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Matthew Friar's Issue Positions (Political Courage Test)

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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.
Additional Information: Click on this icon to reveal more information about this candidate's position, from their answers or Vote Smart's research.
Other or Expanded Principles & Legislative Priorities are entered exactly as candidates submit them. Vote Smart does not edit for misspelled words, punctuation or grammar.

Matthew Friar refused to tell citizens where he stands on any of the issues addressed in the 2010 Political Courage Test, despite repeated requests from Vote Smart, national media, and prominent political leaders.

What is the Political Courage Test?
This candidate has responded to a Political Courage Test in a previous election. As a continued effort to provide the American public with factual information on candidates running for public office, these archived responses are made available here.

Michigan State Legislative Election 2008 Political Courage Test

The Political Courage Test asks candidates which items they will support if elected. It does not ask them to indicate which items they will oppose. Through extensive research of public polling data, we discovered that voters are more concerned with what candidates would support when elected to office, not what they oppose. If a candidate does not select a response to any part or all of any question, it does not necessarily indicate that the candidate is opposed to that particular item.

Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding abortion.

a) Abortions should always be illegal.
b) Abortions should always be legal.
c) Abortions should be legal only within the first trimester of pregnancy.
X d) Abortions should be legal when the pregnancy resulted from incest or rape.
X e) Abortions should be legal when the life of the woman is endangered.
f) Abortions should be subject to a mandatory waiting period.
g) Require clinics to give parental notification before performing abortions on minors.
I believe that abortion is morally wrong, yet I have extreme difficulty legislating abortion out of existence due to every woman's situation being starkly different - economic, emotional, physical, spiritual. I believe that life begins at conception, and that every life deserves a chance. Unfortunately, abortions will happen regardless of the letter of the law and we have to ask ourselves honestly what this means if abortion is outlawed - back alley abortions, child neglect, poverty, crime. From a moral standpoint it is easy to be black and white. Honest legislators must live in the real world, however.

State Budget: Indicate what state funding levels (#1-6) you support for the following general categories. Select one level per category, you can use a number more than once.State Taxes: Indicate what state tax levels (#1-6) you support for the following general categories. Select one level per category, you can use a number more than once.

Greatly Decrease a) Education (Higher)
Greatly Decrease b) Education (K-12)
Maintain Status c) Emergency preparedness
Maintain Status d) Environment
Greatly Decrease e) Health care
Maintain Status f) Law enforcement
Maintain Status g) Transportation and highway infrastructure
Greatly Decrease h) Welfare
i) Other or expanded categories
Eliminate a) Alcohol taxes
Eliminate b) Cigarette taxes
Eliminate c) Corporate taxes
Eliminate d) Gasoline taxes
Eliminate e) Income taxes (incomes below $75,000)
Eliminate f) Income taxes (incomes above $75,000)
Eliminate g) Property taxes
Greatly Increase h) Sales taxes
Eliminate i) Vehicle taxes
j) Other or expanded categories
No 1) Should state sales taxes be extended to Internet sales?
No 2) Should accounts such as a "rainy day" fund be used to balance the state budget?
No 3) Should fee increases be used to balance the state budget?
I am a proponent of the Fair Tax where income & business taxes are eliminated in favor of an increased sales tax. Studies have shown that income taxes depress economies while sales taxes, which are based on buying habits/consumption increase economic activity. Without income, property or business taxes, citizens and business owners will have more disposable income which will drive spending and investment.

Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding campaign finance and government reform.c) Do you support limiting the following types of contributions to state legislative candidates?

No a) Do you support the current limit of terms for Michigan governors?
No b) Do you support the current limit of terms for Michigan state senators and representatives?
No 1) Individual
No 2) PAC
No 3) Corporate
No 4) Political Parties
Yes d) Do you support requiring full and timely disclosure of campaign finance information?
No e) Do you support imposing spending limits on state-level political campaigns?
f) Should Michigan participate in the federal REAL ID program?
Governments have an obligation to disclose their actions & spending, since the authority to tax and compel obedience must be premised on government's remaining a servant of the people, and therefore accountable to them.

Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding crime.

a) Increase state funds for construction of state prisons and hiring of additional prison staff.
b) Establish the death penalty in Michigan.
X c) Support programs to provide prison inmates with vocational and job-related skills and job-placement assistance when released.
X d) Implement penalties other than incarceration for certain non-violent offenders.
X e) Decriminalize the possession of small amounts of marijuana.
f) Minors accused of a violent crime should be prosecuted as adults.
g) Support state and local law enforcement officials enforcing federal immigration laws.
h) Support hate crime legislation.
Marijuana should be completely decriminalized. Enforcement of laws restricting this relatively harmless drug (no more harmful than alcohol mentally or physically) sucks up resources that should be allocated to finding, prosecuting and incarcerating rapists, sex offenders and murderers. Various Michigan government & police websites lists literally dozens of Michigan murderers, sex offenders and armed burglars who have escaped and/or are at large. No one should be busted for smoking a joint until every one is found and brought to justice.

Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding education.

a) Support state funding of universal pre-K programs.
b) Mandate full day kindergarten.
X c) Support federal education standards and testing requirements for K-12 students (No Child Left Behind).
d) Support state education standards and testing requirements for K-12 students.
e) Support requiring public schools to administer high school exit exams.
X f) Allow parents to use vouchers to send their children to any public school.
X g) Allow parents to use vouchers to send their children to any private or religious school.
h) Provide state funding to increase teacher salaries.
X i) Support using a merit pay system for teachers.
j) Provide state funding for tax incentives and financial aid to help make college more affordable.
X k) Support allowing illegal immigrant high school graduates of Michigan to pay in-state tuition at public universities.
Parents should have maximum freedom to choose the school that they send their children too. This can be done by giving every parent a voucher that they can use to offset all or part of private school tuition. As long as public schools have a monopoly on our tax dollars, they will never have incentive to change or become stronger.

Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding employment.

a) Increase funding for state job-training programs that re-train displaced workers and teach skills needed in today's job market.
X b) Reduce state government regulations on the private sector.
X c) Provide low interest loans and tax credits for starting, expanding, or relocating businesses.
X d) Provide tax credits for businesses that provide child care for children in low-income working families.
e) Increase state funds to provide child care for children in low-income working families.
X f) Include sexual orientation in Michigan's anti-discrimination laws.
g) Include gender identity in Michigan's anti-discrimination laws.
h) Increase the state minimum wage.
i) Support laws that prevent employers from dismissing employees at will.
j) Support financial punishments for those who knowingly employ illegal immigrants.
X k) Support increased work requirements for able-bodied welfare recipients.
l) Increase funding for employment and job training programs for welfare recipients.
The true bottom line here is our families. The more the state undermines small business with higher taxes and more regulation, the more business will simply exit the state and continue to flourish in Indiana (and India) or Mexico. That means fewer businesses, fewer jobs, lower standard of living and fewer tax dollars for the state. But do you think Granholm's salary or benefits will change?

Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding the environment and energy.

a) Promote increased use of alternative fuel technology.
X b) Support increased production of traditional domestic energy sources (e.g. coal, natural gas, oil, etc).
c) Support providing financial incentives to farms that produce biofuel crops.
d) Use state funds to clean up former industrial and commercial sites that are contaminated, unused, or abandoned.
e) Support funding for improvements to Michigan's power generating and transmission facilities.
f) Support funding for open space preservation.
g) Limit carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases linked to global warming.
h) Enact environmental regulations even if they are stricter than federal law.
i) Enact laws that prevent Great Lakes water diversion outside of the Great Lakes basin.
Affordable, plentiful, and reliable energy is the foundation of our economy; we should not surrender our freedom, livelihood and standard of living to unsubstantiated theories about climate change.

Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding guns.

Yes a) Should background checks be required on gun sales between private citizens at gun shows?
Yes b) Should citizens be allowed to carry concealed guns?
No c) Should a license be required for gun possession?
No d) Do you support current levels of enforcement of existing state restrictions on the purchase and possession of guns?
No e) Do you support current state restrictions on the purchase and possession of guns?
I fully support 2nd Amendment rights as recently interpreted by the Supreme Court. Guns kill, but they also protect. Further restricting or banning guns will result in guns falling into only the hands of those that will use them to harm others.

Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding health.

a) Ensure that citizens have access to basic health care through managed care, insurance reforms, or state-funded care where necessary.
b) Guaranteed medical care to all citizens is not a responsibility of state government.
c) Limit the amount of damages that can be awarded in medical malpractice lawsuits.
d) Allow patients to sue their HMOs.
X e) Require hospitals and labs to release reports on infections that are a risk to public health, while not compromising patient confidentiality.
f) Legalize physician assisted suicide in Michigan.
X g) Support allowing doctors to prescribe marijuana to their patients for medicinal purposes.
People NEED to become more responsible for their own health care via the expansion of private market tools such as HSAs. Universal health care will result in poorer quality, fewer choices, waiting lists (see Canada, UK) and will further bankrupt our country. Health insurance/security cannot disappear when people leave their jobs. We have too fluid a workforce. The only way to do this is via Health Savings Accounts that remain with the owner throughout his or her life.

['Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding social issues.', 'Legislative Priorities']

Yes a) Should Michigan recognize civil unions between same-sex couples?
Yes b) Should same-sex couples be allowed to marry?
Yes c) Should Michigan provide state-level spousal rights to same-sex couples?
Yes d) Do you support a moment of silence in public schools?
Yes e) Do you support voluntary prayer in public schools?
Yes f) Do you support sexual education programs that include information on abstinence, contraceptives, and HIV/STD prevention methods?
No g) Do you support abstinence-only sexual education programs?
No h) Should the state government consider race and gender in state government contracting and hiring decisions?
No i) Do you support affirmative action in public college admissions?
No j) Should Michigan continue affirmative action programs?
No k) Do you support state funding of stem cell research?
No l) Do you support state funding of embryonic stem cell research?
Undecided m) Do you support allowing pharmacists who conscientiously object to emergency contraception to refuse to dispense it?
The bottom line and the beauty of libertarianism is this: in a free society, law-abiding people should be free to choose to live their lives as they see fit so long as they do not infringe on the rights of others. When Thomas Jefferson wrote in 1776 that the inalienable rights of men included the right to "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness" he meant those words to carry on through time no matter what the circumstances or evolution of society, culture, ideals and norms should be.
Part-time legislature: 46 of 50 US states have a part-time legislature and all 46 are doing a better job than Michigan's. Our representatives are paid $91,650 p/year not including health care or pension and they can't pass a budget, stop our bleeding economy or focus on any real issues. Lower taxes: in the fall of 2007, the state legislator approved a 22% tax increase in the face of increasing bankruptcies, higher unemployment and pending recession. They got what they should've expected: more job loss, more failing businesses and neck-deep in a state-wide recession with no end in sight.

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