Peter Anderson's 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.
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Peter Anderson has provided voters with clear stances on key issues by responding to the 2014 Political Courage Test.
California Congressional Election 2014 Political Courage Test
| Pro-choice | Do you generally support pro-choice or pro-life legislation? | ||
| I support a woman's right to choose. | |||
| Yes | In order to balance the budget, do you support reducing defense spending? | ||
| Yes | In order to balance the budget, do you support an income tax increase on any tax bracket? | ||
| We must expect our allies to increase their participation in the maintenance of world order. We expect those who are making excessive unearned profits off of our businesses to pay a bigger share for necessary expenditures. | |||
| Yes | Do you support the regulation of indirect campaign contributions from corporations and unions? | ||
| There must be disclosure of those who are spending large amounts in support of candidates and issues. | |||
| No | Do you support capital punishment for certain crimes? | ||
| There are great inequities in determining those who should suffer capital punishment. And, the possibility that an innocent person may be executed makes capital punishment unjustifiable. | |||
| Yes | Do you support federal spending as a means of promoting economic growth? | ||
| Yes | Do you support lowering taxes as a way of promoting growth in the economy? | ||
| Yes | Do you support providing tax incentives to businesses for the purpose of job creation? | ||
| Federal spending should be used to create jobs like infrastructure, teaching, and social work, that are not being created by the private sector. Also, federal spending may be necessary to encourage innovation in some areas. Taxes should be fairer, with breaks for most, but increases for those who are making excessive unearned profits. Incentives should be provided where jobs will be created instead of where the money will be used to automate and simply increase the business profits. | |||
| Yes | Do you support requiring states to implement education reforms in order to be eligible for competitive federal grants? | ||
| Federal funds can be used as a stimulus in cases where states and their schools are not doing their job. | |||
| No | Do you support building the Keystone XL pipeline? | ||
| No | Do you support reducing restrictions on offshore energy production? | ||
| We need the Keystone oil and the offshore oil, but there are environmental concerns in both cases and these are not contributing to the move to alternative energy sources. | |||
| Yes | Do you believe that human activity is contributing to climate change? | ||
| Yes | Do you support the federal regulation of greenhouse gas emissions? | ||
| The seven billion people on the planet is too many for our resources and environment to handle. We need to both reduce greenhouse gas emissions as rapidly as possible and encourage family planning internationally to get our world population under control. Each additional person on the planet is adding many tons of greenhouse gases to our atmosphere. . | |||
| Yes | Do you support restrictions on the purchase and possession of guns? | ||
| I support ownership of weapons for specific legitimate purposes by persons who are responsible in the use of those weapons. We must keep weapons out of the hands of irresponsible persons who will use those weapons for non-legitimate purposes. | |||
| No | Do you support repealing the 2010 Affordable Care Act? | ||
| I support universal health care as successfully practiced in many other countries around the world. Our previous health care system was seriously broken. The Affordable Care Act was not perfect, but it was a start. | |||
| No | Do you support requiring illegal immigrants to return to their country of origin before they are eligible for citizenship? | ||
| Many illegal immigrants are refugees from horrible conditions in their home countries. Many others come looking for a way to better their condition. We should work to help other countries improve their conditions and also continue to discourage excessive numbers of immigrants from trying to come here. Diversity is one of the great strengths of our country. I approve of a path to citizenship for those who have shown that they can be good citizens of our country. | |||
| Yes | Do you support same-sex marriage? | ||
| Eighty or ninety year old men and women can get married and take care of one another in successful relationships. Why not two men or two women? | |||
| Yes | Do you support targeting suspected terrorists outside of official theaters of conflict? | ||
| No | Should the U.S use military force in order to prevent governments hostile to the United States from possessing a nuclear weapon? | ||
| Tracking down and eliminating terrorists that are threatening our citizens is necessary in many cases. To prevent the spread of nuclear weapons, we should use diplomatic and economic measures, not military force. | |||
| No | Do you support allowing individuals to divert a portion of their Social Security taxes into personal retirement accounts? | ||
| I would encourage unions and corporations to provide additional forms of 401K type saving and investment programs instead of pension programs. This gives workers more flexibility in choice of employers and also more say and responsibility in the investment of their savings. Social Security should be maintained as a separate safety net. | |||
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.
| Slightly Decrease | a) Agriculture | ||
| Maintain Status | b) Arts | ||
| Slightly Decrease | c) Defense | ||
| Slightly Increase | d) Education | ||
| Greatly Increase | e) Environment | ||
| Maintain Status | f) Homeland Security | ||
| Slightly Increase | g) International aid | ||
| Maintain Status | h) Medical Research | ||
| Slightly Increase | i) Scientific Research | ||
| Maintain Status | j) Space exploration | ||
| Slightly Increase | k) United Nations | ||
| Slightly Increase | l) Welfare | ||
| m) Other or expanded categories | |||
| Slightly Increase | a) Capital gains taxes | ||
| Slightly Decrease | b) Corporate taxes | ||
| Slightly Increase | c) Excise taxes (alcohol) | ||
| Maintain Status | d) Excise taxes (cigarettes) | ||
| Slightly Decrease | e) Excise taxes (transportation fuel) | ||
| Slightly Decrease | f) Income taxes (low-income families) | ||
| Maintain Status | g) Income taxes (middle-income families) | ||
| Slightly Increase | h) Income taxes (high-income families) | ||
| Maintain Status | i) Inheritance taxes | ||
| Slightly Decrease | j) Payroll taxes | ||
| k) Other or expanded categories | |||
| Smarter legislation and spending. Should not be Of, By and For the Lobbyists and their Clients. Much more spending on climate change mitigation. More spending on international family planning. We can have lower corporate taxes and reasonable regulation of businesses to help encourage job growth. Those who are making excessive unearned profits off of our businesses and corporations can afford to pay a bit more. |
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