Karen Schoen's Issue Positions (Political Courage Test)
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Karen Schoen has provided voters with clear stances on key issues by responding to the 2014 Political Courage Test.
Florida State Legislative Election 2014 Political Courage Test
| Pro-life | a) Do you generally support pro-choice or pro-life legislation? | ||
| Yes | b) Should abortions be illegal after the first trimester of pregnancy? | ||
| Yes | c) Should abortion be legal when the pregnancy resulted from incest or rape? | ||
| Yes | 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 the prohibition of public funds for abortion procedures? | ||
| Yes | h) Do you support the prohibition of public funds for organizations that perform abortions? | ||
| It is never acceptable to kill a fetus unless in extreme emergency. Performing a procedure is a joint decision made by the patient and the doctor. I support Florida State law, which provides requires parental notification requiring the health care provider to notify a parent or legal guardian 48 hours in advance of an abortion procedure, with some exceptions. Schools should be required to teach reproduction, hygiene and biology; NOT sex in the classrooms. | |||
1) State Spending:Using the key, indicate 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 Taxes:Using the key, indicate 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 Stabilization:Indicate which proposals you support (if any) for balancing Florida's budget.
| Maintain Status | a) Education (higher) | ||
| Maintain Status | b) Education (K-12) | ||
| Greatly Decrease | c) Environment | ||
| Maintain Status | d) Health care | ||
| Maintain Status | e) Law enforcement/corrections | ||
| Maintain Status | f) Transportation/infrastructure | ||
| Greatly Decrease | g) Welfare | ||
| Maintain Status | a) Alcohol taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | b) Cigarette taxes | ||
| Greatly Decrease | c) Corporate taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | d) Gas/Oil taxes | ||
| Eliminate | e) Property taxes | ||
| Greatly Increase | f) Sales taxes | ||
| No | a) Tapping into Florida's "rainy day" fund | ||
| No | b) Increasing tuition rates at public universities | ||
| No | c) Reducing or eliminating public worker collective bargaining | ||
| No | d) Reducing state employee salaries AND/OR pensions | ||
| No | e) Instituting mandatory furloughs AND/OR layoffs for state employees | ||
| Yes | f) Reducing benefits for Medicaid recipients | ||
| The problem with the Florida budget is not the amount of money we have, but how it is currently allocated and used. I recommend each department scrub their budgets prior to new funding allocations, with specific focus on: waste elimination, fraud and abuse examinations, and redundancy reviews. An estimated 30% of the budget is poorly used or applied. Monitoring of all programs for constitutionality, feasibility, and factual information is a must. Unproductive, wasteful programs do nothing to benefit Florida taxpayers; let's eliminate those wasteful programs and find new ways to stretch budgetary dollars. | |||
| Taxation is required for the populace of those using the services. All corporations must pay taxes, regardless of size. Florida is a state with a large tourism industry - and tourists that use services and make purchases in Florida must pay their fair share though taxation for that use. | |||
| a-e Florida citizens pay enough taxes. Medicaid in Florida is notorious for abuse, fraud and waste and badly needs to be brought under control. I do not favor providing free services to illegals. Florida is blessed with natural resources: natural gas, oil and timber. Careful management of these resources can sustain Florida citizens and the programs they require while maintaining a balance of conserved areas. Florida businesses are hampered by overbearing Federal regulations, all designed to eliminate small business ownership. Small businesses are the engine of job creation. I recommend balancing the budget by production, not by increased taxation. | |||
a) Do you support limits on the following types of contributions for state candidates?
| No | 1) Individual | ||
| Yes | 2) Political Action Committee | ||
| Yes | 3) Corporate | ||
| Yes | 4) Political Party | ||
| Yes | b) Should candidates for state office be encouraged to meet voluntary spending limits? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support requiring full and timely disclosure of campaign finance information? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support the use of an independent AND/OR bipartisan commission for redistricting? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support requiring a government-issued photo identification in order to vote at the polls? | ||
| Candidates who answer to special interest groups because these groups fund their campaigns, eliminate the voice of the people. The fact that candidates need hundreds of thousands of dollars for a job, with a salary of less than $30,000 breeds corruption. Florida is in the top 10 of "Most Corrupt States" in regards to governance. I HAVE COLLECTED NO MONEY FROM SPECIAL INTERESTS, NOR WILL I EVER. My objective is to listen to, and respond to the voice of the people. | |||
| 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? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support legalizing the possession of small amounts of marijuana? | ||
| 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 the enforcement of federal immigration laws by state and local police? | ||
| The Common Core system implemented in Florida schools does nothing to teach our children about consequences and accountability in life. Our children learn to take assessments. Children become bored in school, so they experiment with drugs or sex. When children have no connection to responsibility, they are irresponsible. The only way to change the culture of crime is to change school curriculum. Eliminating factual information and teaching only values creates the mindless students we have today, with over 50% of Florida students failing. It's the curriculum, stupid. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support reducing government regulations on the private sector? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support increased state funding for job-training programs that re-train displaced workers? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support expanding access to unemployment benefits? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support providing financial incentives to the private sector for the purpose of job creation? | ||
| No | e) Do you support government spending as a means of promoting economic growth? | ||
| Yes | f) Do you support providing direct financial assistance to homeowners facing foreclosure? | ||
| No | g) Do you support an increase of the minimum wage? | ||
| b- yes, but limit the programs adding new curricula, focusing on reading, writing, and mathematics...not the garbage currently in schools today. c- not to illegals d- elimination of burdensome regulations and laws increases job creation not subsidies. e- Government interference eliminates competition which is counterproductive creating lack of experimentation, innovation and excellence. Then follows boredom, irresponsible kicks which often lead to crime or disaster continuing the cycle. g- Minimum wage jobs were designed for apprenticing at entry-level. Eliminate abusive regulations so small businesses can generate exciting, high-paying jobs. Stop shipping jobs overseas. End abusive trade agreements and let entrepreneurs flourish! | |||
| No | a) Do you support the national Common Core State Standards initiative? | ||
| No | b) Do you support a merit pay system for teachers? | ||
| Yes | c) Is the tenure process for public school teachers producing effective teachers? | ||
| Yes | d) Should parents be allowed to use vouchers to send their children to any school? | ||
| No | e) Do you support state funding for charter schools? | ||
| Yes | f) Do you support the state government providing college students with financial aid? | ||
| No | g) Should illegal immigrants who graduate from Florida high schools be eligible for in-state tuition at public universities? | ||
| a- CCS makes vendors rich and human capital ignorant. Ignorant people accept government as truth. b- If the curriculum is garbage and focus is on "indoctrination", how can a teacher achieve real goals in the merit pay system? c- Teachers with tenure are NOT AFRAID of losing their job when they site errors and abuse. Teachers without tenure are afraid to say anything about the poor quality of education. d-If all schools teach Common Core, there is no measurable difference in the education being taught. e-By implementing CCS, charters become superfluous and unnecessary. | |||
| No | a) Do you support state funding for the development of alternative energy? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support state funding for the development of traditional domestic energy sources (e.g. coal, natural gas, oil)? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support state funding for improvements to Florida's energy infrastructure? | ||
| No | d) Do you support state funding for open space preservation? | ||
| No | e) Do you support government regulations of greenhouse gas emissions? | ||
| a- That eliminates competition. Alternative energy is not ready for prime-time without subsidies, bad investment doing nothing for the planet. b- With oversight and profit supporting public programs. d- If a community wants open space, it is up to the community to obtain, fund and manage it. e- Humans HAVE NOTHING to do with weather and can control nothing. The SUN controls the climate. Increasing CO2 is a result of warm weather, NOT the cause. CO2 is necessary for plants and food. Greenhouse gas emissions control is designed to control humans and make money for vendors who donate to campaigns. | |||
| No | a) Do you support restrictions on the purchase and possession of guns? | ||
| Yes | b) Should background checks be required on gun sales between private citizens at gun shows? | ||
| Yes | c) Should citizens be allowed to carry concealed guns? | ||
| No | d) Should a license be required for gun possession? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support enacting legislation granting immunity to Floridians who show guns or fire warning shots in self-defense? | ||
| (a-d)- These rights "shall not be infringed upon" in any way, according to the U.S. Constitution. e- people have the right to defend themselves and to prevent violence when necessary. | |||
| No | a) Do you support a universally-accessible, publicly-administered health insurance option? | ||
| No | b) Do you support expanding access to health care through commercial health insurance reform? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support interstate health insurance compacts? | ||
| No | d) Do you support Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act? | ||
| No | e) Do you support requiring individuals to purchase health care insurance? | ||
| Yes | f) Do you support monetary limits on damages that can be collected in malpractice lawsuits? | ||
| Yes | g) Do you support allowing doctors to prescribe marijuana to their patients for medicinal purposes? | ||
| The government has no business being in or regulating healthcare. A good example of poor government management is the U.S. Postal Service. Give each individual a voucher and let them negotiate with their doctor. If people knew the actual true cost of healthcare items, medical insurance could cross state lines and pricing would decline. When the government is involved, waste, fraud and abuse follows - and the individual always pays with higher pricing. | |||
| No | a) Do you support same-sex marriage? | ||
| Yes | b) Should same-sex couples be allowed to form civil unions? | ||
| No | c) Do you support the inclusion of sexual orientation in Florida's anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| d) Do you support the inclusion of gender identity in Florida's anti-discrimination laws? | |||
| a- Same-sex union for taxation and health purposes is fine. This is all about taxation and healthcare. (c-d)- Including that causes discrimination against heterosexuals. The government does not belong in the bedroom. Anti-discrimination laws apply to everyone, classes of people do not need to be identified separately or deserve special privileges. | |||
| 1. All laws must be: Constitutional, show scientific facts and financial feasibility before instituted. 2. Bring back Traditional Education rooted in American values and families. Eliminate CCS and FSSS and all fed and state control over education. The language of America is English. Return the Pledge of Allegiance and prayer back into our schools. Separation of Church and State does not exist anywhere. 3. Protecting private property. 4. Eliminating abusive, fraud, subsidized regulations. Allow small business to flourish. 5. Use the natural resources/energy of Florida to fund public programs eliminating taxation. 6. Eliminate public funding of lobbyist groups. |
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