you support for the following general categories. Select one level per category; you may use a number more than once.3) Budget Stabilization:Indicate which proposals you support (if any) for balancing Indiana's budget.
| Maintain Status | a) Education (higher) | ||
| Greatly Increase | b) Education (K-12) | ||
| Slightly Increase | c) Environment | ||
| Slightly Increase | d) Health care | ||
| Maintain Status | e) Law enforcement/corrections | ||
| Maintain Status | f) Transportation/infrastructure | ||
| Maintain Status | g) Welfare | ||
| Maintain Status | a) Alcohol taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | b) Cigarette taxes | ||
| Slightly Increase | c) Corporate taxes | ||
| Slightly Decrease | d) Gas/Oil taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | e) Property taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | f) Sales taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | g) Income taxes (low-income families) | ||
| Slightly Decrease | h) Income taxes (mid-income families) | ||
| Maintain Status | i) Income taxes (high-income families) | ||
| No | j) Do you support phasing out Indiana's Business Personal Property Tax? | ||
| a) Tapping into Indiana's "rainy day" fund | |||
| No | b) Increasing tuition rates at public universities | ||
| No | c) Reducing or eliminating public worker collective bargaining | ||
| No | d) Reducing state employee salaries AND/OR pensions | ||
| No | e) Instituting mandatory furloughs AND/OR layoffs for state employees | ||
| No | f) Reducing benefits for Medicaid recipients | ||
| g) Other or expanded principles: | |||
| On this scale it is hard to get a true picture of what you mean. We need to invest in education, especially Pre-K and K-12, but we also need an apprenticeship program for those who don't want to attend a college. Higher education costs need to drop, dramatically, and we need a system for High School students to compare colleges easily. We need to focus on protecting the environment, and focusing on alternative energy sources to lessen Indiana's 80% dependence on coal. I could speak on all of these topics. Please email me at AndyFor41@gmail.com for more information. | |||
| Indiana's middle class is being systematically phased out in Indiana. In Johnson County, where I live, the amount of students on free and reduced lunch has risen 15% over the past 8 years. Wages are stagnant, opportunities are low, and we are unable to attract high paying jobs. But we continue to give tax breaks to large corporations, effectively taxing the hardworking Hoosier. Either your services decline, roads don't get fixed, education suffers, or you put the burden back on the average worker. Its why our tax rates have declined in Indiana, but our tax burden is on the rise. | |||
a) Do you support limits on the following types of contributions for state candidates?
| Yes | 1) Individual | ||
| Yes | 2) Political Action Committee | ||
| Yes | 3) Corporate | ||
| Yes | 4) Political Party | ||
| b) Should candidates for state office be encouraged to meet voluntary spending limits? | |||
| Yes | c) Do you support requiring full and timely disclosure of campaign finance information? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support the use of an independent AND/OR bipartisan commission for redistricting? | ||
| e) Do you support requiring a government-issued photo identification in order to vote at the polls? | |||
| f) Other or expanded principles: | |||
| a) Do you support capital punishment for certain crimes? | |||
| Yes | b) Do you support alternatives to incarceration for certain non-violent offenders, such as mandatory counseling or substance abuse treatment? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support legalizing the possession of small amounts of marijuana? | ||
| d) Should a minor accused of a violent crime be prosecuted as an adult? | |||
| e) Should a minor who sends sexually-explicit or nude photos by cell phone face criminal charges? | |||
| Yes | f) Do you support the enforcement of federal immigration laws by state and local police? | ||
| One question that is not present here, is whether or not I support harsher punishments for those who commit sex crimes and crimes against children. Which I do, emphatically. Indiana should be known as a state that protects its children, above all else. And any person who harms a child or commits a sex crime will be dealt with, harshly. Also, we should remove any statutes of limitation on these crimes. As to the questions I did not answer above, there are a thousand variables for each that would need accounted for on a case-by-case basis. | |||
| No | a) Do you support reducing government regulations on the private sector? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support increased state funding for job-training programs that re-train displaced workers? | ||
| c) Do you support expanding access to unemployment benefits? | |||
| d) Do you support providing financial incentives to the private sector for the purpose of job creation? | |||
| e) Do you support government spending as a means of promoting economic growth? | |||
| Yes | f) Do you support providing direct financial assistance to homeowners facing foreclosure? | ||
| Yes | g) Do you support an increase of the minimum wage? | ||
| There are several ways in which we can help the economy without costing taxpayers any money. Raising the minimum wage is a great example of this. Since it's inception the minimum wage has been studied heavily, and the data points to raising the minimum wage being good for the economy. Stopping the attack on unions and helping workers unionize is another good way. Again, union membership and its effects on the economy is heavily studied, and as union membership decreases, income inequality increases. | |||
| No | a) Do you support the national Common Core State Standards initiative? | ||
| No | b) Do you support a merit pay system for teachers? | ||
| c) Is the tenure process for public school teachers producing effective teachers? | |||
| d) Should parents be allowed to use vouchers to send their children to any school? | |||
| No | e) Do you support state funding for charter schools? | ||
| Yes | f) Do you support the state government providing college students with financial aid? | ||
| g) Should illegal immigrants who graduate from Indiana high schools be eligible for in-state tuition at public universities? | |||
| a) I think our state can do better. We should focus on a STEAM curriculum. By focusing on Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math we can create a generation of young people who will be fully equipped to innovate, invent, and lead the nation. d) Indiana's voucher system needs a serious revisit. The idea is good, but it does not benefit all of the students in our state. Also, the schools benefiting from our tax dollars need to be held to some sort of standards and oversight to make sure the money they receive is used for educating students. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support state funding for the development of alternative energy? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support state funding for the development of traditional domestic energy sources (e.g. coal, natural gas, oil)? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support state funding for improvements to Indiana's energy infrastructure? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support state funding for open space preservation? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support government regulations of greenhouse gas emissions? | ||
| Our state legislators have a bad habit of borrowing against our future when it comes to energy. They don't think about the world they're leaving to our children and grandchildren. The time to start investing in new technologies and cleaner energy solutions is now. To make Indiana a leader in this new technological industry would be a boon for the state. In the meantime, because this change will not happen overnight, finding ways to make coal cleaner and healthier is a must. Regulating coal ash sludge ponds and what they output into the air we breathe is critical. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support restrictions on the purchase and possession of guns? | ||
| Yes | b) Should background checks be required on gun sales between private citizens at gun shows? | ||
| Yes | c) Should citizens be allowed to carry concealed guns? | ||
| Yes | d) Should a license be required for gun possession? | ||
| a) Let me elaborate. I do not think felons or mentally unstable people should possess or purchase firearms. I do not think children should either. So yeas, I support common sense restrictions. b) Universal background checks are a must. c-d) Having a license to own a gun makes sense, and any responsible person should be allowed to. I have spoken to several people about responsible gun ownership, and I think that getting a license to own and carry a gun should require a safety training course showing how to care for, store, and use a weapon correctly. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support a universally-accessible, publicly-administered health insurance option? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support expanding access to health care through commercial health insurance reform? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support interstate health insurance compacts? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act? | ||
| No | e) Do you support requiring individuals to purchase health care insurance? | ||
| No | f) Do you support monetary limits on damages that can be collected in malpractice lawsuits? | ||
| Yes | g) Do you support allowing doctors to prescribe marijuana to their patients for medicinal purposes? | ||
| I have not read enough data, spoken with enough people, or had enough direct experience with the ACA to speak on it with any authority. I will say though, that it is a hard position to take, a really hard position to defend, to say healthcare was perfect in this country before the ACA. No person should have to worry about their child getting sick because they can't afford to take them to the doctor. Just because someone is wealthy, doesn't mean their lives are worth more, or they deserve better medical treatment. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support same-sex marriage? | ||
| Yes | b) Should same-sex couples be allowed to form civil unions? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support the inclusion of sexual orientation in Indiana's anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support the inclusion of gender identity in Indiana's anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| In my experience I have found that there will always be discrimination. Some people can't accept the fact that we are all equal. Some people want to believe they're better. They want to have something and deny it to others. Unfortunately this way of thinking can't be wiped out completely. But, when this idea is openly indoctrinated and proselytized by society it's our job to stamp it out. To make it known that while you're free to have your own opinions, the state will not take part in discrimination. The state should look out for all of the people. | |||
| I believe the job of our elected officials is not to make decisions for us, but with us. To inform the people. To educate. To ensure that the people of the district know exactly what is going on in the statehouse. Then, to get their opinions. Their ideas. To call upon their experiences and expertise so that when your State Senator goes to vote on a piece of legislation, they open their mouths and the voices of their district come out. That doesn't happen currently, but it should. We need legislators who represent the people, not themselves. |
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