Jim Reed'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.
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.
Jim Reed has provided voters with clear stances on key issues by responding to the 2016 Political Courage Test.
California Congressional Election 2016 Political Courage Test
| Yes | In order to balance the budget, do you support reducing defense spending? | ||
| No | In order to balance the budget, do you support an income tax increase on any tax bracket? | ||
| Military spending can be reduced by returning to a self-sufficient Military; soldiers should be their own cooks, mechanics etc. instead of using much more expensive independent contractors. Instead of raising tax brackets, I advocate closing tax loopholes that 1) allow special interest groups to pay tax at capital gain rates rather twice as high earned income rates when they are not capital gains at all; 2) taxing US Corporations on foreign profit if the profits relate to US activity or product development. | |||
| Yes | Do you support the regulation of indirect campaign contributions from corporations and unions? | ||
| Yes | Do you support capital punishment for certain crimes? | ||
| Yes | Do you support alternatives to incarceration for certain non-violent offenders such as mandatory counseling or substance abuse treatment? | ||
| No | Do you support mandatory minimum sentences for non-violent drug offenders? | ||
| Yes | Do you support federal spending as a means of promoting economic growth? | ||
| No | Do you support lowering taxes as a means of promoting economic growth? | ||
| Yes | Do you support providing tax incentives to businesses for the purpose of job creation? | ||
| The Federal Government, by its mere size, is uniquely able to spend the level of money on infrastructure repair & improvement (the Army Corp of Engineers estimate we need to spend $4 Trillion on infrastructure) and also technology development that a private company could not afford the investment; the internet and much computer and semi-conductor development could only have been developed at Federal expense. There may be a justification for a temporary tax reductions during a recession. | |||
| Unknown Position | Do you generally support requiring states to adopt federal education standards? | ||
|
|||
| There must be coordination between States so that students who often move across State lines do not miss subjects taught in different grades at different States. | |||
| No | Do you support building the Keystone XL pipeline? | ||
| Yes | Do you support government funding for the development of renewable energy (e.g. solar, wind, thermal)? | ||
| Yes | Do you support increased regulations on the hydraulic fracturing ("fracking") industry? | ||
| Yes | Do you believe that human activity is contributing to climate change? | ||
| Yes | Do you support the federal regulation of greenhouse gas emissions? | ||
| I support a National Cap & Trade system | |||
| Yes | Do you generally support gun-control legislation? | ||
| Primarily-I believe background checks should be National with across State data sharing. | |||
| No | Do you support repealing the 2010 Affordable Care Act ("Obamacare")? | ||
| It is step forward but I believe it needs to be improved and not entirely privately funded (beyond Medicaid). | |||
| No | Do you support requiring immigrants who are unlawfully present to return to their country of origin before they are eligible for citizenship? | ||
|
|||
| Illegal immigrants who commit serious crimes should be deported. Otherwise, those working and contributing to society should pay a fine only for their offense. | |||
| No | Do you support allowing individuals to divert a portion of their Social Security taxes into personal retirement accounts? | ||
| Doing so would weaken Social Security enough to put the whole system at risk. | |||
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 | ||
| Greatly Increase | d) Education | ||
| Slightly Increase | e) Environment | ||
| Maintain Status | f) Homeland Security | ||
| Slightly Decrease | g) International aid | ||
| Slightly Increase | h) Medical Research | ||
| Slightly Increase | i) Scientific Research | ||
| Maintain Status | j) Space exploration | ||
| Maintain Status | k) United Nations | ||
| Maintain Status | l) Welfare | ||
| Slightly Increase | a) Capital gains taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | b) Corporate taxes | ||
| Greatly Decrease | c) Small business taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | d) Excise taxes (alcohol) | ||
| Maintain Status | e) Excise taxes (cigarettes) | ||
| Slightly Increase | f) Excise taxes (transportation fuel) | ||
| Slightly Decrease | g) Income taxes (low-income families) | ||
| Slightly Decrease | h) Income taxes (middle-income families) | ||
| Slightly Increase | i) Income taxes (high-income families) | ||
| Slightly Increase | j) Inheritance taxes | ||
| Slightly Increase | k) Payroll taxes | ||
| Greatly increase spending on infrastructure repair & improvement | |||
| Closing loopholes that give special interests capital gains rates on earned income, about 1/2 of what others pay. Taxing corporations on foreign profits for products developed in the US. | |||
| 1. Infrastructure repair & improvement to be paid by shifting Defense spending to this area. 2. Permanently funding Social Security & Medicare which will require either raising the payroll tax or creating a new tax; I support a small transaction tax (like a sales tax) on stock, commodity & real estate sales to fund these programs. 3. Closing tax loopholes as stated above on individuals paying capital gains rates for earned income and corporation not paying tax on foreign profit. |
Vote Smart does not permit the use of its name or programs in any campaign activity, including advertising, debates, and speeches.