a questionnaire

  Questions put forth by The Tacoma News Tribune for their 2012 Voters Guide and answers. We were only allowed 400 characters (around 60 words) to answer these questions

  Why come here? For jobs, clean water, to make a decent living: repairing one problem would remove most reasons for illegally coming here. Add twenty-six words to corporate law and thus create what is called the 'Code for Corporate Citizenship'. Directors and officers would still have a duty to make money for shareholders, but not at the expense of everyone else.

  The Declaration of Independence was written using the Bible to point out the violation of Gods’ law that was used to declare war against England. If one believes that the Bible is from God, and in the Bible is the statement: “Do not lie with a man as one lies with a woman; that is detestable” (some versions use abomination). Thumbing ones’ nose at God would seem rather unintelligent.

Budgetary, Spending, and Tax Issues: Using the key, indicate what federal funding levels you support for the following general categories. Select one number per category.
 1) Budget Priorities
    KEY
1 = Greatly Increase         _5_a) Agriculture                       --_3_i) Medical research
2 = Slightly Increase         _6_ b) Arts                                 _2_ j) National parks
3 = Maintain Status          _3_c) Defense                             _3_k) Public health services
4 = Slightly Decrease       _6_d) Education                          _3_1) Scientific research
5 = Greatly Decrease       _3_e) Environment                     _3_m) Space exploration programs
6 = Eliminate                   _4_ f) Homeland security            _3_n) Transportation and highway infrastructure
                                         _4_g) International aid                _3_o) Welfare
                                         _3_h) Law enforcement              _»_ p) Other or expanded categories: Education should be a state issue not a federal one. Funding tobacco farmers seems kind of insane while taxes are being increased to stop smokers.

2) Defense Spending
  _3_a) Armed forces personnel training     ___  f) Pay for active duty personnel
  _3_b) Intelligence operations                  ___g) Programs to improve troop retention rates
  _3_c) Military hardware                         _3_h) Research and development of new weapons
  _3_d) Modernization of weaponry and equipment    ___i) Troop and equipment readiness ___e)   National missile defense                        _»_ j) Other or expanded categories: Need to talk to active duty service personnel to see what they need _________________________________

Using the key above, indicate what federal tax levels you support for the following general categories. Select one number per category.
3) Taxes
Income Taxes:                              --Other Taxes:                                  Deductions/Credits:
Family Income
___ a) Less than $25,000       _6_a) Alcohol taxes                    _6_a) Charitable contributions
___ b) $25,000-$75,000        ___b) Capital gains taxes             _6_b) Child tax credit
___ c) $75,000-$150,000      _6_c) Cigarette taxes                  _6_ c) Earned income tax credit
___ d) Over $150,000           ___d) Corporate taxes                 _6_d) Medical expense deduction
_»_ e) Other or expanded categories:    _3_e) Gasoline taxes       _6_ e) Mortgage deduction
income adjusted flat tax             _6_f) Inheritance taxes             _6_ f) Student loan credit
Retiree Income                                ___g) Other or expanded categories _6_g) Other or expanded categories
___ f) Over $40,000                        ____________________________  ____________________________
_»_ g) Other or expanded categories :All income to be taxed at adjusted flat rates listed as follows no exceptions, no deductions and no credits: under 25k  7 ½%, 25k-50k 10%, 50k-75k 12 ½%, 75k-100k 15% 100k-150k 20%, 150k-250k 25%, 250k-500k 30%, 500k-1 million 40%, 1 million-2 million 50% , above 2 million 100%

From 1940 through 1963 the highest tax rate was over 80 percent going as high as 94 percent.

  When our debt is paid off tax rate to drop proportionately to sustain government spending. Example a 50% across the board reduction in taxes would lower the under 25K rate to 3 ¾% and the above 2 million rate to 50 %.

4) Do you support permanent repeal of the federal estate tax? _»_Yes __No __Undecided
5) Do you support eliminating taxes on dividends paid to individual investors?
 _»_Yes __No __Undecided
6) Should a married couple filing jointly pay the same taxes as if they were an unmarried couple filing separately?   _»Yes __No __Undecided
7) Other or expanded principles: All income to be taxed at above rates no exceptions, no deductions and no credits. When our debt is paid off tax rate to drop proportionately to sustain government spending. Example a 50% across the board reduction in taxes would lower the under 25K rate to 3 ¾% and the above 2 million rate to 50 %.

Campaign Finance and Government Reform Issues: 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) Increase the amount individuals are permitted to contribute to federal campaigns.
_»_ c) Prohibit Political Action Committee (PAC) contributions to candidates for federal office.
___ d) Allow unregulated soft money campaign contributions to political parties or committees.
___ e) Allow ads paid for by soft money that support or attack a candidate for federal office.
___ f) Allow issue advocacy commercials by corporations, labor unions, and non-profit groups which appear within 60 days of a general election and within 30 days of a primary election.
___g) Remove all contribution limits on federal campaigns and parties.
h) Do you support instant run-off voting (IRV)?                                                ___Yes___No_»_Undecided
i) Should Election Day be a national holiday?                                                    ___Yes_»_No___Undecided
j) Should same-sex couples be allowed to form civil unions?                             ___Yes_»_No__Undecided
k) Should marriage be restricted to a union only between a man and a woman? _»_Yes___No__Undecided
l) Other or expanded principles: Just as large numbers of homosexuals do not want their taxes to be used for faith based initiatives, people of faith should not be forced through their tax dollars to support self-inflicted educational issues (abortion, drugs, homosexuality, tobacco usage).

Crime Issues: 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.
___c) Impose "truth in sentencing" for violent criminals so they serve full sentences with no chance of parole.
_»_d) Support programs to provide prison inmates with vocational and job-related skills and job-placement assistance when released.
_»_e) Support programs to provide prison inmates with drug and alcohol addiction treatment.
_»_f)Reduce prison sentences for those who commit non-violent crimes.
___g) Support additional criminal penalties if a fetus is killed in the commission of a federal crime against a pregnant woman.
___h) Require that crimes based on gender, sexual orientation, and disability be prosecuted as federal hate crimes.
_»_i) Support programs that provide job training and placement services for at-risk youth.
_»_j) Impose stricter penalties for those convicted of white-collar crimes.
___k) Enforcement of civil rights should primarily be the responsibility of the federal government.
_»_1) Minors accused of a violent crime should be prosecuted as adults.
_»_m) Other or expanded principles: Enforce all laws equally on all citizens, no more double standards, especially disheartening is the difference in drug offender sentencing.

Drug Issues: Indicate (») which principles you support (if any) regarding drugs.
___a) Support mandatory jail sentences for selling illegal drugs.
___b) Expand federally sponsored drug education and drug treatment programs.
_»_c) Decriminalize the possession of small amounts of marijuana.
_»_d) Allow doctors to prescribe marijuana to their patients for medicinal purposes.
___e) Increase border security to stop the flow of illegal drugs into the United States.
_»_f) Eliminate federal funding for programs associated with the "war on drugs
___g) Other or expanded principles: Unfortunately the drug trade is capitalism at its finest, the “art” of supply and demand. Drugs should be like abortion, an educational issue not a legislative one.

Education Issues: Indicate (») which principles you support (if any) regarding education.
___a) Support national standards for and testing of public school students.
_»_b) Allow parents to use vouchers (equal opportunity scholarships) to send their children to any public school.
___c) Allow parents to use vouchers (equal opportunity scholarships) to send their children to any private or religious school.
___d) Allow teachers and professionals to receive authorization and funding to establish charter schools.
___e) Increase funding for block grants to states to aid in the hiring of additional teachers.
___f) Support teacher testing and reward teachers with merit pay.
___g) Increase funding for school capital improvements (e.g. buildings, infrastructure, technology).
_»_h) Support granting states limited control over Head Start programs.
___i) Support changing the mission of Head Start to emphasize improving the math and reading skills of disadvantaged children.
_»_j) Providing education is not a responsibility of the federal government.
___k) Support affirmative action in public college admissions.
___1) Increase funding of programs such as Pell grants and Stafford loans to help students pay for college.
___m) Support federal tax incentives to help families save for college.
_»_n) Other or expanded principles: The States need to re-establish “Trade Schools”, not everybody is college material, but everybody needs to be employable.

Employment and Affirmative Action Issues:
1) Indicate (») which principles you support (if any) regarding employment.
___a) Increase funding for national job-training programs that re-train displaced workers or teach skills needed in today's job market.
_»_b) Reduce government regulation of the private sector in order to encourage investment and economic expansion.
___c) Provide tax credits or grants to businesses that offer child care services to employees.
___d) Encourage employers to offer flex-time scheduling, comp-time, and unpaid leave for family emergencies.
___e) Eliminate all federal programs designed to reduce unemployment.
___f) Increase the federal minimum wage.
_»_g) Support the right of workers to strike without fear of being permanently replaced.
_»_h) Allow workers to sell company stock and to diversify their company retirement funds into other investment options.
_»_i) Other or expanded principles: The government needs to add twenty-six words to corporate law and thus create what would be called the 'Code for Corporate Citizenship'. Directors and officers would still have a duty to make money for shareholders, ...but not at the expense of the environment, human rights, the public safety, the communities in which the corporation operates or the dignity of its employees. Complete article under solution section of scaryreality.com

2) Indicate (») which principles you support (if any) regarding affirmative action.
___a) The federal government should consider race and gender in government contracting decisions.
___b) The federal government should discontinue affirmative action programs.
_»_c) The federal government should continue affirmative action programs.
___d) Include sexual orientation in federal anti-discrimination laws.
_»_e) Other or expanded principles: A racist bias still permeates large sections of society in both the black and white households. Until these differences can be worked out there will be need for affirmative action programs.  

Environment and Energy Issues: 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) Require states to compensate citizens when environmental regulations limit uses of privately-owned land.
_»_d) Relax logging restrictions on federal lands.
_»_e) Relax standards on federal lands to allow increased recreational usage.
___f) Support increased development of traditional energy resources (e.g. coal, natural gas, oil).
___g) Strengthen emission controls and fuel efficiency standards on all gasoline and diesel-powered engines, including cars, trucks, and sport utility vehicles.
___h) Support opening a select portion of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge for oil exploration.
_»_i) Encourage further development and use of alternative fuels to reduce pollution.
_»_j) Support the use of ethanol as an alternative fuel.
___k) Allow energy producers to trade pollution credits.
___1) Support the United States re-entering the Kyoto treaty process to limit global warming.
_»_m) Other or expanded principles: Big oil controls a large number of patents from solar research conducted at universities, such as the University of New Mexico Los Cruces.

Gun Issues: Indicate (») which principles you support (if any) regarding guns.
___a) Renew the ban on the sale or transfer of semi-automatic guns, except those used for hunting.
___b) Maintain and strengthen the current level of enforcement of existing federal restrictions on the purchase and possession of guns.
___c) Ease federal restrictions on the purchase and possession of guns.
___d) Repeal federal restrictions on the purchase and possession of guns.
___e) Allow citizens to carry concealed guns.
___f) Require manufacturers to provide child-safety locks on guns.
_»_g) Require background checks on gun sales between private citizens at gun shows.
___h) Require a license for gun possession.
___i) Establish a national database of ballistic "fingerprints" to track guns used in criminal activities.
_»_j) Support  legislation that would protect manufacturers, distributors, dealers and importers of firearms from civil lawsuits by crime victims.
_»_k) Other or expanded principles: I read somewhere there are over 20,000 gun laws on the books. How about enforcing the laws already there instead of writing feel good legislation.

Health Issues: Indicate (») which principles you support (if any) regarding health care.
___a) Providing health care is not a responsibility of the federal government.
___b) Implement a universal health care program to guarantee coverage to all Americans regardless of income.
___c) Support a Patient's Bill of Rights which includes appeal mechanisms when claims are denied.
___d) Support a Patient's Bill of Rights which includes the right to sue when claims are denied.
___e) Expand eligibility for tax-free medical savings accounts.
_»_f) Establish limits on the amount of punitive damages awarded in medical malpractice lawsuits.
___g) Support expanding prescription drug coverage under Medicare.
___h) Support expanding prescription drug coverage under private managed care plans.
___i) Offer tax credits to individuals and small businesses to offset the cost of insurance coverage.
___j) Support automatic enrollment of children in federal health care programs such as CHIP and Medicaid.
___k) Allow 55-65 year-olds to buy into Medicare.
___1) Support stem cell research on existing lines of stem cells.
___m) Allow laboratories to create new lines of stem cells for additional research.
_»_n) Other or expanded principles: You don’t get to have it both ways. The main reason for HMO’s was to have someone to be the bad guy in telling people when they were going to be cut off because of the expense of keeping people alive. Unfortunately this created another layer of bureaucracy sucking up money that could have been used to help people instead of creating a paperwork nightmare.

Immigration Issues: Indicate (») which principles you support (if any) regarding immigration.
_»_a) Decrease the number of legal immigrants allowed into the country.
_»_b) Establish English as the official national language.
___c) Increase the number of visas issued for agricultural workers.
___d) Relax restrictions barring legal immigrants from using social programs (e.g. public housing, food stamps).
___e) Support amnesty for certain illegal immigrants who already reside in the United States.
___f) Support the detention of asylum seekers from countries known to sponsor terrorism.
_»_g) Other or expanded principles: There are a number of illegal’s involved in the drug trade who have committed murder, the cops know who they are but because of conflicting government agencies have a hard time putting them away (go to article titled "The illegal alien crime wave" under the terrorism section of scaryreality.com). We need sane and enforceable laws.  

International Aid, International Policy, and Trade Issues:
International Aid: Indicate (») which principles you support (if any) regarding United States economic assistance.
_»_a) Aid should be granted to countries when extraordinary circumstances cause disaster and threaten civilian lives.
___b) Aid should be granted to countries when it is in the security interests of the United States.
___c) Aid should be eliminated for any nation with documented human rights abuses.
_»_d) Aid programs should be scaled back and eventually eliminated.
___e) Other or expanded principles  _________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________

International Policy
1) Indicate (») which principles you support (if any) regarding the Middle East.
a) Should the United States continue to provide leadership in the Israeli-Palestinian peace process?
 __Yes _»_No __Undecided
b) Should the United States support the creation of a Palestinian state?
 __Yes _»_No __Undecided
c) Should the United States withdraw its troops from Iraq?
__Yes __No __Undecided
d) Discuss your proposals for the reconstruction of Iraq. What funding sources would you use to implement these proposals? (75 words or less. Please use an attached page if the space below is not adequate.) We the people, through the actions of our elected officials destroyed the infrastructure of Iraq. We have no choice but to fix the mess that was made.
e) Other or expanded principles: There will be no peace in the Middle East until the people there get tired of killing each other; that does not look like it is going to happen anytime soon.

2) Indicate (») which principles you support (if any) regarding Central and East Asia.
a) Should the United States use diplomatic and economic pressure to encourage North Korea to abandon its nuclear weapons program?
__Yes _»_No __Undecided
b) Should the United States use military force to destroy the North Korean nuclear weapons program?
__Yes _»_No __Undecided
c) Should the United States remove the North Korean government from power?
__Yes _»_No __Undecided
a) Should the United States increase financial support to Afghanistan?
 __Yes __No _»_Undecided
e) Should the United States increase military support to Afghanistan?
 __Yes __No _»_Undecided
f) Other or expanded principles: Please read articles concerning North Korea in the terrorism section of scaryreality.com

3) Indicate (») which principles you support (if any) regarding the United Nations.
a) Should the United States maintain its financial support of the United Nations?
__Yes _»_No __Undecided
b) Should the United States decrease its financial support of the United Nations?
_»_Yes __No __Undecided
c) Should the United States commit troops to United Nations peacekeeping missions?
__Yes _»_No __Undecided
d) Other or expanded principles: Years back I took an oath, it went like this: I, _____________________ do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. So help me God.
  No where did I see the United Nations mentioned.

4) Should the United States lift the travel ban to Cuba?
 _»_Yes __No __Undecided
5) Should the United States increase its financial support to Colombia to combat "the war on drugs?"
__Yes _»_No __Undecided
6) Should aid to African nations for AIDS prevention programs fund distribution of contraceptives?
 _»_Yes __No __Undecided
7) Should aid to African nations for AIDS prevention programs fund abstinence education?
_»_Yes __No __Undecided
8) Other or expanded principles: Lets be real, abstinence is a great idea but people are hormone driven and intercourse happens.

International Trade: Indicate (») which principles you support (if any) regarding international trade.
1) Do you support the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)?
__Yes _»_No __Undecided
2) Do you support the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT)?
__Yes _»_No __Undecided
3) Do you support continued U.S. membership in the World Trade Organization (WTO)?
__Yes _»_No __Undecided
4) Should a nation's human rights record affect its normal trade relations (most favored nation) status with the United States?
__Yes __No _»_Undecided
5) Do you support the trade embargo against Cuba?
__Yes _»_No __Undecided
6) Should trade agreements include provisions to address environmental concerns and to protect workers' rights?
_»_Yes __No __Undecided
7) Other or expanded principles: NAFTA was 1400 pages, GATT was 22000 and when ratified became the U.N. treaty that formed the WTO, God only knows what was given away in those agreements.

National Security Issues: Indicate (») which principles you support (if any) regarding national security.
a) Do you support using military tribunals to try suspected terrorists when ordinary civilian courts are deemed inappropriate or impractical?
__Yes __No __Undecided
b) Should the United States adopt stricter rules for student visa applications from nations known to sponsor terrorism?
_»_Yes __No __Undecided
c) Should the United States grant law enforcement agencies greater discretion to read mail and email, tap phones, and conduct random searches to prevent future terrorist attacks?
__Yes _»_No __Undecided
d) Should the United States hold foreign states accountable for terrorists who operate in their country?
__Yes _»_No __Undecided
e) Should the federal government increase funding to states and cities for homeland security?
__Yes _»_No __Undecided
f) Do you support a policy of pre-emptive strikes against countries deemed to be a threat to national security?
__Yes _»_No __Undecided
g) Other or expanded principles: On a) describe inappropriate or impractical. On d) the guys who flew the planes of 9/11 learned to fly in this country and Tim McVay was an American.

Social Security Issues: Indicate (») which principles you support (if any) regarding Social Security.
_»_a) Allow workers to invest a portion of their payroll tax in private accounts which they manage themselves.
___b) Allow workers to invest a portion of their payroll tax in private accounts managed by private firms contracted by the government.
___c) Invest a portion of Social Security assets collectively in stocks and bonds instead of United States Treasury securities.
___d) Increase the payroll tax to better finance Social Security in its current form.
___e) Lower the annual cost-of-living increases.
___f) Raise the retirement age for when individuals are eligible to receive full Social Security benefits.
g) Other or expanded principles: The government spends a large portion of the 12.4 percent payroll tax (6.2% from you and 6.2% from your employer) called Social Security. The government has been augmenting the national debt for years by borrowing from the Social Security Trust Fund and will have to pay the money back with interest from more of your tax dollars. Last year over $150 billion dollars was added to the national debt that way.

Technology and Communication Issues: Indicate (») which principles you support (if any) regarding technology and communication.
___a) Collect taxes on commercial Internet transactions.
___b) Continue the moratorium on Internet taxation.
___c) Implement regulation of Internet content.
___d) Support government mandates to curtail violent and sexual content on television.
___e) Support strict penalties for Internet crimes (e.g. hacking, identity theft, worms/viruses).
___I) Support legislation to detail how personal information can be collected and used on the Internet.
_»_g) Regulating the Internet is not a responsibility of the federal government.
___h) Impose regulations on "spam" emails.
___i) Other or expanded principles  _________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________

Welfare and Poverty Issues: Indicate (») which principles you support (if any) regarding welfare and poverty.
_»_a) Require welfare recipients to spend at least 40 hours a week in a combination of work and training programs.
___b) Increase funding for child care programs.
___c) Continue to give states and local governments flexibility in and responsibility for welfare programs through federal block grants.
___d) Direct federal poverty aid through religious, community-based or other non-profit organizations.
___e) Abolish all federal welfare programs.
___f) Support housing assistance for low-income families.
_»_g) Other or expanded principles: The problem with eliminating welfare programs is the same as eliminating the Dept of Education or going to a no deduction flat tax code. It would wipe out millions more jobs. The first two in the public sector, the last would be the accountants (welfare program for accountants is confusing tax code) not needed if a flat tax with no deductions and no credits is enacted.