Joseph Loftin, Jr.'s Issue Positions (Political Courage Test)
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Joseph Loftin, Jr. has demonstrated Political Courage by telling citizens where he stands on the issues he may face if elected.
California Congressional Election 2012 Political Courage Test
| Pro-life | Do you generally support pro-choice or pro-life legislation? | ||
| I bwelieve in the sanctity of life. | |||
| Yes | Do you support United States' combat operations in Afghanistan? | ||
| No | Do you support a timetable for withdrawal from Afghanistan? | ||
| I believe we should withdraw only when the mission is accomplished and then we should do so quickly. No warning of many months. | |||
Indicate which proposals you support (if any) for balancing the federal budget.In order to balance the budget,
| No | do you support reducing defense spending? | ||
| No | 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 a legislative priority? | ||
| Reductions are made in favor of block grants to the states where spending can be better controlled. The savings would be in eliminating bloated federal bureaucracy. | |||
| No | Do you support the regulation of indirect campaign contributions from corporations and unions? | ||
| Although a "person" under the law, corporations should not be allowed to make campaign contributions. Only individual citizens and groups formulated specifically for the purpose should be allowed. | |||
| Yes | Do you support capital punishment for certain crimes? | ||
| Yes, but it should be applied equally for all crimes in a specific category. Distinctions of who you kiiled should not be made. | |||
| No | 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? | ||
| No | Do you support spending on infrastructure projects for the purpose of job creation? | ||
| No | Do you support the temporary extension of unemployment benefits? | ||
| Yes | Do you support the 2010 temporary extension of tax relief? | ||
| Infrastructure should be buyilt and maintained by specific bond measures. Taxes must not be raised on anyone. | |||
| No | Do you support requiring states to implement education reforms in order to be eligible for competitive federal grants? | ||
| The federal government should not be involved in k-12 education. The DOE should be eliminated. | |||
| Yes | Do you support reducing restrictions on offshore energy production? | ||
| We should become energy independent as soon as possible. The private sector can do it if the government gets out of the way. | |||
| No | Do you believe that human activity is contributing to climate change? | ||
| No | Do you support the federal regulation of greenhouse gas emissions? | ||
| No | Do you support restrictions on the purchase and possession of guns? | ||
| Exception for felons and mentally disabled people. | |||
| Yes | 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? | ||
| It is beyond the scope of the Constitution to force people to buy anything. | |||
| Yes | Do you support requiring illegal immigrants to return to their country of origin before they are eligible for citizenship? | ||
| No | 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? | ||
| We must protect the soverignty of the US> Close the borders and enforce the laws that we have. Then provide a worker's permit and legal status. For citizenship people must return to their country of origin and apply for it. | |||
| No | Do you support same-sex marriage? | ||
| The sanctity of marriage is that it is for all recorded history between a man and a woman. | |||
| Yes | Do you support targeting suspected terrorists outside of official theaters of conflict? | ||
| Yes | Should the U.S use military force in order to prevent Iran from possessing a nuclear weapon? | ||
| If necessary and only as a last resort. | |||
| Yes | Do you support allowing individuals to divert a portion of their Social Security taxes into personal retirement accounts? | ||
| The system we have now is unsustainable. It must be reformed and options should be made available. | |||
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.
| Eliminate | a) Agriculture | ||
| Eliminate | b) Arts | ||
| Slightly Increase | c) Defense | ||
| Eliminate | d) Education | ||
| Greatly Decrease | e) Environment | ||
| Greatly Decrease | f) Homeland Security | ||
| Greatly Decrease | g) International aid | ||
| Maintain Status | h) Medical Research | ||
| Maintain Status | i) Scientific Research | ||
| Maintain Status | j) Space exploration | ||
| Greatly Decrease | k) United Nations | ||
| Maintain Status | l) Welfare | ||
| m) Other or expanded categories | |||
| Greatly Decrease | a) Capital gains taxes | ||
| Greatly Decrease | b) Corporate taxes | ||
| Greatly Decrease | c) Excise taxes (alcohol) | ||
| Greatly Decrease | d) Excise taxes (cigarettes) | ||
| Greatly Decrease | e) Excise taxes (transportation fuel) | ||
| Slightly Decrease | f) Income taxes (low-income families) | ||
| Slightly Decrease | g) Income taxes (middle-income families) | ||
| Slightly Decrease | h) Income taxes (high-income families) | ||
| Eliminate | i) Inheritance taxes | ||
| Eliminate | j) Payroll taxes | ||
| Replace all taxes with a consumption tax at the retail point of sale for all new goods and services. Provide "prebates" to all at or below poverty for sunsistence level consumption tax. Between now and full implementation have a staged plan of flat taxes. | |||
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