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Jon Greenspon's Issue Positions (Political Courage Test)

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Official Position: Candidate addressed this issue directly by taking the Political Courage Test.
Inferred Position: Candidate refused to address this issue, but Vote Smart inferred this issue based on the candidate's public record, including statements, voting record, and special interest group endorsements.
Unknown Position: Candidate refused to address this issue, or we could not infer an answer for this candidate despite exhaustive research of their public record.
Additional Information: Click on this icon to reveal more information about this candidate's position, from their answers or Vote Smart's research.
Other or Expanded Principles & Legislative Priorities are entered exactly as candidates submit them. Vote Smart does not edit for misspelled words, punctuation or grammar.

Jon Greenspon refused to tell citizens where he stands on any of the issues addressed in the 2012 Political Courage Test, despite repeated requests from Vote Smart, national media, and prominent political leaders.

What is the Political Courage Test?
This candidate has responded to a Political Courage Test in a previous election. As a continued effort to provide the American public with factual information on candidates running for public office, these archived responses are made available here.

Presidential Election 2008 Political Courage Test

The Political Courage Test asks candidates which items they will support if elected. It does not ask them to indicate which items they will oppose. Through extensive research of public polling data, we discovered that voters are more concerned with what candidates would support when elected to office, not what they oppose. If a candidate does not select a response to any part or all of any question, it does not necessarily indicate that the candidate is opposed to that particular item.

Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding abortion.

a) Abortions should always be illegal.
b) Abortions should always be legal.
c) Abortions should be legal only within the first trimester.
d) Abortions should be legal when the pregnancy resulted from incest or rape.
e) Abortions should be legal when the life of the woman is endangered.
f) Dilation and extraction or "partial-birth" abortion procedures should be legal.
X g) Medicare, Medicaid, or federal subsidies should be prohibited from being used on abortion procedures.
h) Other or expanded principles.

Indicate what federal funding levels (#1-6) you support for the following general categories. Select one number per category, you can use a number more than once.1) Budget Priorities2) Defense Spending3) TaxesIndicate what federal tax levels (#1-6) you support for the following general categories. Select one number per tax, you can use a number more than once.Family Income TaxesOther TaxesDeductions/Credits

Slightly Increase a) Agriculture
Slightly Decrease b) Arts
Maintain Status c) Defense
Maintain Status d) Education
Slightly Increase e) Environment
Maintain Status f) FEMA
Slightly Increase g) Homeland security
Greatly Decrease h) International aid
Slightly Increase i) Law enforcement
Slightly Decrease j) Medical research
Maintain Status k) National parks
Maintain Status l) Public health services
Maintain Status m) Scientific research
Maintain Status n) Space exploration programs
Slightly Increase o) Transportation and highway infrastructure
Greatly Decrease p) United Nations
Slightly Decrease q) Welfare
r) Other or expanded categories
Slightly Increase a) Armed forces personnel training
Maintain Status b) Intelligence operations
Maintain Status c) Military hardware
Slightly Increase d) Modernization of weaponry and equipment
Maintain Status e) National missile defense
Greatly Increase f) Pay for active duty personnel
Greatly Increase g) Programs to improve troop retention rates
Slightly Increase h) Research and development of new weapons
Greatly Increase i) Troop and equipment readiness
Eliminate a) Less than $12,000
Eliminate b) $12,001-$40,000
Slightly Decrease c) $40,001-$100,000
Slightly Decrease d) $100,001-$180,000
Maintain Status e) $180,001-$350,000
Slightly Increase f) $350,001 and above
Slightly Increase a) Alcohol taxes
Slightly Increase b) Capital gains taxes
Maintain Status c) Cigarette taxes
Slightly Increase d) Corporate taxes
Slightly Decrease e) Gasoline Taxes
Eliminate f) Inheritance taxes
g) Other or expanded categories
Slightly Increase a) Charitable contribution deduction
Greatly Increase b) Child tax credit
Greatly Increase c) Earned income tax credit
Slightly Increase d) Medical expense deduction
Maintain Status e) Mortgage deduction
Maintain Status f) Student loan credit
g) Other or expanded categories
Yes 4) Do you support the permanent repeal of the federal estate tax?
Yes 5) Do you support requiring the federal budget to be balanced each year?
We need to make support and monies for National Guard and Guard support activities the priority. The National Guard is the State-level militia, with responsibilities for not only defense, but also as the first line of assistance in a state disaster. We need to give our military the support, both fiscally and with supplies, to do the job of protecting our nation. This includes the access to best equipment possible, and to the monetary reasoning, in both pay and benefits, to argue their case for risking life and limb for the United States.
I propose a flat tax structure for incomes over $48,000. I also think there should not be any tax penalties on saved monies being withdrawn for personal use. Taxes on savings have already been paid.
I support a "one-issue per bill" appropriations strategy. With the exception of the Annual budget, any appropriations bill must be for a single item, not a gaggle of earmarks, tucked inside a policy bill. Similarly, I strongly oppose and will decline ANY earmarks. Congress needs to be accountable to the public, not the reverse.

Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding campaign finance and government reform.

a) Support public taxpayer funding for federal candidates who comply with campaign spending limits.
b) Remove all contribution limits on federal campaigns and parties.
X c) Support prohibiting ads containing candidates' name that are paid for by third parties from airing 60 days before a primary and 30 days before a general federal election.
d) Support instant run-off voting (IRV).
e) Support designating Election Day as a national holiday.
f) Support giving the President the power of the line item veto for items concerning appropriations.
X g) Support limiting the President’s use of signing statements in order to prevent an alternative interpretation of the bill.
X h) Support a federal shield law to protect reporter-source privilege.
I support the banning of any contributions by anyone other than an individual. Candidates should be supported and elected by the people, not by the groups and corporations that can more effectively by their support. Reporter/Source confidentiality is crucial to free government. Just like doctor/patient and attorney/client confidences, reporters should have the charge of privacy in being able to shield their sources in an ability to get a true story. However, I also believe politics should be left at the door when it comes to reporting, especially when it's the media taking sides.

Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding crime.

a) Support the use of the death penalty for federal crimes.
b) Eliminate the use of the death penalty for federal crimes.
X c) Support programs to provide prison inmates with vocational and job-related skills and job-placement assistance when released.
X d) Support programs to provide prison inmates with drug and alcohol addiction treatment.
e) Reduce prison sentences for those who commit non-violent crimes.
X f) Support mandatory jail sentences for selling illegal drugs.
g) Decriminalize the possession of small amounts of marijuana.
X h) Support strict penalties for internet crime (e.g. hacking, identity theft, worms/viruses).
i) Other or expanded principles

Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding education.

a) Support the federal government funding universal pre-kindergarten programs.
b) Allow parents to use vouchers to send their children to any public school.
c) Allow parents to use vouchers to send their children to any private or religious school.
X d) Allow teachers and professionals to receive federal funding to establish charter or magnet schools.
e) Increase funding for the Pell Grant program.
f) Decrease interest rates of Stafford Loans.
X g) Support federal tax incentives to help families save for college.
X h) Ban university financial aid officers from owning stock in or accepting gifts from student loan lenders.
X i) Require universities to disclose financial relationships with lenders.
j) Support federal education standards and testing requirements for k-12 students (No Child Left Behind).
k) Eliminate all federal education standards and testing requirements for k-12 students (No Child Left Behind).
We need to return to the standards of education our grandparents had. Standards that meant students had a respect for their teachers, not a distain for them. We need to turn out students with knowledge and ideas, not a knowledge of ideas. Similarly, we need to build educational facilities with an emphasis on teacher/class sizes, the best of new technology, and the best of teaching methods. I also firmly support the concept of eliminating all federal student loan debt to teachers after they mean certain conditional requirements.

Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding employment.

a) Increase funding for national job-training programs that retrain displaced workers or teach skills needed in today’s job market.
X b) Reduce government regulation of the private sector in order to encourage investment and economic expansion.
X c) Encourage employers to offer child care services, flex-time scheduling, comp-time, and unpaid leave for family emergencies.
X d) Increase the federal minimum wage.
X e) Support the right of workers to unionize.
f) Eliminate all federal programs designed to reduce unemployment.
We need a wage structure that takes into account regional/state costs of living, not an arbitrary national gauge. Right now, an individual on minimum wage in Montana looks like he/she is well off compared to California -primarily because California has an artificially high cost of living. Similarly, we need significant encouragement to bring manufacturers and general employers back to the US, instead of off-shoring the "American Dream" to third-world countries. I'm a former union member, and I highly understand the bargaining and quality of union membership.

Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding the environment and energy.

a) Strengthen the regulation and enforcement of the Clean Water Act.
b) Strengthen the regulation and enforcement of the Clean Air Act.
c) Support increased development of traditional energy resources (e.g. coal, natural gas, oil).
X d) Strengthen emission controls on all gasoline and diesel-powered engines, including cars, trucks, and sport utility vehicles.
X e) Strengthen fuel efficiency standards on all gasoline and diesel-powered engines, including cars, trucks, and sport utility vehicles.
f) Support domestic oil exploration in areas that are currently restricted.
X g) Encourage further development and use of alternative fuels.
X h) Support the use of ethanol as an alternative fuel.
X i) Support research and development of nuclear reactors as an alternative energy source.
j) Allow energy producers to trade pollution credits under "cap and trade" laws.
k) Support international mandatory emission targets to limit global warming.
X l) Support international voluntary emission targets to limit global warming.
m) Other or expanded principles

Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding guns.On (g) and (h), indicate what levels (#1-6) you support for the following categories.

a) Allow individuals to carry concealed guns.
X b) Require a license to carry a concealed gun.
X c) Require a license to possess a gun.
d) Ban the sale, ownership or possession of handguns except by law enforcement or other government officials.
X e) Require gun owners to store guns in a safe or lockbox, or to have them disabled with a trigger lock.
f) Allow individuals to carry guns on college campuses.
Maintain Status g) Enforcement of existing restrictions on the purchase and possession of guns.
Slightly Increase h) Restrictions on the purchase and possession of guns.
I firmly believe in our 2nd Amendment, but I also firmly believe that while the US Constitution gives the right to keep and bear arms, it doesn't say we can't ban certain weapons from private ownership. Similarly, it DOESN'T prevent states/municipalities from enacting certain safety legislation of their own. It's been said before - guns don't kill people, people kill people. Let's not take the guns off the streets, let's make people responsible in their ownership and patterns of use with these implements of technology. Crimes commited with firearm possession should result in long-term/life sentances.

Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding health.

a) Implement a universal healthcare program to guarantee coverage to all Americans, regardless of income.
X b) Expand eligibility for tax-free medical savings accounts.
X c) Allow the importation of prescription drugs into the United States.
X d) Support expanding prescription drug coverage under Medicare.
X e) Offer tax credits to individuals and small businesses to offset the cost of insurance coverage.
f) Support expanding child healthcare programs.
g) Allow doctors to prescribe marijuana to their patients for medicinal purposes.
h) Providing healthcare is not a responsibility of the federal government.
i) Other or expanded principles

Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding immigration.

a) Decrease the number of legal immigrants allowed into the country.
X b) Establish English as the official national language.
c) Support a temporary worker program.
X d) Support harsher financial punishments for employers who knowingly employ illegal immigrants.
e) Support amnesty for illegal immigrants already working in the United States.
X f) Illegal immigrants should have to return to their countries of origin before being considered for citizenship.
g) Illegal immigrants should be given a pathway to citizenship.
h) Support merit-based visas over family-based visas.
We owe a great deal of priase to LEGAL immigrants and their contributions to our society. But illegal immigation is a massive drain of federal and state resources, as well as a drain on our economic viability. The US Government needs to rethink its H and L series visas, and overhaul the process that is used in granting them. The system currently in place, with the ease in renewing them and how they are granted needs to be restricted.

International AidIndicate which principles you support (if any) regarding international aid.International PolicyIndicate which principles you support (if any) regarding international policy.International TradeIndicate which principles you support (if any) regarding international trade.

X a) Support the United States granting aid to countries when extraordinary circumstances cause disaster and threaten civilian lives.
b) Support the United States granting aid to countries when it is in the security interests of the United States.
X c) Eliminate United States aid for any nation with documented human rights abuses.
X d) Aid granted by the United States should be scaled back and eventually eliminated.
e) Other or expanded principles
Undecided a) Should the United States continue to provide leadership in the Israeli-Palestinian peace process?
No b) Should the United States support the creation of a Palestinian state?
Yes c) Should the United States impose greater international sanctions on Iran if it continues to defy United Nations mandates?
Undecided d) Should the United States support the Lebanese government against insurgent forces?
No e) Should the United States maintain its troop levels in Iraq?
Undecided f) Should the United States withdraw its troops from Iraq?
h) Should the United States apply greater economic and diplomatic sanctions against North Korea if it fails to suspend its nuclear program?
i) Should the United States increase financial support for Afghanistan?
No j) Should the United States increase military support for Afghanistan?
No k) Should the United States trade nuclear fuel to India for civilian purposes?
l) Should the United States decrease financial support for Pakistan?
No m) Should the United States decrease military support for Pakistan?
n) Should the United States be involved in bringing an end to the violence in Darfur, Sudan?
o) Should the United States be involved in bringing an end to the violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo?
Undecided p) Should the United States provide economic and military support to the Transitional Government of Somalia?
q) Should the United States use sanctions to encourage the government of Zimbabwe to end its human rights abuses?
Yes r) Should the United States support the creation of an independent nation of Kosovo?
s) Other or expanded principles
Yes a) Do you support the United States imposing economic sanctions on China?
Yes b) Do you support the United States imposing trade sanctions on Venezuela?
No c) Do you support the United States involvement in free trade agreements?
No d) Do you support the United States involvement in intergovernmental organizations dedicated to trade?
Until Iraq stabilizes its government, Middle East peace and security are tenuous at best. The US will have a role in the region for the long-term. However, we need to redefine our role, from complex management of a sovereign nation to requested aid. While we still need to be "in theater" for an extended period of time, I think we need to bring home personnel that have no reason to be there. The National Guard has more important jobs to do right here at home, and should have never been sent unwarranted onto foreign soil.
I will not support any agreements or organizations that supplant America's control of its economic surety and viability with that of a foreign entity or multilateral commission.

Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding national security.

Yes a) Do you support using military tribunals to try suspected terrorists when ordinary civilian courts are deemed inappropriate or impractical?
Undecided b) Should law enforcement agencies have greater discretion to monitor domestic communications, to prevent future terrorist attacks?
Yes c) Should the United States hold foreign states accountable for terrorists who operate in their country?
Undecided d) Should the federal government increase funding to states and cities for homeland security?
Undecided e) Do you support pre-emptive military strikes against countries deemed to be a threat to United States national security?
No f) Do you support the creation of a federal identification card system?
No g) Do you support long-term use of National Guard troops to supplement the armed forces in assignments overseas?
Undecided h) Should the United States expand its missile defense shield?
i) Other or expanded principles

Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding social issues.

Undecided a) Should same-sex couples be allowed to form civil unions?
Undecided b) Should same-sex couples be allowed to marry?
No c) Do you support a federal constitutional amendment defining marriage as between a man and a woman?
Yes d) Should sexual orientation be included in federal anti-discrimination laws?
Undecided e) Do you support federal funding for research on existing embryonic stem cell lines?
No f) Do you support federal funding to create lines of stem cells from new embryos?
No g) Should the federal government consider race and gender in government contracting decisions?
No h) Do you support affirmative action in public college admissions?
No i) Should the federal government continue affirmative action programs?
No j) Should the federal government regulate internet gambling?
Presently, 25 states have enacted legislation regarding same-sex unions/marriage. The Federal Constitution doesn't have any need to enter into the fray. Similarly, I would veto any legislation regarding this matter - regardless of it's direction. Affirmative action is a political game to attempt to justify one group over another. It's wrong. The best person for a job, schooling or contract should be just that - the best person.

Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding Social Security.

X a) Allow workers to invest a portion of their payroll tax in private accounts that they manage themselves.
b) Ensure the viability of Social Security by increasing the payroll tax.
c) Decrease benefits paid to retirees.
X d) Support proportional increases of Social Security benefits based on the cost of living index.
e) Raise the retirement age for individual eligibility to receive full Social Security benefits.
One of the biggest flaws in the Social Security system is the Disability Insurance program. It's the combination of mandatory yearly re-evaluations for permanently disabled individuals. I would oppose any efforts to raise the Retirement age. Similarly, I believe we need to reassess the limitations of receiving income while on Social Security.

Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding welfare and poverty.

X a) Require welfare recipients to spend at least 40 hours a week in a combination of work and training programs.
X b) Continue to give states and local governments flexibility in and responsibility for welfare programs through federal block grants.
c) Support housing assistance for welfare recipients.
d) Abolish all federal welfare programs.
I fully support the system of a maximum time on the public dollar. However, it needs to be tempered with an understanding of how people are getting there, and with the ability to get them off it. Let's get these people the skills to make it on their own, the feeling of accomplishment and the ability to feel that they are productive citizens.
My primary focus and priority would be on returning the control of the United States to its citizens - not special interests, political action committees, the ACLU, or foreign agents. This is our country, yours and mine, not big business and the offshoring brigades. My secondary priority would be on accountability - Congressional Accountability and Ethics. The best question you can ask yourself during the 2008 election is: "Does Congress do what is right by you, or are they doing a number ON you?" Third, we need to put some of the agencies and departments of the government back in thier place. There is not a single agency of the Federal Government that is here to control your daily life. These agencies are supposed to supplement the efficient operations of the states. When the states loose control of legislating and regulating to the Federal level, the Federal government has overstepped its authority. It's time to give power back to the people and their state level representation.

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