Mark Greene's Issue Positions (Political Courage Test)
Key
Official Position: Candidate addressed this issue directly by taking the Political Courage Test.
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Mark Greene has provided voters with clear stances on key issues by responding to the 2014 Political Courage Test.
Texas Congressional Election 2014 Political Courage Test
| Pro-choice | Do you generally support pro-choice or pro-life legislation? | ||
| Limited government means not interfering with personal decisions nor infringing personal rights when there is no public interest at stake. I strongly defend personal privacy protections, and a woman's right to make her own health care decisions without government interference. | |||
| Yes | 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? | ||
| The tax code must be greatly simplified while maintaining and in some cases increasing progressivity. I do not support preferential treatment of capital income over earned income, nor do I believe that the increasing inequality in wealth and income in our society is healthy or sustainable. We must be a nation which provides equal opportunity to all our citizens to achieve their potential to maximize their contribution to our society, in return for which we expect each to contribute accordingly. | |||
| Yes | Do you support the regulation of indirect campaign contributions from corporations and unions? | ||
| Corporations are not people, nor are any other organizations. They are legal constructs created through the consent of the people by law, and as such exist at the pleasure of the people and deserve no Constitutional protection. Citizens United was a destructive travesty which must be overturned by Amendnment, along with Buckley v Valeo (money is not speech), and McCutcheon (individual aggregate contributions/influence-buying can and must be limited). | |||
| Yes | Do you support capital punishment for certain crimes? | ||
| In principle, there are crimes worthy of capital punishment, although life in solitary without possibility of parole would achieve the same purpose in protecting society. My preference would be that the latter be the default ultimate judgment, with the convicted having the option at any point to elect the former. In this manner, it would be the convict rather than the state making the decision. I also believe that in capital cases, there should be mandatory DNA and every other possible forensic test required at original trial. We have killed innocents, which is unacceptable. | |||
| Yes | Do you support federal spending as a means of promoting economic growth? | ||
| Yes | Do you support lowering taxes as a way of promoting growth in the economy? | ||
| No | Do you support providing tax incentives to businesses for the purpose of job creation? | ||
| Businesses will hire the number and type of employees required to execute their business with or without influence from government. As a general rule, I only support government incentives which reward non-public entities for taking on costs which would otherwise be borne by the public. This principle applies to for-profit, not-for-profit, non-profit and charitable entities alike. | |||
| No | Do you support requiring states to implement education reforms in order to be eligible for competitive federal grants? | ||
| I believe that every public dollar comes with two responsibilities: (1) of the recipient to spend it wisely, and (2) of the granting entity to monitor the results to ensure the program's objectives are being met. I do not believe, however, that one size fits all, either challenges or communities. Public money should be spent to achieve measurable results, not to create hurdles to be overcome, and reasonable flexibility should be allowed for innovative solutions to achieving these. Conversely, states and lesser levels of government should be severely penalized when they misallocate federal funds. | |||
| No | Do you support building the Keystone XL pipeline? | ||
| No | Do you support reducing restrictions on offshore energy production? | ||
| American energy production is at its highest level in decades under existing regulations. I strongly support continued production of oil and gas and expansion of renewable energy, but all only in an environmentally sustainable manner. As the fossil fuels industry adopts better practices, I am open to expanding resource access, but right now the oil and gas industry is gaming the system for maximum profit without sufficient attention paid to the public good. | |||
| Yes | Do you believe that human activity is contributing to climate change? | ||
| Yes | Do you support the federal regulation of greenhouse gas emissions? | ||
| We must be certain that the regulations put in place are rigidly enforced, but also that regulations are designed to have a real measurable positive effect, and do not simply serve as obstacles to certain industrial practices that some find objectionable. | |||
| Yes | Do you support restrictions on the purchase and possession of guns? | ||
| I prefer the term "regulation" to "restriction," but the two are fairly interchangeable. As a gun-owner, CHL holder, hunter, and shooter, I strongly support the rights of mentally stable and non-violent citizens to keep and bear arms for any legal purpose, but this right, like all others, comes with responsibilities on the part of the gun owner and of the government. This is a complicated issue which must be addressed in a thoughtful manner, and not bandied back and forth for political advantage. | |||
| No | Do you support repealing the 2010 Affordable Care Act? | ||
| It is an imperfect package of regulations formulated under very imperfect circumstances, and has much room for improvement, but it is having positive effect and must be strengthened and improved, rather than abandoned in favor of the prior unacceptable status quo. Americans should be unwilling to accept a second-rate system that delivers lower than average results at a cost double that of any other industrialized nation. | |||
| No | Do you support requiring illegal immigrants to return to their country of origin before they are eligible for citizenship? | ||
| While I am not opposed to this path in principle, I believe that a comprehensive solution can be devised which doesn't necessarily require such a return. There are a large number of undocumented workers who are productive and otherwise law-abiding members of our society, and the disruption to their families and communities of such a requirement could prove untenable. I do not believe, however, that they deserve a "special" path to citizenship that places them ahead of aspiring immigrants who have followed the rules. | |||
| Yes | Do you support same-sex marriage? | ||
| Limited government means no intrusion into the private lives of consenting adults. For government purposes, marriage is simply another legal contract between consenting adults, and should be treated no differently than any other. | |||
| 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 governments hostile to the United States from possessing a nuclear weapon? | ||
| I agree with this position in principle, but also recognize that the question requires consistency in its response. We know too well that today's friend may be tomorrow's enemy, and that nuclear weapons are a global threat. While we must defend our interests as a nation, we should constantly strive to reduce and hopefully one day eliminate these weapons, in a responsible manner. Nuclear fallout knows no boundaries or borders, and these weapons are a threat not just to the United States, but to humanity. | |||
| No | Do you support allowing individuals to divert a portion of their Social Security taxes into personal retirement accounts? | ||
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.
| Greatly Decrease | a) Agriculture | ||
| Slightly Decrease | b) Arts | ||
| Greatly Decrease | c) Defense | ||
| Slightly Increase | d) Education | ||
| Slightly Increase | e) Environment | ||
| Maintain Status | f) Homeland Security | ||
| Slightly Increase | 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 | |||
| Slightly Increase | a) Capital gains taxes | ||
| Slightly Decrease | b) Corporate taxes | ||
| Slightly Increase | c) Excise taxes (alcohol) | ||
| Slightly Increase | d) Excise taxes (cigarettes) | ||
| Slightly Increase | e) Excise taxes (transportation fuel) | ||
| Maintain Status | f) Income taxes (low-income families) | ||
| Maintain Status | g) Income taxes (middle-income families) | ||
| Slightly Increase | h) Income taxes (high-income families) | ||
| Greatly Increase | i) Inheritance taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | j) Payroll taxes | ||
| (i) Inheritance taxes: Should at the least be taxed at ordinary income levels, and likely reduce the standard exemption to a more reasonable level; (h) Income taxes (high-income families): I support a higher tier for upper income families - those earning combined incomes in excess of $300,000, and another for those earning $1M or above. (j) Payroll taxes: As one equalizer against our unsustainable rising income and wealth inequality, I favor removing or massively raising the the income cap on payroll taxes, and on eliminating the preferential treatment of capital income to strengthen Social Security and Medicare. | |||
| (1) Reforming our political system to eliminate the influence of political parties and of private money on our political process. (2) Developing responsible federal policies on energy and water which deal in an environmentally responsible manner with these two critical elements of our nation; (3) Implementing comprehensive immigration reform which controls our borders, normalizes the status of current undocumented workers, streamlines our visa and asylum processes, and establishes a cohesive and sustainable guest worker program; (4) protect veterans, seniors, students and other at-risk cohorts from corporate predation and unwise efforts to privatize critical government functions. |
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