William Laughlin Artz
William Laughlin Artz's Issue Positions (Political Courage Test)
What is the Political Courage Test?
Presidential Election 2012 Political Courage Test
Key

- Official Position: Candidate had the Political Courage to address this issue directly.

- Inferred Position: Candidate refused to address this issue directly, but Project Vote Smart inferred this issue position based on the candidate's public statements, voting record, and evaluations from special interest groups.

- Unknown Position: Candidate refused to address this issue.

- Project Vote Smart's Research: Click on this icon to reveal more information about this candidate's position.
Other or Expanded Principles & Legislative Priorities are entered exactly as the candidate has submitted it. Project Vote Smart does not edit for misspelled words, punctuation or grammar.
Pro-choice![]() | Do you generally support pro-choice or pro-life legislation? |
| Other or expanded principles | |
I am committed to offering family planning education in high schools, as a means of educating and empowering our youth in making informed choices in the matter of having and raising children. |
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Budget | |
Indicate which proposals you support (if any) for balancing the federal budget. | |
In order to balance the budget, | |
Yes![]() | do you support reducing defense spending? |
Yes![]() | do you support an income tax increase on any tax bracket? |
No![]() | do you support reducing Medicaid spending? |
No![]() | do you support reducing Medicare spending? |
Yes![]() | Is balancing the budget an administrative priority? |
![]() | Other or expanded principles |
Spending | |
Indicate 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. | |
Slightly Increase![]() | a) Agriculture |
Slightly Increase![]() | b) Arts |
Greatly Decrease![]() | c) Defense |
Slightly Increase![]() | d) Education |
Greatly Increase![]() | e) Environment |
Slightly Decrease![]() | f) Homeland Security |
Maintain Status![]() | 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 |
![]() | m) Other or expanded categories |
Taxes | |
Indicate 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 Increase![]() | a) Capital gains taxes |
Slightly Increase![]() | b) Corporate taxes |
Maintain Status![]() | c) Excise taxes (alcohol) |
Maintain Status![]() | d) Excise taxes (cigarettes) |
Maintain Status![]() | e) Excise taxes (transportation fuel) |
Slightly Decrease![]() | f) Income taxes (low-income families) |
Slightly Decrease![]() | g) Income taxes (middle-income families) |
Slightly Increase![]() | h) Income taxes (high-income families) |
Maintain Status![]() | i) Inheritance taxes |
Maintain Status![]() | j) Payroll taxes |
![]() | k) Other or expanded categories |
Yes![]() | Do you support the regulation of indirect campaign contributions from corporations and unions? |
| Other or expanded principles | |
Corporations are not individuals, regardless of what the Supreme Court ruling might suggest. |
|
No![]() | Do you support capital punishment for certain crimes? |
| Other or expanded principles | |
There is no evidence that capital punishment is any deterrent for capital crimes. |
|
Yes![]() | Do you support federal spending as a means of promoting economic growth? |
Yes![]() | Do you support providing tax incentives to businesses for the purpose of job creation? |
Yes![]() | Do you support spending on infrastructure projects for the purpose of job creation? |
Yes![]() | Do you support the 2010 temporary extension of unemployment benefits? |
Yes![]() | Do you support the 2010 temporary extension of tax relief? |
![]() | Other or expanded principles |
Yes![]() | Do you support requiring states to implement education reforms in order to be eligible for competitive federal grants? |
![]() | Other or expanded principles |
Yes![]() | Do you believe that human activity is contributing to climate change? |
Yes![]() | Do you support the federal regulation of greenhouse gas emissions? |
No![]() | Do you support reducing restrictions on offshore energy production? |
| Other or expanded principles | |
I support the exploration and creation of new energy sources, aside from fossil fuels, in an effort to expand jobs creation, economic sovreignty and the quality of life for the people of our country and the world. I will assemble the top experts in the environemntal arena and generate and implement a workable strategy and plan to reverse the planet's eco-deterioration. We are loaned this planet; it is not our property. |
|
No![]() | Do you support United States' combat operations in Afghanistan? |
Yes![]() | Do you support a timetable for withdrawal from Afghanistan? |
No![]() | Do you support targeting suspected terrorists outside of official theaters of conflict? |
| Other or expanded principles | |
We must shift the context from which we reate the the rest of the world. We are not the world's police force. We do not inherently know best. And war must cease to be inevitable. Peace is the result of a new way of relating, not the absence of war. |
|
Yes![]() | Do you support restrictions on the purchase and possession of guns? |
![]() | Other or expanded principles |
No![]() | Do you support repealing the 2010 Affordable Care Act? |
No![]() | Should individuals be required to purchase health insurance, as mandated in the 2010 Affordable Care Act? |
![]() | Other or expanded principles |
No![]() | Do you support requiring illegal immigrants to return to their country of origin before they are eligible for citizenship? |
Yes![]() | Do you support allowing illegal immigrants, who were brought to the United States as minors, to pursue citizenship without returning to their country of origin? |
Yes![]() | Do you support the enforcement of federal immigration law by state and local police? |
| Other or expanded principles | |
Being an American is a privilege. And as such, it is earned. Being an American carries with it a distinct responsibility. It honors those who engage in becoming an American to give them the opportunity to step into that responsibility. That is the power of citizenship. |
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Yes![]() | Do you support same-sex marriage? |
![]() | Other or expanded principles |
Yes![]() | Do you support allowing individuals to divert a portion of their Social Security taxes into personal retirement accounts? |
![]() | Other or expanded principles |
| Please explain in a total of 100 words or less, your top two or three priorities if elected. If they require additional funding for implementation, please explain how you would obtain this funding. | |
My first priority is to restore integrity to the financial sector, with an emphasis on investment banking and securities. Our financial meltdown is a direct result of lies, broken promises and flat out thievery at the highest levels of our finacnial infrastructure. Getting these lies and crimes exposed, and holding those responsible to account will bring a new vitality to our economic system and a culture of economic justice and establish a renewed opportunity for prosperity for the populace. My second priority is the environment, our home, the planet. The abuse must stop and real restoration must begin. |
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