Joseph Hackenmueller's Issue Positions (Political Courage Test)
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Joseph Hackenmueller has failed to provide voters with positions on key issues covered by the 2018 Political Courage Test, despite repeated requests from Vote Smart and voters like you.
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.
Alaska State Legislative Election 2016 Political Courage Test
| Pro-choice | a) Do you generally support pro-choice or pro-life legislation? | ||
| b) Should abortions be illegal after the first trimester of pregnancy? | |||
| c) Should abortion be legal when the pregnancy resulted from incest or rape? | |||
| d) Should abortion be legal when the life of the woman is endangered? | |||
| e) Do you support requiring parental notification before an abortion is performed on a minor? | |||
| f) Do you support requiring parental consent before an abortion is performed on a minor? | |||
| g) Do you support the prohibition of public funds for abortion procedures? | |||
| h) Do you support the prohibition of public funds for organizations that perform abortions? | |||
| i) Other or expanded principles: | |||
1) Budget Stabilization:Indicate which proposals you support (if any) for balancing Alaska'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.
| a) Tapping into Alaska's "rainy day" fund | |||
| b) Decreasing funding for public universities | |||
| c) Reducing state employee salaries AND/OR pensions | |||
| d) Instituting mandatory furloughs AND/OR layoffs for state employees | |||
| e) Reducing benefits for Medicaid recipients | |||
| a) Education (higher) | |||
| b) Education (K-12) | |||
| c) Environment | |||
| d) Health care | |||
| e) Law enforcement/corrections | |||
| f) Transportation/infrastructure | |||
| g) Welfare | |||
| a) Alcohol taxes | |||
| b) Cigarette taxes | |||
| c) Corporate taxes | |||
| d) Small business taxes | |||
| e) Gas/Oil taxes | |||
| f) Property taxes | |||
| The options presented above only address the spending side of the equation. We need a comprehensive package of additional strategic cuts, new revenue sources, restructuring of the existing oil tax credits (subsidies), and consideration of some portion of the Permanent fund earnings to balance the budget. Most importantly, we need to ensure that everyone, that includes residents, transient workers, and corporations doing business here, are all paying their fair share for services provided by the state. | |||
| We should always be looking for additional opportunities to make strategic cuts, to optimize, consolidate, and to improve efficiencies in government services. Exactly where those additional reductions can be made will be an ongoing conversation with the residents of this state to determine the level of services they are willing to fund. While we cannot simply cut our way to prosperity, we do need to adjust expenses to reflect the new reality of dramatically lower revenues. | |||
| Even with significant cuts to the budget, it may be necessary to implement some form of new taxes (both personal and corporate.) If so, my goals will be to ensure that everyone is paying their fair share for the services provided by the state, that the revenue generated is used judiciously, and that structures are in place to prevent unwarranted escalations. | |||
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? | ||
| e) Do you support requiring a government-issued photo identification in order to vote at the polls? | |||
| f) Other or expanded principles: | |||
| a) Do you support capital punishment for certain crimes? | |||
| b) Do you support alternatives to incarceration for certain non-violent offenders, such as mandatory counseling or substance abuse treatment? | |||
| c) Should a minor accused of a violent crime be prosecuted as an adult? | |||
| d) Do you support the enforcement of federal immigration laws by state and local police? | |||
| e) Do you support delaying the seizure of assets by law enforcement officials until after a conviction? | |||
| f) Other or expanded principles: | |||
| a) Do you support government spending as a means of promoting economic growth? | |||
| b) Do you support lowering taxes as a means of promoting economic growth? | |||
| c) Do you support reducing government regulations on the private sector? | |||
| d) Do you support increased state funding for job-training programs that re-train displaced workers? | |||
| e) Do you support expanding access to unemployment benefits? | |||
| f) Do you support requiring welfare applicants to pass a drug test in order to receive benefits? | |||
| g) Do you support providing financial incentives to the private sector for the purpose of job creation? | |||
| h) Do you support providing direct financial assistance to homeowners facing foreclosure? | |||
| i) Do you support an increase of the minimum wage? | |||
| j) Should employers be able to ask about applicants' criminal history before interviewing them? | |||
| k) Other or expanded principles: | |||
| a) Do you support the national Common Core State Standards initiative? | |||
| b) Do you support a merit pay system for teachers? | |||
| c) Is the tenure process for public school teachers producing effective teachers? | |||
| d) Should parents be allowed to use vouchers to send their children to any school? | |||
| e) Do you support state funding for charter schools? | |||
| f) Do you support the state government providing college students with financial aid? | |||
| g) Should illegal immigrants who graduate from Alaska high schools be eligible for in-state tuition at public universities? | |||
| h) Other or expanded principles: | |||
| a) Do you support state funding for the development of renewable energy (e.g. solar, wind, thermal)? | |||
| b) Do you support state funding for the development of traditional domestic energy sources (e.g. coal, natural gas, oil)? | |||
| c) Do you support state funding for improvements to Alaska's energy infrastructure? | |||
| d) Do you support state funding for open space preservation? | |||
| e) Do you support government regulations of greenhouse gas emissions? | |||
| f) Do you support increased regulations of the hydraulic fracturing ("fracking") industry? | |||
| g) Do you support oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge? | |||
| h) Other or expanded principles: | |||
| a) Do you generally support gun-control legislation? | |||
| b) Should background checks be required on gun sales between private citizens at gun shows? | |||
| c) Should citizens be allowed to carry concealed guns? | |||
| d) Should a license be required for gun possession? | |||
| e) Other or expanded principles: | |||
| a) Do you support a universally-accessible, publicly-administered health insurance option? | |||
| b) Do you support expanding access to health care through commercial health insurance reform? | |||
| c) Do you support interstate health insurance compacts? | |||
| d) Do you support Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act ("Obamacare")? | |||
| e) Do you support requiring individuals to purchase health care insurance? | |||
| f) Do you support monetary limits on damages that can be collected in malpractice lawsuits? | |||
| g) Other or expanded principles: | |||
| a) Do you support same-sex marriage? | |||
| b) Do you support the inclusion of sexual orientation in Alaska's anti-discrimination laws? | |||
| c) Do you support the inclusion of gender identity in Alaska's anti-discrimination laws? | |||
| d) Other or expanded principles: | |||
| 1) Developing a sustainable fiscal plan in which individuals and corporations alike are paying their fair share. This will entail a comprehensive package of restructuring the oil tax / tax credit scheme, strategic cuts, improved operating efficiencies, implementing new revenue sources, and use of the Permanent Fund earnings to fund some portion of the operating budget. 2) Although developing a sustainable fiscal plan is clearly the highest priority, I believe there are numerous ways to improve the operating efficiency of the legislature as a whole. This includes: Term Limits, Campaign Finance Reform, Tightening the ethics and conflict of interest rules. |
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