Joe Szpara's Issue Positions (Political Courage Test)
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Joe Szpara has provided voters with clear stances on key issues by responding to the 2016 Political Courage Test.
Pennsylvania State Legislative Election 2016 Political Courage Test
| Pro-choice | a) Do you generally support pro-choice or pro-life legislation? | ||
| Yes | 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? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support requiring parental notification before an abortion is performed on a minor? | ||
| Yes | f) Do you support requiring parental consent before an abortion is performed on a minor? | ||
| Yes | g) Do you support the prohibition of public funds for abortion procedures? | ||
| Yes | h) Do you support the prohibition of public funds for organizations that perform abortions? | ||
| 25 years ago I was pro-choice, but there are so many options available today for a female that does not want give birth that there really is no option other than illness, birth defects, rape or incest to not give birth to a healthy baby. | |||
1) Budget Stabilization:Indicate which proposals you support (if any) for balancing Pennsylvania's budget.2) State Spending: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.3) State Taxes: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.
| No | a) Tapping into Pennsylvania's "rainy day" fund | ||
| No | b) Decreasing funding for public universities | ||
| No | c) Reducing state employee salaries AND/OR pensions | ||
| No | d) Instituting mandatory furloughs AND/OR layoffs for state employees | ||
| No | e) Reducing benefits for Medicaid recipients | ||
| Greatly Increase | a) Education (higher) | ||
| Greatly Increase | b) Education (K-12) | ||
| Slightly Increase | c) Environment | ||
| Slightly Increase | d) Health care | ||
| Greatly Increase | e) Law enforcement/corrections | ||
| Greatly Increase | f) Transportation/infrastructure | ||
| Maintain Status | g) Welfare | ||
| Maintain Status | a) Alcohol taxes | ||
| Slightly Increase | b) Cigarette taxes | ||
| Slightly Increase | c) Corporate taxes | ||
| Slightly Decrease | d) Small business taxes | ||
| Slightly Increase | e) Gas/Oil taxes | ||
| Slightly Decrease | f) Property taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | g) Sales taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | h) Income taxes (low-income families) | ||
| Maintain Status | i) Income taxes (mid-income families) | ||
| Slightly Increase | j) Income taxes (high-income families) | ||
| Yes | k) Do you support applying sales taxes to all online purchases? | ||
| As a former very successful business owner I would first go after unpaid taxes due the state, I would negotiate fair pricing with all state vendors and I would look at other options and proposals including corporate taxes before considering raising taxes. | |||
| In todays environment we can see that higher education benefits us all. On the environment with environmentally safe vehicles and businesses I feel that although, we need to keep up on the environment that most companies are doing what they can to help keep it safe and clean. Keep transparency open. Infrastructure is a costly necessity to bringing more business and jobs in addition to keeping our residents safe. | |||
| As a state we have an obligation to pay our bills and keep the state in the black. The lower the property tax the more houses are built and purchased and for every house thats built 2 new jobs are created. | |||
a) Do you support limits on the following types of contributions for state candidates?
| No | 1) Individual | ||
| No | 2) Political Action Committee | ||
| Yes | 3) Corporate | ||
| No | 4) Political Party | ||
| No | 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? | ||
| No | e) Do you support requiring a government-issued photo identification in order to vote at the polls? | ||
| I don't believe an individual that has the best intentions of making a change for a better government could financially afford to run a necessary and proper campaign without financial support from individuals and PAC's that agree with the candidate's views and issues. | |||
| Yes | 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? | ||
| No | c) Do you support legalizing the possession of small amounts of marijuana? | ||
| Yes | d) Should a minor accused of a violent crime be prosecuted as an adult? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support the enforcement of federal immigration laws by state and local police? | ||
| Yes | f) Do you support delaying the seizure of assets by law enforcement officials until after a conviction? | ||
| Yes | g) Do you support additional funding for programs intended to reduce drug addiction in Pennsylvania? | ||
| Unfortunately in todays society we have minors in many situations murdering or causing tremendous bodily harm to others. With that being said I do feel that treatment for minors accused of severe crimes such as murder or causing bodily harm to anyone should be a part of any incarceration and that after a period of years that that individual should be looked at and a team of medical and law enforcement experts make a decision on their future. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support government spending as a means of promoting economic growth? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support lowering taxes as a means of promoting economic growth? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support reducing government regulations on the private sector? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support increased state funding for job-training programs that re-train displaced workers? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support expanding access to unemployment benefits? | ||
| Yes | f) Do you support requiring welfare applicants to pass a drug test in order to receive benefits? | ||
| Yes | g) Do you support providing financial incentives to the private sector for the purpose of job creation? | ||
| No | h) Do you support providing direct financial assistance to homeowners facing foreclosure? | ||
| Yes | i) Do you support an increase of the minimum wage? | ||
| Yes | j) Should employers be able to ask about applicants' criminal history before interviewing them? | ||
| As the old saying goes "you have to spend money in order to make money". If property taxes were lowered more economic growth would occur. As a former small business owner I was over regulated and taxed and that was a burden on me moving my business forward. Private sector financing for the sole benefit of job and career producing incentives. On the issue of foreclosure I would push for financial institutions to restructure a home loan or mortgage in order to save a family from losing their home. In many cases it's due do a job loss. | |||
| a) Do you support the national Common Core State Standards initiative? | |||
| No | b) Do you support a merit pay system for teachers? | ||
| Yes | c) Is the tenure process for public school teachers producing effective teachers? | ||
| No | 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? | ||
| No | g) Should illegal immigrants who graduate from Pennsylvania high schools be eligible for in-state tuition at public universities? | ||
| Vouchers are used for profit type education like charter schools and the state has an obligation to educate all children, but through schools where state certified and properly educated teachers are employed. The state can't just continue to pay to send a student to any educational system. However, there are many private schools that one can choose. I don't believe illegal immigrants should be entitled to anything. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support state funding for the development of renewable energy (e.g. solar, wind, thermal)? | ||
| 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 Pennsylvania'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? | ||
| Yes | f) Do you support increased regulations of the hydraulic fracturing ("fracking") industry? | ||
| I support most all energy options so long as the state and it's residents benefit by it and recoup the funding put forth. I support the fracturing industry to be open and transparent. | |||
| No | a) Do you generally support gun-control legislation? | ||
| 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? | ||
| No | d) Should a license be required for gun possession? | ||
| No | e) Should private organizations be able to sue municipal governments over the local regulation of firearms? | ||
| As a former law enforcement officer, hunter and gun owner myself, I believe that local municipalities are the only department that knows whats best for their residents especially with all the new housing and commercial growth that are in some municipalities. | |||
| 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? | ||
| c) Do you support interstate health insurance compacts? | |||
| Yes | d) Do you support Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act ("Obamacare")? | ||
| Yes | 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? | ||
| If you own a car or drive a car you are required to be insured. eventually you will have a need for healthcare and you better have it or we all pay for it. | |||
| No | a) Do you support same-sex marriage? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support the inclusion of sexual orientation in Pennsylvania's anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support the inclusion of gender identity in Pennsylvania's anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| I'm all for equality regardless of sexual orientation, but I don't agree with same sex marriage. | |||
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