Budget

Indicate which proposals you support (if any) for balancing the federal budget.

In order to balance the budget,

Medicare spending should be significantly reduced by amending the law and negotiating lower drug prices.

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.

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.

Corporate taxes: Most corporations pay around 15% (1/2 the 30% corporate tax rate) and some, like G.E., pay nothing. We should reduce the tax to around 15% and eliminate the loopholes that allow some corporations to avoid their responsibility to pay the same as other corporations.

Payroll taxes: I can't answer with any of the choices offered for payroll taxes. I would decrease the rate for everyone (reducing payroll taxes for the middle class), but increase the total Social Security revenues by removing the income cap.

I support the overruling of the Citizens United case, by constitutional amendment if necessary. Congress should be able to -- and it should -- strictly limit or prohibit campaign contributions, particularly from corporations. The notion of "corporate personhood" should be abolished. Campaigns should be publicly financed.

Capital punishment promotes greater violence and communicates the message that killing is acceptable. Capital punishment is capriciously applied, it is meted out mostly to the poor and those who do not have experienced and capable legal assistance, and it is extremely expensive -- far more costly than life in prison without possibility of parole. I understand the instinct many of us have (including me) to eliminate some people who commit horrific crimes, but I believe we are better as a people and as a culture if we try to rise above those instincts and choose not to kill.

I would have preferred that middle class income tax breaks would have been provided rather than the 2010 temporary extension of reduced payroll taxes, which further reduces the stability of Social Security, while benefiting even the wealthy who pay payroll taxes. The wealthy have already enjoyed far too many budget-busting tax breaks.

I believe the states should have a lot of latitude to innovate and explore education reforms. They should not be solely dictated by the federal government. I feel strongly that enriched preschool opportunities should be made available, particularly for economically disadvantaged children. Those opportunities can make all the difference in breaking the cycle of poverty and equipping children to compete against others in the U.S. and throughout the world.

Whether climate change is occurring, and whether human activities (particularly the burning of fossil fuels and destroying forests) are causing it, are not matters of "belief". They are established facts. Climate chaos is, in the long run, the most crucial issue facing our planet (along with the need to eliminate nuclear weapons, about which Project Vote Smart has not even inquired). We must take urgent, effective actions to prevent catastrophic consequences for our children and later generations.

I cannot answer the question about targeting suspected terrorists with a "yes" or "no" because of the way in which the question is asked. By "targeting," does Project Vote Smart mean "killing"? I agree with arresting suspected terrorists outside of official theaters of conflict, to be dealt with according to international and domestic law (including the Geneva Convention, the Convention Against Torture, the War Powers Act of 1996 and the federal anti-torture statute), but I do not agree with assassinations of suspected terrorists (and the consequent killings of innocent people in the process) outside of official theaters of conflict.

I oppose widespread sale of automatic weapons and "cop-killer bullets". I also oppose the sale of guns without a background check. Those convicted of violent offenses should not be able to purchase or possess guns.

I cannot answer the questions here the way they are asked. I support replacing the Affordable Care Act (which is a very misleading title) with a single-payer Medicare-for-all system that will save billions of dollars each year, provide better medical outcomes, and cover everyone. Even if the Affordable Care Act is fully implemented, 23 million people will be without health care coverage and premiums will skyrocket, with for-profit insurance companies and the pharmaceutical industry benefiting. Under the ACA, we would still be the only nation in the industrialized world to depend on for-profit insurance companies for basic health care coverage.

I have supported marriage equality since I ran for Congress in 1996.

The diversion of Social Security to personal accounts is likely to be disastrous for many people, setting them up for tremendous insecurity during their later years -- undermining the very reason for Social Security. The economic melt-downs of the past 20 years should make it clear to anyone that personal accounts, particularly if invested in the stock market, are incredibly insecure.

Upon being elected, I will
(1) end the wars, saving over a trillion dollars;
(2) initiate aggressive climate protection measures, which will save trillions of dollars through (a) mitigating the most catastrophic consequences of climate change; (b) becoming energy independent; and (c) reducing energy requirements; and
(3) restoring and providing jobs through (a) fair trade agreements; and (b) a WPA-type initiative providing millions of jobs while restoring our nation's rapidly deteriorating infrastructure, to be financed through savings in the military budget and increased tax revenues from greater employment.