Shawn Howard's Issue Positions (Political Courage Test)
Key
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Shawn Howard has provided voters with clear stances on key issues by responding to the 2020 Political Courage Test.
Presidential Election 2020 Political Courage Test
| Do you generally support pro-choice or pro-life legislation? | |||
| My main objective is to reduce the number of abortions performed in the United States. I believe we can work together to get this figure markedly lower with a three-part strategy: Adoption, Birth Control, and Education. As President, I would greatly increase the current tax credit to make adoption affordable to all Americans. Making birth control available to anyone who needs it is also a necessary step. Education is a vital element in this process as well. Children need to learn about sex education at an early age and they need to be taught consistently through middle and high school. | |||
| No | In order to balance the budget, do you support an income tax increase on any tax bracket? | ||
| No | Do you support expanding federal funding to support entitlement programs such as Social Security and Medicare? | ||
| I don't believe in raising the aggregate tax level of the federal government. That is, I believe in a tax-neutral policy. As President, I would not increase any taxes without an offset and I would never raise income taxes. However, the tax structure can work to our benefit by shifting where we generate the revenue. Social Security and Medicare are in dire need of fixing, but expanding the programs is not the answer. Those programs alone eat up more than 90% of federal tax revenue. We need to find ways to control the costs for future generations. | |||
| Yes | Do you support the regulation of indirect campaign contributions from corporations and unions? | ||
| Corporations and unions have far too much influence in election campaigns. I am in favor of any regulation that curtails the power of these organizations over the election process. As President, I would also curtail lobbying, as corporate and union interests are often put ahead of doing what is right and just. | |||
| No | Do you support increasing defense spending? | ||
| The federal government spends roughly $640 billion per year on Defense. This is more than double the amount of the next closest country. While large, those funds have helped us create the greatest military in the world and pay the brave men and women that help defend our nation. Defense is our third largest budget item behind only Social Security and Medicare/Medicaid. I believe we need to keep spending steady at this level for the foreseeable future and refrain from any increases until the federal budget is under control. | |||
| No | Do you support federal spending as a means of promoting economic growth? | ||
| Yes | Do you support lowering corporate taxes as a means of promoting economic growth? | ||
| As a pro-growth candidate, I am interested in pursuing strategies that will grow our economy. The corporate tax rate was recently lowered from a lofty 35% to a more reasonable 21%. That is a great first step, but it doesn't go quite far enough. The optimal tax rate is still lower. The U.S. government generates about $3.4 trillion in tax revenue, but less than 7% of that total comes from corporate taxes. Little is gained, yet much is lost in economic growth by keeping corporate taxes artificially elevated. Studies have shown that a more optimal level is 10-15%. | |||
| No | Do you support requiring states to adopt federal education standards? | ||
| I believe education standards should be determined at the state and local level. Over the years, the federal government has created very rigid standards that have been a detriment to student education. They need to find a balance and play a supporting role in the education process. At times, they have created laws that were burdensome and many states objected. No Child Left Behind, passed in 2001, is just one example of the federal government going too far. | |||
| Yes | Do you support government funding for the development of renewable energy (e.g. solar, wind, geo-thermal)? | ||
| Yes | Do you support the federal regulation of greenhouse gas emissions? | ||
| The rapid change in the climate we're witnessing in our lifetime is directly caused by the human race. Temperatures on the planet are increasing and sea levels are rising. The burning of fossil fuels (natural gas, coal, and oil) has accelerated this problem. The leaders of the world must come together and take corrective steps to alleviate climate change. They did just that when the Paris Agreement was signed in 2016, but the current administration withdrew from the agreement. As President, I would immediately restore the United States to the Paris Agreement. It's a small step, but a necessary one. | |||
| Yes | Do you generally support gun-control legislation? | ||
| I strongly believe in gun control in America. As President, I would do everything in my power to permanently re-instate the Federal Assault Weapons Ban. This is a logical and necessary step to lower the rampant level of gun violence in our country. It will not solve the problem of school shootings, but it could go a long way toward limiting the damage. I am also opposed to arming teachers. Schools should be protected by police or trained security guards. | |||
| No | Do you support repealing the 2010 Affordable Care Act ("Obamacare")? | ||
| Given the system we have, we should continue to fine-tune the Affordable Care Act and utilize the best ideas within that program to provide coverage to more Americans. However, we should continue to use the private healthcare industry and focus on reducing costs to the participants. If you eliminate the private healthcare industry, you not only increase costs, you'll force companies out of business and eliminate tens of thousands of jobs. | |||
| Do you support the construction of a wall along the Mexican border? | |||
| Yes | Do you support requiring immigrants who are unlawfully present to return to their country of origin before they are eligible for citizenship? | ||
| I believe in legal immigration for all races and nationalities. America is a diverse nation and that should continue through widespread immigration from all 200 of the countries of the world. However, we can't let anyone and everyone into the country. We need a secure border and control the flow of people coming through. That doesn't mean we need to build a wall, but we need to have enough border control agents and technology to monitor the 2,000 mile stretch. I am not in favor of a path to citizenship, nor do I favor mass deportation of the undocumented immigrants. | |||
| Should the United States use military force to prevent governments hostile to the U.S. from possessing a weapon of mass destruction (for example: nuclear, biological, chemical)? | |||
| Yes | Do you support reducing military intervention in Middle East conflicts? | ||
| A number of countries hostile to the United States have WMD. Many others are attempting to acquire them. The type of military response would be dependent on a number of factors. For example, there is a big difference between chemical weapons and intercontinental nuclear weapons. As President I would take into account what they're building, their capabilities, and their intentions. | |||
| Yes | Do you generally support removing barriers to international trade (for example: tariffs, quotas, etc.)? | ||
| I am all for free-trade, provided we're on a level playing field. Unfortunately, the United States has not been treated as an equal trade partner with other countries for decades. Tariffs are common between trading partners, but the U.S. is always running a net tariff deficit, meaning that every country slaps more tariffs on us than the other way around. | |||
| We need to restore the system of checks and balances in government to protect against dictatorships and absolute power. The first step is to establish Term Limits. As President, I would strongly support a 12-year term limit for both Senators and Congressman. A Senator would be able to serve two 6-year terms and a House Representative could serve six 2-year terms. We also need to protect the media and journalists in order to preserve our democracy. Freedom of the Press is a crucial right that protects a democracy from devolving into authoritarian rule. An independent judiciary is also vital. |
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