A: Racism is a threat to domestic security because the effects of it can include widespread unrest and violence. Things escalate unnecessarily when racism is involved.
A: Somewhat Liberal. I am a leftist in that I favor people over corporations and workers' rights over CEO billionaires. I am antiestablishment because the establishment is a cesspool of corruption, and we need to evolve as a society away from materialism and violence.
A: Violent criminals should not be allowed gun ownership. Annual training and certification for each level of weaponry, similar to military protocol.
A: Disestablishmentarianism. To me it means, not basing legislation on religious scripts, and politicians, judges, etc. leaving their own religious mandates at the door when performing public duties.
A: As Senator, I would vote for all legislation that protects it and against any legislation that seeks to dismantle it.
A: Stop bombing countries that never attacked us.
A: I believe Line 5 needs to be permanently shut down. No tunnel encasing it, and no replacement pipeline. Our Great Lakes are unique and valuable in this world- priceless. No oil company profits will convince me otherwise. It's ours to protect.
A: I would work to hold those responsible accountable for their destructive actions, and work to ensure resources and funds are available to those affected.
Q: What about other water issues?
A: We need to invest in erosion fighting measures, and work to mitigate the cause of the rising water.
A: I support the ethical, humane treatment of all animals, whether they be pets, livestock, game or otherwise. Animal welfare is very important to the food production process.
A: Support.
Q: What about federal funding for Planned Parenthood? And for abortion services in general?
A: I support funding for Planned Parenthood and funding for abortion services for poorer women in general. I would also advocate for more sex education and contraceptive availability.
A: This question is vague with regards to who would be required and what "more" means.
Q: Well, what do you think of affirmative action in hiring practices? In college admissions? I.e., requiring that companies hire "more" women, that colleges admit "more" minorities?
A: I support Affirmative Action i.e. requiring more hiring and admissions into higher education (college, vocational, trade schools).
Q: You responded to the Michigan VotersGuide survey in 2016 that "reparations need to heal the racial divisiveness"--did you mean legal reparations like hiring more minorities? Or financial reparations?
A: I support both legal reparations like affirmative action & financial reparations, along with focusing on repairing urban decay instead of suburban sprawl. The non-white community has suffered enough at the hands of our predominantly white male dominated government. It's time to address it and take responsibility for it.
A: Strongly support.
Q: You posted on Facebook on July 13 that you would fund renewables by "reappropriating military funding," but included a panoply of other spending items from the same source. How will renewables get funded in comparison to (and in competition with) all of those other spending items? Similarly, you responded to the 2016 Michigan VotersGuide question on job creation that you would "concentrate. efforts in renewable energy," along with another long list of other programs to concentrate on. If you "concentrate" on a long list of programs, how do you "prioritize" green energy over the rest of the programs?
A: Expanding the green energy industry will create jobs. But first, we need an educated workforce that can handle the growing industry. I believe that all of these things are intertwined, and therefore must all happen--somewhat simultaneously or in quick succession.
A: I do not support it. I want to end our interventionist strategies and bring our troops home. I do support giving immigrants a more welcoming path to citizenship, and we need to end the refugee crisis by working towards a ceasefire in the Middle East.
A: Strongly support.
Q: You posted on CrowdPAC on July 13, "Michigan's voice didn't matter because each superdelegate vote negated thousands of votes." How would you change the superdelegate rules?
A: I am not a Democrat, so I would have no pull within that party to change their rules, but I would support legislation that forced the Democratic Party to pay for its own primaries instead of the states if they continue to weight the vote totals this way.
A: Support. Stimulus is needed due to the ever-growing income inequality. The middle class is disappearing and the lower class is growing astronomically, while the wealthiest become even wealthier, using tax loopholes and other means to continue this rift. Since the wealthiest people don't seem to be in a hurry to help their fellow man, stimulus is needed to ensure a higher quality of life for the rest of us.
A: Strongly support.
A: Oppose. I want to end mass incarceration--not increase it.
A: Strongly oppose. Cannabis is a life-saving drug and must be fully, retroactively legalized. In fact, the entire War on Drugs must end, treating drug addictions as a medical issue as opposed to a criminal one.
A: Oppose--except for higher education (college, trade, vocational schools)
A: Oppose: I support the EPA regulating businesses/corporations, which are profit-driven and therefore often disregard environmental impacts.
A: Oppose--I want zero export taxes and varying import taxes, depending on the percentage of American-made products.
A: Support, with graduated licensing/training similar to the military.
A: Support--if this means universal health care, which I strongly support over health insurance laws requiring people to have policies.
A: Strongly oppose- I propose we cut the military budget by at least 50%.
A: Support
A: Oppose in the sense that while people have the right to their own religion, or lack thereof, the government should be separate from private religion, and governmental agents/agencies should not promote or vilify any particular religion.
A: Strongly oppose
A: Strongly support. The middle class is disappearing and the lower class is growing astronomically, while the wealthiest become even wealthier, using tax loopholes and other means to continue this rift.
A: Strongly support--no more profit-driven interventionist military strikes/wars.
A: I think we need to decriminalize cannabis because that would also reduce healthcare costs. For people to be able to get that life saving remedy at a reasonable rate. I think adults should be able to grow it in their backyard and I think cellars should be able to claim it as legal income.
A: I really feel the move for single pay, in other words universal healthcare, Medicare for all, public option, all of those are the same thing and I think those are the way to go.
A: I am a very anti war candidate. Pro peace. I would refuse any and all donations from the military industrial complex. Similarly to the Green party platform I want to reduce military spending. And thus reduce the refugee crisis.
Marcia Squier: Agree
Rep. Brenda Lawrence (Dem.): Strongly agree
Q: What would you do about it?
Squier: I agree that racial inequality continues to be a serious problem in America. I believe that all people are created equal, and that reparations need to be made in order to begin to move towards healing the racial divisiveness. i believe that racism is a learned behavior, and although some progress has been made, we still have a long way to go, especially in terms of police brutality, education, and health care. I would support strict accountability legislation for all authority figures, flipping the current status quo. Authority figures MUST be held to a higher standard of justice than the American public. It is their choice to "protect & serve", and they will be held accountable.
Lawrence: We need comprehensive criminal justice reform, comprehensive immigration reform, & education equality.
A: If an American auto company wanted to open a plant in another country in order to reduce costs and increase its competitiveness worldwide, it should be able to do so, just as any other company in any other industry.
Q: Should it have to pay additional taxes or fees for work performed overseas?
A: It should have to pay additional taxes and fees. I believe, by the way, that all vehicle manufacturers, should become fossil fuel-free by 2030, as we move towards exclusively using renewable energy like solar and wind power. I would offer incentives to those who achieve that goal early, including companies, as well as cities, counties, states, and even other countries (who abide by international human rights laws).
Q: What would you do to help colleges control the cost of tuition?
Marcia Squier: I would implement an extension of the public education system to include all ages of people, from preschool to PhD. I would encourage online curriculum and offer free internet access to all students. If elected, I would support full federal funding of public universities. Private colleges and charter schools would not receive federal funding and would be considered as for-profit corporations and taxed accordingly to provide additional funding for public education. I also support the elimination of all current student debt through quantitative easing.
Rep. Brenda Lawrence (Dem.): Require public private partnerships and connecting education to jobs. Companies should be investing in the cost of education by the industry that will receive the worker. We need extended programs like Teach America where students get credit.
A: I believe that the U.S. should concentrate its job creation efforts in renewable energy, infrastructure improvements, education, and health care. The people of this nation and elsewhere are unhealthy and under-educated. The conditions in which a vast majority of us live are deteriorating rapidly. We need to heal ourselves, and the environment in which we all live, in order for there to be prosperity and peace. I support the Green New Deal, which will provide an emergency jobs program, providing livable wages to tens of millions of people. I believe that all vehicle manufacturers, should become fossil fuel-free by 2030, as we move towards exclusively using renewable energy like solar and wind power. I would offer incentives to those who achieve that goal early, including companies, as well as cities, counties, states, and even other countries (who abide by international human rights laws).
A: Poor. I believe that more individuals need to be held accountable for the poisoning of an entire region. Strict precedence needs to be set here in Michigan because similar issues like this are popping up all over the country, and the people need to rest assured that they come first and foremost in the law of the land. I also believe that the water-line infrastructure needs to be completely overhauled, and that the residents of Flint should not only receive clean water, but they should also receive automatic, full-coverage health insurance, and a living expense stipend or relocation expenses.
Q: Should Congress provide funding to help Flint?
A: Yes, Congress should provide funding to help Flint and other cities across the U.S. to eliminate lead service lines. If elected, I will vote in favor of federal funding of this critical issue. It is our obligation and duty to take care of our own.
Marcia Squier: I absolutely do NOT support the TPP, the TTIP, the TISA, or any other similar trade deal! They will eliminate jobs, not create them. Those of us from the Motor City know how disastrous NAFTA was and is to the auto industry. The TPP is known as NAFTA on steroids, especially since corporations will be able to sue municipalities for prevention of future profit, regardless of any environmental or human-rights violations. Corporations should never be allowed to overrule the law of the land. If that happens, we will be powerless to stop human suffering and planetary destruction.
Rep. Brenda Lawrence (Dem.): While we do live in a global economy and we must resolve to balance the scales. We should not enter into any agreement that would allow any other country or countries to be given an advantage in trade that will take jobs and financial benefits out of the US.
Marcia Squier: I would wholeheartedly support an amendment that would repeal Citizens United. We desperately need to get the money out of politics. Campaigns should be publicly funded. Campaign donations should be strictly limited and enforced. Broadcasting stations and journalists should should be banned from making donations, as well as the companies that produce anything related to the electoral process, such as the voting machine manufacturers, which by the way, I believe should be banned in favor of hand-counted paper ballots, or at the very least, open-sourced coding software with audit-able paper trails and independent oversight. For my campaign, I am not soliciting campaign donations at this time.
Rep. Brenda Lawrence (Dem.): Yes, I firmly believe we need campaign finance reform.
Marcia Squier: I would reduce the number of firearm-related injuries and deaths in the U.S. in several ways. By having universal background checks for violent offenders, we can ensure that vicious people can't legally own a gun. By decriminalizing Marijuana and ending the war on drugs, we can decrease a major factor in many of these violent crimes. Black market drug dealers will be a thing of the past because they can earn a legally recognized income. In addition, by offering universal health care and public funding of higher education, we will prevent crime by letting people receive mental health therapy and a college education. Add that to a basic livable wage, and you have a great recipe for success.
Rep. Brenda Lawrence (Dem.): We need to enact common sense gun control reforms that include closing the background check loopholes and putting in place no fly, no buy.
Marcia Squier: I think the Affordable Care Act, ObamaCare, should be repealed. I would instead extend the age requirement for Medicare to include all ages of people, from cradle to grave. I would include full coverage for all, with income-based deductibles for care and prescriptions. I would also include dental, vision, mental health, and chiropractic care because we all need and deserve to be healthy and no one else should die because of a lack of health insurance.
Rep. Brenda Lawrence (Dem.): I support ObamaCare and think it is sound policy. I do believe that there are amendments that could be made to resolve some of the unintended consequences, particularly for small business owners. However, the republicans do not want do discuss improving ObamaCare, they continue to attempt to repeal it.
Marcia Squier: I do support a moratorium on the deportation of undocumented immigrants whose children were born in the United States. We should also give all such parents the opportunity to become legally recognized.
Rep. Brenda Lawrence (Dem.): Yes.
Q: Do you favor the deportation of all undocumented immigrants?
Marcia Squier: I do not support the deportation of all undocumented immigrants. I support giving them the opportunity to become legally recognized.
Brenda Lawrence: No.
Marcia Squier: I definitely believe that income inequality is a problem in America. I would introduce and/or support legislation that would help bring back the middle class, and lift up the lower class as well, by reducing the stranglehold that the top 10% have on our currency flow. For example, I support a $15/hr minimum wage (including myself in Congress, if elected). I would offer incentives to companies with net gains in employment and subsidies to small businesses. This will reduce the amount spent on low-income assistance programs.
Marcia Squier: Our country does face critical shortages in eldercare services. I believe that Congress should move to include these services in universal health care, from cradle to grave, with income-based deductibles for care and prescriptions. In addition, with publicly funded education from preschool to PhD and elimination of ALL current student debt, we will be able to provide even more qualified professionals in this critical field.
Rep. Brenda Lawrence (Dem.): We need to focus our efforts on community initiatives that will allow our aging population to age in place. We must protect social security, Medicare and Medicaid programs that aid seniors.
Marcia Squier: I think that several things need to be done to make the U.S. tax code fairer. For example, exported goods should be tax exempt, but imported goods should always be taxed. This will discourage corporations from shipping jobs overseas and encourage job creation and retention here at home. I also believe that corporate tax loopholes should be closed, large corporations should be paying the most in taxes. Small businesses should receive tax exemptions and government grants for creating a sustainable, vibrant "Main Street". These same rules should be applied to people as well. The highest earners should pay the highest taxes, while the other 90% should receive tax exemptions and incentives.
Rep. Brenda Lawrence (Dem.): I believe in a progressive tax. I think we should not be taxing anyone living below the poverty line. Also, I think we should raise the amount allowed for deductions for children.
Marcia Squier: I believe that the U.S. needs an immediate cease-fire and weapons embargo on all countries, especially in the Middle East. Throughout history, our great nation has been a place of refuge for people displaced by war and acts of terror. There is a stark contrast this time, however. We are the ones supplying the Middle East with weapons while bombing them at the same time. We are exacerbating their reason for seeking refugee status in the first place. Therefore I support a 50% military budget cut.
Rep. Brenda Lawrence (Dem.): The stringent process that refugees go through to obtain that special status is very thorough and takes years. Talking points of refugees being terrorist is just more fear tactics.
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The above quotations are from State of Michigan Politicians: Archives.
Click here for other excerpts from State of Michigan Politicians: Archives. Click here for other excerpts by Marcia Squier. Click here for a profile of Marcia Squier.
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