Texas Congressional Election 2018 Political Courage Test

Abortion

1. Do you generally support pro-choice or pro-life legislation?
- Pro-choice

2. Other or expanded principles
- I firmly believe in a woman's right to choose. Also, investing in women's health and contraceptives reduces the number of unwanted pregnancies (and, thus, the overall number of abortions). Unlike Republicans, I believe in investing in children from the moment that they're born, so I refuse to call Republicans "pro-life," as their policies reflect hostility towards babies once they're born (e.g., voting against Head Start programs for early-childhood development, kicking mothers off Medicaid 60 days after birth, etc.).

Budget

1. In order to balance the budget, do you support an income tax increase on any tax bracket?
- Yes

2. In order to balance the budget, do you support reducing defense spending?
- Yes

3. Other or expanded principles
- I believe that our world is safer if we increase investment in diplomacy while reducing military defense spending. Also, I'm for a progressive income taxation system that is free of the loopholes that allow the Warren Buffets of the world to pay a lower tax rate than their secretaries.

Campaign Finance

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

2. Other or expanded principles
- Citizens United allows corporations to hijack our democracy. Too many representatives care more about corporate interests than the interests of their constituents.

Economy

1. Do you support federal spending as a means of promoting economic growth?
- Yes

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

3. Other or expanded principles
- Our government should invest in people by providing educational opportunities, such as a free public option for higher education and career-transition assistance. Moreover, I'm a proponent of a federal jobs guarantee via a revived Public Works Administration that invests in local infrastructure projects. By providing these jobs at a $15/hr living wage with paid family/sick leave, there will be increased competition for labor, and labor conditions throughout the private sector will be uplifted. As more people thrive, aggregate demand will increase, leading to great economic productivity.

Education

1. Do you support requiring states to adopt federal education standards?
- Yes

2. Other or expanded principles
- I believe that there should be standards for assessing educational attainment at the state level, but I do not think that standardized testing should take over the classroom. Right now, creativity has been sapped from the classroom due to the enormous pressure of standardized tests.

Energy & Environment

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

2. Do you support the federal regulation of greenhouse gas emissions?
- Yes

3. Other or expanded principles
- Climate change is an existential crisis, and we need to invest in renewable energy so that our children have clean air to breathe and clean water to drink. Also, these types of investments will create jobs and increase economic growth. I'm also for a carbon fee and dividend to discourage corporations from polluting.

Guns

1. Do you generally support gun-control legislation?
- Yes

2. Other or expanded principles
- First, we need to repeal the Dickey Amendment so that federal funds can be used to research gun-safety solutions. While I respect the Second Amendment, I believe that the possession and sale of firearms should be regulated, including enhanced background checks, eliminating the gun-show loophole, eliminating the boyfriend loophole in the context of domestic violence, and outlawing bump stocks.

Health Care

1. Do you support repealing the 2010 Affordable Care Act ("Obamacare")?
- No

2. Other or expanded principles
- I'm a supporter of Medicare for All because I believe that the for-profit motive of private insurance companies has led to soaring health care costs. Until Medicare for All passes, I'm in favor of the ACA, including cost-reducing subsidies so that everyone can afford health insurance. Health is freedom. It's disheartening that we spend more money on health care than any other country, yet we have some of the worst outcomes in the developed world.

Immigration

1. Do you support the construction of a wall along the Mexican border?
- No

2. Do you support requiring immigrants who are unlawfully present to return to their country of origin before they are eligible for citizenship?
- No

3. Other or expanded principles
- I'm for a clean Dream Act and comprehensive immigration reform with a reasonable, certain pathway to citizenship. I believe that we have a moral obligation to welcome immigrants to our country, and nearly every economist agrees that immigration is good for our economy.

Marijuana

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

2. Other or expanded principles
- The criminalization of marijuana contributes to our mass incarceration problem, and this incarceration disproportionately affects African-Americans. Legalizing marijuana would reduce such incarceration. Also, many states have legalized marijuana, leading to the development of successful businesses. If we tax these marijuana sales at the federal level, much of this money could be used on investments in people, such as education, health care, and renewable energy.

National Security

1. Should the United States use military force in order to prevent governments hostile to the U.S. from possessing a nuclear weapon?
- No

2. Do you support increased American intervention in Middle Eastern conflicts beyond air support?
- No

3. Other or expanded principles
- I believe that diplomacy is the best method of conflict resolution. Military force should be a last resort, as it causes conflicts to escalate, which is especially dangerous when other countries have powerful weapons (nuclear, biological, chemical, cyber, etc.).

Administrative Priorities

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.
- My first priority is getting corporate money out of politics, as corporate interests have hijacked our democracy, with corporate bigwigs acting like puppet masters pulling the strings on our elected officials. Moreover, corporate consolidation has led to the enormous wealth concentration in our economy. Despite our economy quadrupling in size since the 1970s, the bottom 50% of wage earners haven't shared at all in those gains. Strengthening our anti-trust enforcement is necessary to break up monopolies and restore market competition. Once the government works for the people, we can achieve universal health care, educational investments, environmental protection, and job creation.