Allen Pool'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.
Michigan State Legislative Election 2010 Political Courage Test
| Pro-life | a) Do you consider yourself pro-choice or pro-life? | ||
| No | b) Should abortion be legal only within the first trimester of pregnancy? | ||
| No | c) Should abortion be legal when the pregnancy resulted from incest or rape? | ||
| No | 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 sexual education programs that include information on abstinence, contraceptives, and HIV/STD prevention methods? | ||
| No | h) Do you support abstinence-only sexual education programs? | ||
| I believe that abstinence is the best policy and should be stressed as so, but the other aspects of sex education should also be taught. Abstinence should always be stressed as the best policy. I don't believe that there is any need for sex education in our elementary schools as some organizations are lobbying for. Planned parenthood should be kept out of the schools unless local right to life groups are given equal time. Life begins at conception and ends at natural death. | |||
1) State SpendingIndicate 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 TaxesIndicate 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 StabilizationIndicate which proposals you support (if any) for balancing Michigan's budget.
| Maintain Status | a) Education (higher) | ||
| Maintain Status | b) Education (K-12) | ||
| Greatly Decrease | c) Environment | ||
| Slightly Decrease | d) Health care | ||
| Maintain Status | e) Law enforcement | ||
| Slightly Increase | f) Transportation and highway infrastructure | ||
| Greatly Decrease | g) Welfare | ||
| Greatly Decrease | h) Other or expanded categories | ||
| Maintain Status | a) Alcohol taxes | ||
| Slightly Decrease | b) Cigarette taxes | ||
| Greatly Decrease | c) Corporate taxes | ||
| Slightly Decrease | d) Gasoline taxes | ||
| Slightly Decrease | e) Property taxes | ||
| Slightly Decrease | f) Sales taxes | ||
| Slightly Decrease | g) Income taxes (low-income families) | ||
| Slightly Decrease | h) Income taxes (middle-income families) | ||
| Greatly Decrease | i) Income taxes (high-income families) | ||
| Greatly Decrease | j) Other or expanded categories | ||
| No | a) Tapping into Michigan's "rainy day" fund | ||
| No | b) Instituting a tax on physicians | ||
| No | c) Extending the sales tax to more services | ||
| No | d) Issuing the early release of certain non-violent offenders | ||
| No | e) Increasing tuition rates at public universities | ||
| No | f) Instituting mandatory furloughs and layoffs for state employees | ||
| No | g) Reducing benefits for Medicaid recipients | ||
| Yes | h) Privatizing certain government services | ||
| We have to decrease the size of state government by by combining and/or eliminating programs and departments where it makes sense to. Privatization of services in departmens such as corrections and public education. It is vital that we pass welfare reform, education reform, environmental policy reform, tax reform, etc. to get costs down and to develop common sense, effective programs that work. | |||
| For the survival of small businesses in Michigan, the tax burden on business must be reduced. I am for elimination of the Michigan Business Tax and surcharge, paying for it by reducing the state budget and the size of state government. We must reduce the tax burden on businesses and our citizens if we are to turn the economy around. " Sin" taxes such as those on alchohol and tobacco equate to a direct tax on the poor and middle class citizens, therefore, I believe raising taxes on these items only further burdens our citizens. | |||
| I have signed the "No Tax" pledge and I believe we can avoid any need for higher taxation by "jump starting" Michigan's economy through providing a business friendly tax and regulation environment and by reducing cost and size of state government. Medicaid benefits would need to be addressed with welfare reform. Public Universities need to begin looking at ways they can cut operational costs instead of raising tuition rates every year. | |||
c) Do you support limits on the following types of contributions to candidates for state government?
| Yes | a) Do you support limits on the number of terms for Michigan governors? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support limits on the number of terms for Michigan state legislators? | ||
| No | 1) Individual | ||
| No | 2) Political Action Committee | ||
| No | 3) Corporate | ||
| No | 4) Political Party | ||
| No | d) Should candidates for state office be encouraged to meet voluntary spending limits? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support requiring full and timely disclosure of campaign finance information? | ||
| I believe that far to much money is spent on political campaigns. I also believe that it is a restriction on free speech to place limits on donations to candidates. These restrictions and/or limits only seem to hurt the candidates that follow the rules. This said, full transparency of a candidates campaign financing is important to understand just who is supporting this candidate and where he or she is spending this money. | |||
| 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) Should the possession of small amounts of marijuana be decriminalized? | ||
| Yes | d) Should a minor accused of a violent crime be prosecuted as an adult? | ||
| No | e) Should a minor who sends sexually-explicit or nude photos by cell phone face criminal charges? | ||
| Yes | f) Do you support repealing the state's motorcycle helmet law? | ||
| Yes | g) Do you support the enforcement of federal immigration laws by state and local police? | ||
| Common sense needs to be used in cases where minors are involved. Age, severity of the crime or in the case of cell phone pictures must be taken into account. Helmet, seatbelt, and even smoking band are not the responsibility of the state. I am not a smoker, I would never ride a motorcycle without a helmet and I always use a seatbelt, but it's not the state governments place to tell me I need to do this. As long as the Federal Government doesn't want to enforce our immigration laws, the states have the right to protect it's citizens. | |||
| a) Do you support reducing government regulations on the private sector? | |||
| b) Do you support state regulation of the auto insurance industry? | |||
| c) Do you support increased state funding for job-training programs that re-train displaced workers? | |||
| d) Do you support expanding access to unemployment benefits? | |||
| e) Do you support providing financial incentives to the private sector for the purpose of job creation? | |||
| f) Do you support increased spending on infrastructure projects for the purpose of job creation? | |||
| g) Do you support providing direct financial assistance to homeowners facing foreclosure? | |||
| h) Other or expanded principles | |||
| a) Do you support national education standards? | |||
| b) Do you support requiring public schools to administer high school exit exams? | |||
| c) Do you support using a merit pay system for teachers? | |||
| d) Do you support state funding for charter schools? | |||
| e) Do you support the state government providing college students with financial aid? | |||
| f) Should illegal immigrants who graduate from Michigan high schools be eligible for in-state tuition at public universities? | |||
| g) Other or expanded principles | |||
| a) Do you support state funding for the development of alternative energy? | |||
| b) Do you support state funding for the development of traditional domestic energy sources (e.g. coal, natural gas, oil)? | |||
| c) Do you support providing financial incentives to farms that produce biofuel crops? | |||
| d) Do you support state funding for improvements to Michigan's energy infrastructure? | |||
| e) Do you support state funding for open space preservation? | |||
| f) Do you support enacting environmental regulations aimed at reducing the effects of climate change? | |||
| g) Other or expanded principles | |||
| a) Do you support restrictions on the purchase and possession of guns? | |||
| b) Do you support requiring background checks on gun sales between private citizens at gun shows? | |||
| c) Do you support allowing individuals to carry concealed guns? | |||
| d) Do you support requiring a license for gun possession? | |||
| e) Other or expanded principles | |||
| a) Do you support a universally-accessible, publicly-administered health insurance option? | |||
| b) Do you support expanding access to health care through commercial health insurance reform? | |||
| c) Do you support interstate health insurance compacts? | |||
| d) Should individuals be required to purchase health care insurance? | |||
| e) Do you support monetary limits on damages that can be collected in malpractice lawsuits? | |||
| f) Do you support legalizing physician-assisted suicide in Michigan? | |||
| g) Do you support allowing doctors to prescribe marijuana to their patients for medicinal purposes? | |||
| h) Other or expanded principles | |||
| a) Should marriage only be between one man and one woman? | |||
| b) Should Michigan allow same-sex couples to form civil unions? | |||
| c) Do you support state funding for stem cell research? | |||
| d) Do you support state funding for embryonic stem cell research? | |||
| e) Do you support the state's use of affirmative action? | |||
| f) Do you support the inclusion of sexual orientation in Michigan's anti-discrimination laws? | |||
| g) Do you support the inclusion of gender identity in Michigan's anti-discrimination laws? | |||
| h) Should legal counsel for indigent defendants be managed by the state? | |||
| i) Other or expanded principles | |||
Vote Smart does not permit the use of its name or programs in any campaign activity, including advertising, debates, and speeches.