Patrick Thompson's Issue Positions (Political Courage Test)
Key
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Patrick Thompson has provided voters with clear stances on key issues by responding to the 2016 Political Courage Test.
Georgia State Legislative Election 2016 Political Courage Test
| Pro-choice | a) Do you generally support pro-choice or pro-life legislation? | ||
| No | 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? | ||
| No | e) Do you support requiring parental notification before an abortion is performed on a minor? | ||
| No | f) Do you support requiring parental consent before an abortion is performed on a minor? | ||
| No | g) Do you support the prohibition of public funds for abortion procedures? | ||
| No | h) Do you support the prohibition of public funds for organizations that perform abortions? | ||
| As an orphan born in a closed record State, I have a unique perspective. No one likes abortion & I want it to be a choice of last resort. I support educated choices by women given all factors. I support the best & safest way to protect women & their healthcare choices - psychological, financial & societal pressures on women are high enough. A view of supporting life should include the spectrum of life-poor, veterans, seniors, children, women, servicepeople. If public funding is provided to organizations preventing abortion, it should likewise be available to those providing full healthcare choices. | |||
1) Budget Stabilization:Indicate which proposals you support (if any) for balancing Georgia's budget.2) State Spending: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.3) State Taxes: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.
| Yes | a) Tapping into Georgia's "rainy day" fund | ||
| No | b) Decreasing funding for public universities | ||
| No | c) Reducing state employee salaries AND/OR pensions | ||
| No | d) Instituting mandatory furloughs AND/OR layoffs for state employees | ||
| No | e) Reducing benefits for Medicaid recipients | ||
| Slightly Increase | a) Education (higher) | ||
| Greatly Increase | b) Education (K-12) | ||
| Slightly Increase | c) Environment | ||
| Greatly Increase | d) Health care | ||
| Slightly Increase | e) Law enforcement/corrections | ||
| Maintain Status | f) Transportation/infrastructure | ||
| Slightly Increase | g) Welfare | ||
| Greatly Increase | a) Alcohol taxes | ||
| Greatly Increase | b) Cigarette taxes | ||
| Greatly Increase | c) Corporate taxes | ||
| Slightly Decrease | d) Small business taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | e) Gas/Oil taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | f) Property taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | g) Sales taxes | ||
| Greatly Decrease | h) Income taxes (low-income families) | ||
| Slightly Decrease | i) Income taxes (mid-income families) | ||
| Greatly Increase | j) Income taxes (high-income families) | ||
| Yes | k) Do you support applying sales taxes to all online purchases? | ||
| The State must cease giving away $millions in tax breaks & incentives to large corporations who don't really need it. We want organizations to be attracted here for our educated workforce, stable communities, our quality of life & planned infrastructure. This corporate welfare is creating a hole in the budget while pursuing small change from the poorest of Georgians. GA needs a long-term budget plan that matches population growth & public service investments. | |||
| Prioritize the budget on those items with the most impact on citizens & long-term planning. Increase healthcare funding with acceptance of the ACA to seed rural health services, health education, Medicaid payment services. Transportation spending needs shifting from asphalt to integrated transportation options across community boundaries. Increase Education spending for teacher attraction/retention, lower teacher-student ratios & more individual learning plans. Austerity plans kill our ability to build a stable economy that attracts business. | |||
| Cut taxes from the bottom up vs top down. Further shifting the tax burden to poor & working people harms those who spend all of their budget on the economy. Lowering public service levels has a similar effect. Raise the standard deduction. Create a State Earned Income Tax Credit. Last year's action on gas taxes stabilized some transportation funding. | |||
a) Do you support limits on the following types of contributions for state candidates?
| Yes | 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? | ||
| No | e) Do you support requiring a government-issued photo identification in order to vote at the polls? | ||
| Would rather see public offices funded by the public. Any candidate should ask whether they are serving the public by fundraising. In GA, we have a lobbyist-led, out of State & ALEC-shaped legislative agenda fueled by contributions, gifts & meals. I accept no campaign funds from lobbyists or interests. I believe in getting money out of politics & government returned to the people. Full transparency with large penalties for non-compliance of disclosure & timing. Make it easier to opt out of burdensome & costly financial reporting when not raising. Voting photo identification is unnecessary & an attempt to limit voters. | |||
| No | 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? | ||
| No | d) Should a minor accused of a violent crime be prosecuted as an adult? | ||
| No | e) Do you support the enforcement of federal immigration laws by state and local police? | ||
| Yes | f) Do you support delaying the seizure of assets by law enforcement officials until after a conviction? | ||
| GA is returning to its beginnings as a penal colony. Incarcerating low level, non-violent offenders is filling our privately run prisons. Counseling & abuse treatment will help more low-level offenders than the criminal training they'll receive with long prison stays. A long stay in prison is more punishment & deterrent than death. Local law enforcement doesn't have the funding or personnel to focus on immigration plans in flux. DAPA & DACA acceptance will stabilize our communities & help law enforcement focus on serious crime. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support government spending as a means of promoting economic growth? | ||
| No | b) Do you support lowering taxes as a means of promoting economic growth? | ||
| No | c) Do you support reducing government regulations on the private sector? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support increased state funding for job-training programs that re-train displaced workers? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support expanding access to unemployment benefits? | ||
| No | f) Do you support requiring welfare applicants to pass a drug test in order to receive benefits? | ||
| Yes | g) Do you support providing financial incentives to the private sector for the purpose of job creation? | ||
| Yes | h) Do you support providing direct financial assistance to homeowners facing foreclosure? | ||
| Yes | i) Do you support an increase of the minimum wage? | ||
| No | j) Should employers be able to ask about applicants' criminal history before interviewing them? | ||
| Government spending fuels growth, job training & can seed development. Lower the tax burdens on working & poor as they spend 100% on the economy. GA has the lowest minimum wage requirements - businesses need to support higher wages as all taxpayers end up making up the difference in living assistance. Cautionary spending directly to companies to incent accountable action, not simple rewards for locating here. Stabilizing home ownership, increasing worker skills strengthens communities for all. | |||
| Yes | 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? | ||
| No | 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? | ||
| Yes | g) Should illegal immigrants who graduate from Georgia high schools be eligible for in-state tuition at public universities? | ||
| Public Education, where most of our students attend school, is the key to solving many social & economic problems in this State. National standards like common core help us compete for future college & work, but needs made easier to administer, less paperwork for teachers & parental support. Teachers can't control the types of students or conditions they draw. Reward their professionalism, pay them appropriately. Tenure for college educators protects investment in the dedicated & talented. Vouchers are a tax on other taxpayers. Privatization of public schools does not improve student education. Help students/immigrants remain, succeed & contribute here. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support state funding for the development of renewable energy (e.g. solar, wind, thermal)? | ||
| No | 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 Georgia's energy infrastructure? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support state funding for open space preservation? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support government regulations of greenhouse gas emissions? | ||
| Yes | f) Do you support increased regulations of the hydraulic fracturing ("fracking") industry? | ||
| Coal burning, storing, transporting costs us higher gasoline prices, environmental & healthcare spending. Transition to truly renewable energy like solar, geothermal & wind. Supporting natural gas can mean supporting fracking which destroys water & creates chemical pollution. Nuclear is unnecessary, costs taxpayers highly, wastes water & has no waste management plan. Improve our grid & distribute our energy to maximize economic stability & increase national security. Regulating emissions will help GA healthcare, business attraction, improve operations, increase competition, lower long-term energy costs & improve quality of life. Renewable needs to be known as the traditional "traditional". | |||
| Yes | a) Do you generally support gun-control legislation? | ||
| 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) Do you support allowing concealed carry on public college campuses in Georgia? | ||
| Yes | e) Should a license be required for gun possession? | ||
| It's not gun control, but crime control. Respect responsible gun owners by licensing training & registering guns. Increase budget for mental health work & prevent gun ownership for the unstable, untrained & those on the no-fly list. Background checks represent responsible gun ownership. More guns in more places is not the answer, or else this would be the safest place in the world. Amount of time & productivity spent on active shooter drills in schools & offices is surpassing fire drills. Using guns to solve problems & to crowd out the rest of our Constitution isn't good for American democracy. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support a universally-accessible, publicly-administered health insurance option? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support expanding access to health care through commercial health insurance reform? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support interstate health insurance compacts? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act ("Obamacare")? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support requiring individuals to purchase health care insurance? | ||
| No | 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? | ||
| Get with the rest of the industrialized world in removing private health insurance from between citizens & doctors. Universal, public is what we set up for countries we defeated in WWII. Health care isn't a profit center but a right. Interim use ACA expansion until private insurance can be replaced. Support quality, competitive accountability for care. Medical industry should get together & determine acceptable treatments based on symptoms (reduce malpractice suits). Bring cost of pharma profit down & competitive. Include more mental health attention. Build an army of health care professionals, education forgiveness for rural & urban assisgnments. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support same-sex marriage? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support the inclusion of sexual orientation in Georgia's anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support the inclusion of gender identity in Georgia's anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| No | d) Based on the religious beliefs of the owners, should businesses be allowed to refuse services to their employees and/or customers? | ||
| Support stability thru more stable relationships, legal equivalency for children, assets, hospital visitation, healthcare/retirement benefits, etc. People of all types should be respected, not discriminated against. What kind of America shows a right to gun ownership, a right to life that's ready to kill with guns, a right to work but not for the good of employees, a right to vote that's restricted, & a right to discriminate using religious beliefs? Anti-discrimination laws create & keep jobs, builds a healthier community & doesn't keep anyone from practicing their religion. Goal is increasing more stable family relationships. | |||
| Restore public education investment & reward teachers for the valuable work they perform with our most important investment, our children. Grow healthcare training for jobs that return investment. Make healthcare more preventative, affordable and available ? move towards a universal system- Spread healthcare costs to all, lower cost of pharma. Increase integrated transportation infrastructure investments for quality of life, commuting to work & growing jobs. GA must end corporate welfare & Feds stop allowing offshoring of capital needed here in our communities. Establish a progressive tax system that returns investments to taxpayers. Effective government, regulated capitalism, fair trade. |
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