Michigan State Legislative Election 2018 Political Courage Test

Abortion & Reproductive

1. Do you generally support pro-choice or pro-life legislation?
- No Answer

2. Should abortion be legal when the pregnancy resulted from incest or rape?
- Yes

3. Do you support the prohibition of public funds for organizations that perform abortions?
- No

4. Other or expanded principles
- A woman is pregnant with twins (an increasingly common thing). One of the twins has serious medical complications. Either the 1 twin will be terminated as non-viable, or both twins and the mother will die as a result of the complications. Is it best to save as many lives as possible, even if it means ending one before it's too late? That is a decision that can only be made between the parents, their physician, and their pastor. A bunch of suits in Lansing have no right to supersede the medical and ethical recommendations of medical and religious experts, respectively.

Budget, Spending, & Tax

1. Reducing state employee salaries AND/OR pensions?
- No

2. Instituting mandatory furloughs AND/OR layoffs for state employees?
- No

3. Reducing benefits for Medicaid recipients?
- No

4. An income tax increase on any tax bracket?
- No Answer

5. Other or expanded principles
- Treating fiscal decisions using capital investment models of asset management allows us to more accurately and responsibly generate tax revenues while maintaining the lowest cost of capital (i.e.: the value of lost productivity if those funds were left in the private sector), and use them to generate the highest long-term return on fiscal expenditures (increases in tax revenues without raising rates). Also cutting costs by eliminating wasteful spending, increasing operational efficiency, automating and streamlining operations, and so forth will not only reduce spending but improve the quality and speed of government services being offered. Forget "more-or-less", and think "better".

Campaign Finance & Government Reform

1. Do you support any limits on campaign contributions to state candidates?
- Yes

2. Do you support the regulation of indirect campaign contributions from corporations and unions?
- Yes

3. Do you support the use of an independent AND/OR bipartisan commission for redistricting?
- Yes

4. Do you support requiring a government-issued photo identification in order to vote at the polls?
- Yes

5. Other or expanded principles
- The top 2 priorities for my campaign are to fix the transparency problem in Michigan, and to expand conflict of interest laws for elected representatives. The current system dominated by special interest money that lacks all accountability has been the core source of many of our states problems, and we will never be able to appropriately fix those problems until our elected representatives are obligated by voter pressure and proper regulations to pass policies which are proven by the evidence to improve quality of life in Michigan, rather than pursuing "personal ideology" or the interests of donors bidding on policy.

Crime & Public Safety

1. Do you support capital punishment for certain crimes?
- No

2. Do you support the legalization of marijuana for recreational purposes?
- Yes

3. Should a minor accused of a violent crime be prosecuted as an adult?
- No

4. Do you support the enforcement of federal immigration laws by state and local police?
- No

5. Other or expanded principles
- Capital punishment prevents research into those who perform heinous crimes so that we might prevent such acts from occurring in the future. It is harder to research someone once they're dead.Cannabis prohibition has failed miserably and caused a dangerously unregulated black market, legalization is the only way to regain positive control over the market, as studies show legalization actually reduces teen use. If the federal authorities can't create functional immigration law then let the feds pay for their own boondoggles, and leave the Michigan taxpayers out of it until the feds create immigration policy that functions properly.

Economic

1. Do you support state government spending as a means of promoting economic growth?
- No Answer

2. Do you support lowering state taxes as a means of promoting economic growth?
- No Answer

3. Do you support reducing state government regulations on the private sector?
- No Answer

4. Do you support expanding access to unemployment benefits?
- No Answer

5. Do you support requiring welfare applicants to pass a drug test in order to receive benefits?
- No Answer

6. Do you support an increase of the minimum wage of Michigan?
- No Answer

7. Do you support increasing state funding for improving Michigan's roads and bridges?
- No Answer

8. Do you support eliminating Michigan's mandatory no-fault auto insurance?
- No Answer

9. Other or expanded principles
- As a PhD economist, I state with confidence that these are the wrong questions to be asking. The real solutions to many of our economic issues cannot be answered "Yes-or-No", or even described in 100 words or less. It's time we had an actual economist representing us in Lansing because there's not a single person right now who actually knows modern economics for the quantitative subject it is, or has a background as a professional economist. The nature of these questions proves we need better economic literacy - they're not even adaptive to changes in the market.

Education

1. Do you support adopting federal education standards in Michigan?
- No

2. Do you support state funding for charter schools?
- No

3. Should immigrants unlawfully present in the United States who graduate from Michigan high schools be eligible for in-state tuition at public universities?
- No Answer

4. Other or expanded principles
- There's already extensive research on the methods used in schools that are effective at increasing academic performance, increasingly long-term earnings potential, and reducing delinquent behavior. The most comprehensive is likely the long-term studies on the Harlem Children's Zone, parts of which I replicated for Omaha Public Schools in a program they still use today at Wilson Focus School because it was successful. As for funding, if parents want to send their kids to a special school then let them pay for it, and let's make public school more attractive by returning their funding (funds diverted to charter and higher ed).

Environment & Energy

1. Do you support state funding for the development of renewable energy (e.g. solar, wind, thermal)?
- Yes

2. Do you support state government regulations of greenhouse gas emissions?
- Yes

3. Do you support increasing state funding for clean drinking water initiatives?
- Yes

4. Do you support decommissioning the Enbridge Line 5 pipeline, which carries oil from Canada to the U.S.?
- Yes

5. Other or expanded principles
- When you actually analyze the data, it becomes extremely clear that pursuing photovoltaic solar energy and protecting clean water will both save us money in the long-run, making them the fiscally responsible options. They are also both vital aspects of a proper national defense strategy.As for Enbridge, they've lied to us about breaking the safety clause of their contract from Day 1, and have continued to lie about the state of the pipeline ever since. They're not even properly bonded. So, give Line 5 six months notice before it's shut down, or else Michigan taxpayers will pay the cost.

Gun

1. Do you generally support gun-control legislation?
- No

2. Should background checks be required on gun sales between private citizens at gun shows?
- No Answer

3. Should teachers be allowed to bring guns into the classroom?
- No Answer

4. Should a license be required for gun ownership?
- No Answer

5. Other or expanded principles
- It is completely possible to reduce gun violence to a degree very quickly, and nearly eliminate it in the long-run, without infringing on the rights of gun owners. By repealing the Tiahrt Amendment and the Dickey Amendment, data that already exists which isn't accessible to anyone can be incorporated into proven predictive policing methods to identify shootings before they occur, to research methods of identifying potential shooters before they act, to analyze policy proposals and establish which policies are effective, and establishing methods to treat the underlying causes of gun violence. Immediate improvements leading to future solutions.

Health

1. Should the state government increase funding for treatment facilities to combat opioid abuse?
- Yes

2. Do you support Medicaid expansion through Michigan's health care programs?
- No Answer

3. Do you support requiring individuals to purchase health care insurance?
- No Answer

4. Do you support legislation that grants citizens the right to choose to die through euthanasia?
- Yes

5. Do you support eliminating religious exemptions for vaccinations?
- Yes

6. Do you support using state funds to provide public health services to citizens exposed to lead contamination in the Flint Water Crisis?
- Yes

7. Other or expanded principles
- I support eliminating the private health insurance industry, and replacing it with a pass-through system that will guarantee medical care for Michigan residents under a single umbrella while cutting total health spending by 30% and eliminating wasteful spending on bureaucratic redundancies. This will allow people to choose their own providers, increase continuity of care, identify sources of opioid abuse, and reduce the amount of people who have access to your private medical records.As for Flint, the negligence of past representatives has put Michigan taxpayers on the hook for the cost of lead poisoning. "You break it, you buy it."

Social

1. Do you support the inclusion of sexual orientation in Michigan's anti-discrimination laws?
- Yes

2. Do you support the inclusion of gender identity in Michigan's anti-discrimination laws?
- Yes

3. Do you support greater efforts by Michigan state government in closing the pay gap between men and women?
- Yes

4. Should able-bodied "food stamps" (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) recipients meet a work requirement to be eligible for benefits?
- No

5. Other or expanded principles
- Our nation was founded upon the principle that all people are created equal. To paraphrase Teddy Roosevelt, nobody is above nor below the law. These people are our neighbors, friends, family, and coworkers; and each deserves to live with dignity and respect. Plus, equality is proven to stimulate innovation and economic growth, so that's helpful, too.As for the matter of work requirements for food stamps, from an economic perspective such a requirement is arbitrarily set, and has no relationship to the current conditions of the labor market. At least make our policies responsive to the free market.

Legislative Priorities

In the following area, please explain in a total of 100 words or less, your top two or three priorities if elected. If they require additional funding for implementation, please explain how you would obtain this funding.
- 1) Increased transparency and conflict of interest regulations for elected officials obligating the development of policies based on research and evidence (with the secondary implication of improving fiscal policy, resulting in cutting reduced spending and improved quality of life for Michigan residents)2) Create an environment that stimulates entrepreneurship and innovation, especially among young people and small businesses (to include updates to our infrastructure and education)3) Get my hands dirty and actually do the data collection and analysis necessary to improve government operations, making them cheaper to run while improving the consistent quality they produce. Make Michigan run better.