Roy Rich's Issue Positions (Political Courage Test)
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Roy Rich has provided voters with clear stances on key issues by responding to the 2016 Political Courage Test.
Ohio Congressional Election 2016 Political Courage Test
| In order to balance the budget, do you support reducing defense spending? | |||
| Yes | In order to balance the budget, do you support an income tax increase on any tax bracket? | ||
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| I support auditing the military budget, and finding the waste. It is my belief that the defense budget is bloated, that defense contractors are being paid exhorbitant amounts due to their donations to political campaigns. I am for spending what it takes to protect our country, to lay our troops well and to provide for our veterans. I am not for building tanks or planes that military commanders say they don't need, want, or have use for, or missile defense systems that don't work, in order to stuff the pockets of defense contractors. | |||
| Yes | Do you support the regulation of indirect campaign contributions from corporations and unions? | ||
| I support overturning the Citizens United decision in order to get hidden money out of politics. I also believe in limiting campaign finance so that candidates can be in a level playing field. Big money has corrupted the political system, and it is obvious to even a casual observer that congress is is influenced by the big money of mega corporations, special interests, and the ultra rich. How else would these groups be able get legislation passed which allows them to pay no taxes and have it be legal? | |||
| 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? | ||
| I believe in capital punishment ONLY in very limited and specific circumstances. We must be extremely careful in our application of capital punishment, and only when there is absolute certainty of the guilt of the suspect. The crimes would have to be very limited, including serial killers, torture killers, cop killers, and child murderers, and again, only with absolute proof, not just proof beyond a reasonable doubt. | |||
| 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? | ||
| I support a Comprehensive Jobs Program to address our crumbling infrastructure. I do not support tax cuts for corporations or the rich, because these things have been occurring for years and do not work. Trickle down never has, and never will, work. I conditionally support Tax incentives for businesses for the purposes of job creation. This is an issue where the details truly matter. The purpose is to create long term, good paying, jobs, not just give companies a subsidized employee. We need to make sure that the result is good for the economy over the long term. | |||
| Yes | Do you generally support requiring states to adopt federal education standards? | ||
| Every student in the USA should have access to the same high quality education. That being said, I'm not comfortable that the current testing requirements meet the goals. Teaching to the test is quite simply a bad idea. We need to revamp the entire system to reflect learning, as opposed to testing. | |||
| 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? | ||
| I believe in a long term energy policy that works toward renewable energy, while being sensitive to those working in the fossil fuel industry. This has to include training and retraining of miners and oil workers to the new industry of renewable energy, so that their families do not suffer economically, and their sons and daughters no longer have to go into the mines to make as good a living. Fracking has been a disaster. Earthquakes are occurring where they never occurred before, and unnamed dangerous chemicals are being introduced into our aquifers, polluting our water. | |||
| Yes | Do you believe that human activity is contributing to climate change? | ||
| Yes | Do you support the federal regulation of greenhouse gas emissions? | ||
| There is always a balancing act to be utilized when enacting regulations. I want to insure that any proposed regulation meets three tests. 1.- Is it necessary? 2.- Will it have a significant impact on the problem? 3.- Is this the best option available to address the issue and in terms of effect on the economy? | |||
| Yes | Do you generally support gun-control legislation? | ||
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| I believe in gun violence control. We need to interrupt the pipeline of weapons from legal sources to the criminals, terrorists and dangerously mentally ill. To that end, I believe in Universal Background Checks, in prohibiting those on the no fly list from purchasing weapons, and in a Dangerously mentally ill registry with a requirement that mental health providers report those exhibiting traits which would make them a risk for homicidal behavior. There would need to be constitutional safeguards for a redress of grievance, with procedures to have judicial review in order to be removed from either prohibited list. | |||
| No | Do you support repealing the 2010 Affordable Care Act ("Obamacare")? | ||
| 22 million additional people are now insured. While there are problems which need to be addressed, the current leadership of congress is more interested in slamming the ACA and the President than in taking care of the American People. | |||
| No | Do you support requiring immigrants who are unlawfully present to return to their country of origin before they are eligible for citizenship? | ||
| We have many of these immigrants who have been contributing members of society who have been here for decades. Many have children who are our citizens. It would be against everything this country was founded upon to arbitrarily send them back. Plus, with an estimated 11M immigrants, it would be physically impossible, and cost prohibitive to try to deport them all. Plus, what do you do with their children, who are, by virtue of the Constitution, US Citizens. | |||
| Yes | Do you support same-sex marriage? | ||
| Who someone loves is none of my business. The fourteenth amendment grants equal protection under the law. Remembering the words, "Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness", it would seem that this would fall into that category. | |||
| No | Do you support increased American intervention in Iraq and Syria beyond air support? | ||
| Yes | Should the U.S use military force in order to prevent governments hostile to the United States from possessing a nuclear weapon? | ||
| Absent some drastic change, the war against Isis in Syria should be led by the countries tgat are being directly affected, where Isis is terrorizing the populace and causing them to abandon their family homes. The US should support the efforts to repel and defeat issu, but every time I hear the term "boots on the ground", I am aware that those are our brothers, sisters and children whose lives we are risking. Nuclear weapons are a direct threat to the security of the US. If countries present a clear and present danger, military action is always an option. | |||
| No | Do you support allowing individuals to divert a portion of their Social Security taxes into personal retirement accounts? | ||
| I support protecting Social Security. The strength of the system is the diversity of the risk. Personal retirement accounts which can be lost by bad advice, bad timing or a downturn in the economy defeats the purpose of the word security in Social Security. It's just another way for the investment industry to get their hands on another source of revenue which pays them commissions and fees. | |||
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.
| a) Agriculture | |||
| b) Arts | |||
| c) Defense | |||
| d) Education | |||
| e) Environment | |||
| f) Homeland Security | |||
| g) International aid | |||
| h) Medical Research | |||
| i) Scientific Research | |||
| j) Space exploration | |||
| k) United Nations | |||
| l) Welfare | |||
| a) Capital gains taxes | |||
| b) Corporate taxes | |||
| c) Small business taxes | |||
| d) Excise taxes (alcohol) | |||
| e) Excise taxes (cigarettes) | |||
| f) Excise taxes (transportation fuel) | |||
| g) Income taxes (low-income families) | |||
| h) Income taxes (middle-income families) | |||
| i) Income taxes (high-income families) | |||
| j) Inheritance taxes | |||
| k) Payroll taxes | |||
| Is one the least and 6 the most? Or is it by which is mist important, which would flip the scale? Poorly worded question which I cannot answer | |||
| See above answer. | |||
| Getting the money out of politics. Campaign donations are the roots from which the poisonous plants of bad legislation grow. It us time to stop letting big money donation influence congress. Closing tax loopholes that allow some companies to pay no taxes, move profits offshore, again to avoid their fair share of taxes, and which allow inversions. Create a Comprehensive Jobs Program to address our crumbling infrastructure, utilizing US made steel, materials and products, stimulating the economy. |
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