As of February 10th, Carly Fiorina has suspended her presidential campaign.
ISSUES
Environmental Regulation and Climate Change
Carly Fiorina believes that climate change is real and man-made. Yet, she also believes that a single nation acting alone cannot make any significant strides towards countering climate change. She has “been critical of efforts to reach international treaties to fight climate change, expressing skepticism that huge carbon emitters like China will change their behavior.” She wants our nation to be energy independent, whether it be through oil or renewable resources. To make this a reality she aims to reduce over regulation of the energy industries. She deeply believes in innovation over regulation. Her policy is broad with few specifics.
Democrats and environmental groups alike have criticized Fiorina’s opposition to reach international environmental treaties, saying that a strong global deal is needed to stand a chance against climate change.
Policy Proposals
Relevant History
Representative Quotes
Democrats and environmental groups alike have criticized Fiorina’s opposition to reach international environmental treaties, saying that a strong global deal is needed to stand a chance against climate change.
Policy Proposals
- Approve the Keystone XL Pipeline and offshore drilling plans.
- Lift restrictions on exports of oil and natural gas.
- Opposes cap-and-trade energy proposals.
- Opposes gas tax increase.
- Reduce over regulation on such things as fracking, natural gas, and coal power.
Relevant History
- While running for Senate in 2010 Fiorina endorsed the exploration of California’s energy sources, including both fossil fuels and clean energy sources. Within her campaign she vigorously opposed cap-and-trade regulations.
- In April of this year Fiorina described the California drought as a “man-made disaster” caused by “liberal environmentalists’ insistence.”
Representative Quotes
- “We’re disabling our own economy and not having any impact at all on climate change.”
- “Do we really think the Chinese are going to follow our lead on this? No, because they’re focused on their own economic self interest.”
- “I believe if you're going to go to science, you need to read the fine print. And here's what the scientists say: A single nation acting alone can make no difference at all. The only answer to this problem, according to the scientists, is a three-decade global effort, coordinated and costing trillions of dollars. Are you kidding? It'll never happen."
- “We need to become the global energy powerhouse of the 21st century.”
Gun Control and Gun Violence
Carly Fiorina is against almost any restrictions on gun ownership. Fiorina has come out against the 1994 ban on certain assault weapons and hopes to allow some on the no-fly to obtain guns. Fiorina also believes that the government’s attention should be focused on enforcing the laws we already have in place and not to create new legislation.
Policy Proposals
Relevant History
Representative Quotes
Policy Proposals
- Fiorina has said that she doesn't oppose all parts of the recent executive orders Obama has passed. She agrees with Obama increasing the amount of ATF agents so they can enforce the laws we already have in place. However, she does not want to create any new gun control legislation.
Relevant History
- While running for a Senate position she said that some on the no-fly list should be allowed to own a gun.
Representative Quotes
- "The no-fly list has been, unfortunately, way too large, and I know people who have been on it who have been stopped and if we permit anyone who is on that no-fly list to have their 2nd Amendment rights taken away from them, that's a terrible problem".
- "Before we start calling for more laws, I think we ought to consider why we don't enforce the laws we have."
Drugs and Criminal Law
Carly Fiorina strongly believes in states’ rights, takes a firm stance against drugs, and holds that fixing America’s drug abuse problems coincides with reforming the criminal justice system. Fiorina is not in favor of drug legalization except, possibly, for medical marijuana, if it were highly regulated (which she claims it currently is not). However, as president, she would not enforce federal laws banning marijuana because she believes states should make those decisions independent of the federal government. Ms. Fiorina admits the criminal justice system is flawed because the United States has the highest incarceration rates in the world, and two-thirds of incarcerated people are in prison for nonviolent, drug-related offenses. She believes states should focus on alternatives to incarcerating nonviolent, drug offenders such as expanding drug courts, which are rehabilitative drug programs that serve as an alternative to jail, and opening more rehabilitation centers, both of which she would provide funds for as president, and both of which would lower incarceration rates and amend the criminal justice system. Additionally, Ms. Fiorina supports limited use of capital punishment.
Democratic candidates Bernie Sanders and Martin O’Malley are opposed to capital punishment completely and would like to see it banned. Sanders wants to do away with federal ban on marijuana, and many Republican candidates want to enforce the federal ban. Chris Christie said he would crack down on marijuana, while Fiorina stated her belief that individual states should be allowed to legalize marijuana as they see fit.
Policy Proposals
Relevant History
Representative Quotes
Democratic candidates Bernie Sanders and Martin O’Malley are opposed to capital punishment completely and would like to see it banned. Sanders wants to do away with federal ban on marijuana, and many Republican candidates want to enforce the federal ban. Chris Christie said he would crack down on marijuana, while Fiorina stated her belief that individual states should be allowed to legalize marijuana as they see fit.
Policy Proposals
- Continue to not enforce federal marijuana laws.
- Provide states with the necessary funds to handle the drug addiction crisis. She would have the states expand drug courts and open up drug treatment centers in more communities.
Relevant History
- Carly Fiorina lost a daughter to drug addiction and that has tremendously affected her stance on drug abuse. Because of her past experiences, she emphasizes treatment over punishment and strongly opposes all illegal drugs.
- Ms. Fiorina has not been a political figure until this campaign and therefore has no political history concerning drug policy or criminal law.
Representative Quotes
- “We need to reform our criminal justice system because today, we have the highest incarceration rates in the world. ⅔ of them are for nonviolent, mostly drug-related offenses. We are not helping people by throwing into jail.”
- “Drug addiction shouldn’t be criminalized. We need to treat it appropriately.”
- “I don’t support legalized marijuana for a whole host of reasons, including the fact that this is a very complex chemical substance, and when we tell young people it is just like drinking a beer, we are not telling them the truth.”
- "But I think Colorado voters made a choice, I don't support their choice, but I do support their right to make that choice."
Civil Rights - Gender and Sexual Orientation
Carly Fiorina is pro-life. She has outlined many personal experiences that have led her to this opinion like watching one of her close friends go through the abortion process, learning that her mother-in-law almost aborted her husband, and also receiving news that she would not be able to carry a baby herself. She believes that life begins at conception. Fiorina believes in over-the-counter birth control because she sees it as a way of preventing out of wedlock births — thus single mothers. There is a pay discrepancy between married and single mothers (of $19,000 a year on average), 40% of births are out of wedlock, and living as a single mother is a hard life. She believes that this problem could be happening on a smaller scale if birth control were sold over-the-counter. Fiorina sees Planned Parenthood not as an organization that is solely there to support women’s health but rather an organization that enjoys holding its political power and using it to support certain candidates. Fiorina supports equal pay for equal work and doesn’t believe that Obama and Clinton are putting these ideas into practice.
Fiorina sees marriage as a practice that has a religious, spiritual basis. She believes people should respect this sanctity and the religion of other Americans and have marriage as solely between a man and woman. When commenting about June 2015’s Supreme Court decision on same sex marriage, she said that she did believe that every person deserved equality under the law, but she didn't think this should encroach on the religious beliefs and “conscience” of people that do not believe in same-sex marriage. Fiorina has also said that she believes this is a decision that should be left to the states, a conversation to be had in “churches, town halls and living rooms around the country.” Fiorina supports civil unions and the benefits that come with them for gay and lesbian couples.
The LA Times criticized Carly Fiorina over the fact that she will slightly change her views on topics like abortion. For example, in this campaign she has staunchly opposed abortion and has called for Roe v. Wade to be overturned. However, in her earlier Senate races, she stated that she wouldn’t initiate any change over this monumental case and called abortion a “decided issue.”
Policy Proposals
Relevant History
Representative Quotes
Fiorina sees marriage as a practice that has a religious, spiritual basis. She believes people should respect this sanctity and the religion of other Americans and have marriage as solely between a man and woman. When commenting about June 2015’s Supreme Court decision on same sex marriage, she said that she did believe that every person deserved equality under the law, but she didn't think this should encroach on the religious beliefs and “conscience” of people that do not believe in same-sex marriage. Fiorina has also said that she believes this is a decision that should be left to the states, a conversation to be had in “churches, town halls and living rooms around the country.” Fiorina supports civil unions and the benefits that come with them for gay and lesbian couples.
The LA Times criticized Carly Fiorina over the fact that she will slightly change her views on topics like abortion. For example, in this campaign she has staunchly opposed abortion and has called for Roe v. Wade to be overturned. However, in her earlier Senate races, she stated that she wouldn’t initiate any change over this monumental case and called abortion a “decided issue.”
Policy Proposals
- Defund Planned Parenthood.
- Enact the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Act, which would outline a specific way in which abortions should be performed, including determining the “probable post-fertilization age” to see whether or not a woman qualifies for an abortion.
- Ban abortion 20 weeks after fertilization with the exceptions of saving a mother’s life, rape, and incest. Both rape and incest would have gone through the appropriate procedures involving the police and government to be confirmed.
- Support pregnancy/women’s health facilities around the nation, other than Planned Parenthood.
- Support an amendment to ban same-sex marriage.
Relevant History
- As CEO of Hewlett Packard, she worked to ensure equal benefits for gay employees.
- She has once said if given the chance she would overturn Roe v. Wade.
Representative Quotes
- “Becky, it is the height of hypocrisy for Mrs. Clinton to talk about being the first woman President, when every single policy she espouses, and every single policy of President Obama has been demonstrably bad for women. 92 percent — 92 percent of the jobs lost during Barack Obama's first term belonged to women. Senator Cruz is precisely right. Three million women have fallen into poverty under this administration. The number of women living in extreme poverty is the highest level on record. I am a conservative because I know our values, our principles and our policies work better to lift everyone up, men and women.”
- “Principles are most important when they are most difficult to uphold. I have been an advocate of civil unions because of benefits. That is very different than the Supreme Court telling us what marriage is. Marriage is an institution grounded in spirituality between a man and woman that can bring forth life.”
- "Throughout the millennia and in every religion in the world, marriage has a very specific meaning. Marriage is an institution grounded in spirituality. It is the union of a man and a woman, and from that union comes life, and life is a gift from God.”
Civil Rights - Race and Ethnicity
Carly Fiorina does not have anything about race relations or tensions as a central part of her policy proposals. However, she has said that she believes that all Americans are equal regardless of race or gender. She believes that America should celebrate its diversity and that each individual should tap into his or her potential. That being said, she acknowledges that black Americans are “demonstrably worse off” and that the programs that are in place to help them are not helping enough. Fiorina believes that the welfare programs created in order to temporarily aid impoverished families, which are often times minority families with single parents, have caused these families to become dependent on them and turn down better opportunities in fear of change.
Policy Proposals
Relevant History
Representative Quotes
Policy Proposals
- Encourage entrepreneurship and the development of small businesses, in order to enhance under-resourced and violent black communities.
- Opposes raising the minimum wage, as that would hurt young African-Americans looking for work because it would impede their ability to get an entry level job.
Relevant History
- There is no relevant history involving Carly Fiorina and race relations. She has not been outspoken about racial issues in the past.
Representative Quotes
- "The education policies of liberals hurt poor families. We know that. We know that progressives shut down parents choices about how to educate their children, which means their children don’t have the chances that they deserve. And we also know, by the way, that the abortion industry targets African-American communities."
- “I can't say that I had the same experience as an African American youth trapped in an inner city. I can't say that. I had the great advantage of having a terrific education. But what I would say is everybody has to start somewhere. Everybody has to get a job to start. We need to put people to work.”
Fundraising Sources
Money Raised
As of October 16, 2015, Carly Fiorina raised $8,496,013 through her campaign committee, with roughly all of her funding coming from individual donations (PAC donations only amount to $8,650 of the total funding). Surprisingly, only 33.1% of donors are women. Most of the donations are coming from retired individuals from the financial career ($1,217,018), but other large sectors of donations are real estate ($176,791), investment banking ($144,170), and other financial industries ($123,845).
Super PACs
Criticism
Fiorina’s Carly for America Committee Super PAC is criticized for testing the limits of independent political spending outlines by the Citizens United Supreme Court case (which all three Democratic candidates wish to work towards overturning). Fiorina is greatly supported by her super PAC, which has more hired staff for advertising and door-to-door fundraising than any of the other candidates’ personal super PACs. Fiorina also depends on her super PAC to conduct door-to-door canvassing, handing out flyers and merchandise, and creating her schedule, which greatly expands the potential of campaign coverage. As The New York Times has expressed, this joint action of the Super PAC and Fiorina’s campaign committee is concerning to some due to the great influence her super PAC has on the campaign.
As of October 16, 2015, Carly Fiorina raised $8,496,013 through her campaign committee, with roughly all of her funding coming from individual donations (PAC donations only amount to $8,650 of the total funding). Surprisingly, only 33.1% of donors are women. Most of the donations are coming from retired individuals from the financial career ($1,217,018), but other large sectors of donations are real estate ($176,791), investment banking ($144,170), and other financial industries ($123,845).
Super PACs
- In addition to the money raised through her campaign committee, Fiorina also has accepted $3.5 million from the outside group, Carly for America Committee PAC, her personal candidate super PAC. Donors to the super PAC include Tom Perkins, former HP board member ($25,000), Jerry Perenchio, former CEO of Univision ($1.6 million), and Paul Otellini, former Intel CEO ($5,000).
Criticism
Fiorina’s Carly for America Committee Super PAC is criticized for testing the limits of independent political spending outlines by the Citizens United Supreme Court case (which all three Democratic candidates wish to work towards overturning). Fiorina is greatly supported by her super PAC, which has more hired staff for advertising and door-to-door fundraising than any of the other candidates’ personal super PACs. Fiorina also depends on her super PAC to conduct door-to-door canvassing, handing out flyers and merchandise, and creating her schedule, which greatly expands the potential of campaign coverage. As The New York Times has expressed, this joint action of the Super PAC and Fiorina’s campaign committee is concerning to some due to the great influence her super PAC has on the campaign.
Defense and Foreign Policy
Fiorina’s self-proclaimed foreign policy credentials are that she knows world leaders and has interacted face-to-face with them while Chairman of Hewlett Packard. She also chaired a CIA advisory board and served as an advisor to the Department of Defense and NSA during the Bush administration with access to top-secret intelligence. CNN describes her as a “Bush trained hawk.” Still, her website doesn’t lay out any positions on defense issues so these must be gleaned from interviews and debate comments. Fiorina supports a confrontational approach to foreign policy rely on a strong military. She is against the Iran nuclear deal and instead supports imposing strong sanctions against Iran. She states we should enforce a no-fly zone in Syria and provide arms and intelligence to allies in the Mideast like Jordan, Egypt, and the Kurds, in order to fight ISIS. To deal with Russia, Fiorina would rebuild the U.S. Navy’s Sixth Fleet, reinstall defensive missiles in Poland, hold military exercises in the Baltic States, and increase troop levels in Germany.
Once Fiorina received some acclaim for her early debate performances Trump began criticizing her, first about her looks and later about her abilities as a CEO. Trump said, "She hasn’t done a good job in, you could call it, the private sector. The companies, take a look at the record. . . . The top man at Yale Law School came out, Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, with just a raging report. She’s one of the worst executives in his memory in history running the company." In fact, Jeffrey Sonnenfeld (Associate Dean Yale Management School) actually said, “You couldn’t pick a worse, non-imprisoned CEO to be your standard-bearer.” While the criticism of her CEO skills seemed valid and effective, Clinton’s team tried a different attack as Ann Lewis (Senior Adviser to Clinton 2008 Campaign) said, "I don't think that compares to the experience you get as a United States senator for six years or certainly of being Secretary of State. . . . It's not really comparable."
Policy Proposals
Relevant History
Representative Quotes
Once Fiorina received some acclaim for her early debate performances Trump began criticizing her, first about her looks and later about her abilities as a CEO. Trump said, "She hasn’t done a good job in, you could call it, the private sector. The companies, take a look at the record. . . . The top man at Yale Law School came out, Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, with just a raging report. She’s one of the worst executives in his memory in history running the company." In fact, Jeffrey Sonnenfeld (Associate Dean Yale Management School) actually said, “You couldn’t pick a worse, non-imprisoned CEO to be your standard-bearer.” While the criticism of her CEO skills seemed valid and effective, Clinton’s team tried a different attack as Ann Lewis (Senior Adviser to Clinton 2008 Campaign) said, "I don't think that compares to the experience you get as a United States senator for six years or certainly of being Secretary of State. . . . It's not really comparable."
Policy Proposals
- Share intelligence with Egypt and provide arms to the Kurds and Jordanians, in order to aid in the fight against ISIS.
- Repeal the Iranian nuclear deal unless our inspectors can inspect "anytime, anywhere." In a 2015 interview on Meet the Press Fiorina took issue with the fact that inspectors must request access to undeclared but suspected nuclear facilities which the Iranians can delay for up to 24 days.
Relevant History
- In several interviews she has referenced her time as a Chairman of Hewlett Packard, which provided her the opportunity to meet several world leaders including Putin.
- She has stated for several years that she wouldn’t support cooperating with Iran on the nuclear deal. For example, while running for a Senate seat in 2010 she criticized UN sanctions being placed on Iran as too weak while later applauding stiffer sanctions authorized by Congress.
- During the Senate campaign Fiorina also came out against closing Gitmo and against trying terrorists in civilian court.
Representative Quotes
- "I actually have sat across a table from Vladimir Putin. I actually have sat in the same room with Benjamin Netanyahu or King Abdullah or the Chinese leadership.”
- “I know Bibi Netanyahu, and as I sat in his office five years ago, he spoke then of the dangers posed by Iran. I know King Abdullah of Jordan, and I applauded King Abdullah when his response to the beheading of a Jordanian pilot was to immediately execute two convicted terrorists, and begin bombing. He came to this country seeking our support, and he still has not received it; neither have the Kurds nor the Ukrainians. This is not leadership.”
- On the Iranian deal: "The new deal will be this: the United States of America will make it as difficult as possible for you to move money around the global financial system unless and until you open every military and every nuclear facility to real, anytime, anywhere inspections."
Business Regulation and Corporations
From her perspective as a former business leader, Fiorina believes that the current tax code is the root of the economic problems, and seeks to address this issue through the establishment of a low flat tax on both businesses and individuals. In addition to stimulating economic growth through lower taxes, Fiorina will attempt to reduce the ever-growing debt through budget cuts and zero-based budget balancing for all federal agencies. As for minimum wages she believes that they harm the economy and restrict job opportunities, while commenting that it should be determined by individual states.
Many economists have pointed out the liability in lowering tax rates too much, as that would lead to a large drop in government revenue. Despite Fiorina's hoping to curtail this effect through budget cuts, other have been skeptical of whether the cuts will be enough to achieve this goal. In addition to her economic policies, Fiorina’s management skills have been questioned as her legacy with Hewlett-Packard is controversial. She seemed disconnected with her workers' plight as she laid off almost 30,000 workers while tripling her salary.
Policy Proposals
Relevant History
Representative Quotes
Many economists have pointed out the liability in lowering tax rates too much, as that would lead to a large drop in government revenue. Despite Fiorina's hoping to curtail this effect through budget cuts, other have been skeptical of whether the cuts will be enough to achieve this goal. In addition to her economic policies, Fiorina’s management skills have been questioned as her legacy with Hewlett-Packard is controversial. She seemed disconnected with her workers' plight as she laid off almost 30,000 workers while tripling her salary.
Policy Proposals
- Move all agencies to zero-based budgeting so that every agency has to justify every dollar that they spend through requiring every agency to provide a description of their activities as well as a summary of the cost-effectiveness and efficiency to taxpayers.
- Establish a 19% flat tax on businesses, a significant decrease from the current 35%
Relevant History
- Served as John McCain’s top economic adviser during his 2008 presidential campaign.
- During her 2010 Senate campaign and in her time with the McCain campaign, Fiorina endorsed the same polices that she does now, such as lowering taxes to reduce the burden on businesses and individuals.
Representative Quotes
- "But the truth is, this government has been growing bigger and bigger, more corrupt, less effective, crushing the engine of economic growth for a very long time. This isn't just about replacing a Democrat with a Republican now. It's about actually challenging the status quo of big government."
- "So we need to be honest about the consequences of raising a minimum wage too high. One of the consequences is that young people who are trapped in poor neighborhoods will have less opportunities to learn skills and move forward"
Education
Carly Fiorina is a staunch opponent of the federal government’s involvement in education and believes that education should be devolved to the states. Fiorina views the federal involvement in education as another example of the corrupt and inefficient bureaucracy that wastes federal money. She believes that the current opportunity gap is widening and that the only way to fix it is through reform of K-12 education. She believes that every student should have the opportunity to live up to his or her potential and that parents should reserve the right to choose where their child ends up attending school. Fiorina has stated that she believes schools have become too focused on teaching to pass a test and have missed out on teaching important social and leadership skills.
Due to her strong belief that education should be left to the states and Common Core should be abolished, Fiorina has received opposition from Democratic as well as Republican candidates supporting Common Core who claim that the standards are challenging and are made by local educators rather than bureaucrats. Due to her beliefs that the student loan business should become a free market again, Fiorina has faced opposition from candidates with plans providing federal aid to pay for loan debt like Hillary Clinton.
Policy Proposals
Relevant History
Representative Quotes
Due to her strong belief that education should be left to the states and Common Core should be abolished, Fiorina has received opposition from Democratic as well as Republican candidates supporting Common Core who claim that the standards are challenging and are made by local educators rather than bureaucrats. Due to her beliefs that the student loan business should become a free market again, Fiorina has faced opposition from candidates with plans providing federal aid to pay for loan debt like Hillary Clinton.
Policy Proposals
- Abolish the Common Core Initiative to get education out from the control of "bureaucrats."
- Enact a school choice plan, giving parents the right to choose where their child goes to school.
- Return education to local control and give school districts "maximum power."
- Reform the current curricula around the US. She believes they have become too test driven and aren’t teaching specific human skills such as leadership, communication, and competitiveness
Relevant History
- In 1989 Fiorina wrote her master’s thesis titled, "The Education Crisis: Business and Government’s Role in Reform." This thesis argued that the education system fails to provide “lessons and subjects that shape character and teach competitive skills.”
- In a position paper she wrote while running for the Senate, Fiorina stated that she supported No Child Left Behind for its use of high standards and supported Race to the Top for its use of internationally-backed methods of teaching.
Representative Quotes
- “We know Common Core is not the answer. Common Core has become simply another example of governmental overreach. We need to arm our students with 21st century skills, and you don't do that with big bureaucracy. Conservatives understand what it takes to fix our education system: giving every parent and student a choice and a chance.”
- "The bigger our education department becomes, the worse our public education becomes. There's no connection between spending more money in our nation's capital and a better school system."
Taxes and Economic Policy
Carly Fiorina has never had a role in government — all her experience is as a businesswoman, and because of this, her outlook on the American economy is that of a “new manager charged with saving a company.” She advocates strongly in favor of simplifying the U.S. Tax code, which is difficult for citizens to understand, as evidenced by the fact that 59% of Americans hire an accountant to help them do their taxes. While it is still not clear exactly what her tax plan will entail, what we do know is that she thinks it is essential to cut government spending significantly because the government is “ridiculously over-funded.”
The Tax Policy Center, a nonpartisan group, claims that the great simplification of the tax code that Fiorina is suggesting would actually grant new power to “regulators and judges,” since there would be a need to interpret her vague code. Fiorina claims that her simplistic approach is based on a plan by two economists who proposed legislation for a flat rate tax that had just 1,120 words. But a New York Times reporter has argued that her premise is wrong, considering the proposed bill in question was actually intended to solely replace a single part of the revenue code, and not the entire code. The article also reflects the view of a Columbia law school professor who says that her plan is so simple that people would be able to avoid paying taxes by being paid with non-cash goods. Trump also took a swing at her and mentioned in an interview that not only did she prove to be an unsuccessful CEO of Hewlett-Packard, but he also claims that as “star executive” of Lucent (a technology company) she proved to be an even worse leader.
Policy Proposals
Relevant History
Representative Quotes
The Tax Policy Center, a nonpartisan group, claims that the great simplification of the tax code that Fiorina is suggesting would actually grant new power to “regulators and judges,” since there would be a need to interpret her vague code. Fiorina claims that her simplistic approach is based on a plan by two economists who proposed legislation for a flat rate tax that had just 1,120 words. But a New York Times reporter has argued that her premise is wrong, considering the proposed bill in question was actually intended to solely replace a single part of the revenue code, and not the entire code. The article also reflects the view of a Columbia law school professor who says that her plan is so simple that people would be able to avoid paying taxes by being paid with non-cash goods. Trump also took a swing at her and mentioned in an interview that not only did she prove to be an unsuccessful CEO of Hewlett-Packard, but he also claims that as “star executive” of Lucent (a technology company) she proved to be an even worse leader.
Policy Proposals
- Restructure the American economy by reforming the tax code. Her proposed 3-page plan is available on her website. It is nonspecific but contains a general layout.
- Impose a 19% flat tax for corporate income as well as for individuals' income.
- Cut government spending in the bureaucracy by moving all agencies to zero-based budgeting, meaning that government agencies have to justify every dollar they spend and explain the cost effectiveness to the federal government and to taxpayers.
- Pass the REINS Act, which would require Congress to approve all regulations with an economic impact of over $100 million annually.
- Pass the Sunset Act, which would require all federal agencies to regularly review the rules that they have and repeal those that are no longer serving the best interests of the American people.
Relevant History
- As Fiorina has not held political office, she does not have a “voting record” with which to assess how she has historically sided on these issues of tax reform.
- As the CEO of a large publicly-traded corporation, Fiorina would not have been in a position to make public statements about tax policy since her shareholders might have disagreed with her, which could have adversely affected her company.
Representative Quotes
- “Big government favors the powerful, wealthy, and well-connected, and crushes the small and the powerless. This is why we have to simplify. This is why we have to cut.”
- “Government gets more money each and every year for 50 years, under Republicans and Democrats alike, and yet, never has enough money to do the important things? There's been a bill for zero-based budgeting; it exists, it can be voted on. Every dollar must be examined. Any dollar can be cut. Any dollar can be cut, any dollar can be moved.”
- "Three pages is about the maximum that a single business owner or a farmer or just a couple can understand without hiring someone.”
- “You know what I think we need to do? We need to go from a 73,000-page tax code, which is what we have today, with 4,000 changes since 2001, we need to get it down to about three. And what that means is we need to close every loophole and lower every rate.”
Immigration
Carly Fiorina is focused on securing our border. She wants to invest in infrastructure, the right technology, and using the National Guard to do what she believes will get it done. She says it will take money and manpower but that it must be accomplished. She claims that close to half of the undocumented immigrants in our country simply overstayed their visas and wants to fix it with an employer verification system. Lastly, she will not allow anyone here illegally to stay as citizens. However, she is open to a way to legalize them without giving them full citizenship and does not think America should punish kids who are not at fault for coming here.
Policy Proposals
Relevant History
Representative Quotes
Policy Proposals
- Use National Guard, Coast Guard, and advanced technology to tighten border security.
- Implement a new employer verification system that tells employers who is in the country legally.
- Do not grant citizenship to anyone who came here illegally. This includes the estimated 11-12 million illegal immigrants currently in our country.
- Reverse President Obama’s executive orders allowing more people to stay in the country.
Relevant History
- Fiorina said in 2010 that she agrees with the DREAM Act, which would allow a certain amount of children to become citizens by either graduating college or serving in the military.
Representative Quotes
- "Yes, I would support the DREAM Act, because I do not believe that we can punish children who through no fault of their own are here trying to live the American dream."
- “It’s not just that we have people sneaking across the border, it’s not just that we have sanctuary cities, it’s not just that our border is insecure.”
- “Our legal immigration system has been a problem for 25 years now. It truly has.”
Health Care and Social Security
Fiorina’s political philosophy is similar to many of her fellow Republicans in that she firmly believes in moving power away from federal government and back to the states. Underlying this ideal is her preference for a free-market system in which the federal government has little control. Thus she also strongly believes it is a national necessity that the Affordable Care Act (ACA) be repealed and replaced. She is also strictly pro-life and so believes that woman should be more educated on prevention, so that abortion would not be necessary.
Senator Kirsten Gillibrand has criticized Fiorina’s opinions on paid leave for pregnant mothers, stating that, “She may just not be aware, she may be in her own world, her own bubble where she can afford child care, she can afford support when she needs it, but her low-wage worker can’t.” Although Fiorina hasn’t received any direct criticism from her fellow Republicans for stating in the past that she supported the individual mandate for health insurance, many journalists have criticized her for supporting this key part of the ACA. Ramesh Ponnuru of the National Review expressed his belief that Fiorna's support of the mandate “could be a problem,” as “the individual mandate is among the least popular features of the law, especially among conservatives, who tend to think that the mandate is unconstitutional.”
Policy Proposals
Relevant History
Representative Quotes
Senator Kirsten Gillibrand has criticized Fiorina’s opinions on paid leave for pregnant mothers, stating that, “She may just not be aware, she may be in her own world, her own bubble where she can afford child care, she can afford support when she needs it, but her low-wage worker can’t.” Although Fiorina hasn’t received any direct criticism from her fellow Republicans for stating in the past that she supported the individual mandate for health insurance, many journalists have criticized her for supporting this key part of the ACA. Ramesh Ponnuru of the National Review expressed his belief that Fiorna's support of the mandate “could be a problem,” as “the individual mandate is among the least popular features of the law, especially among conservatives, who tend to think that the mandate is unconstitutional.”
Policy Proposals
- Turn the health insurance system into a competitive free market in order to lower costs.
- Turn the management of the health care of high-risk patients over to the states so that those individuals most at risk can more quickly, affordably and efficiently get the health care they need.
- Pass a mandate requiring health service providers to publicly post their “costs, their prices and their outcomes."
- Make birth-control an over the counter drug.
Relevant History
- In 2013 Fiorna stated during an interview on CNN's "Crossfire" that she supported mandatory health insurance — an opinion which she has altered since entering the presidential race.
- When Fiorina ran for Senate in 2010 she made it clear she was pro-life and has remained consistent with that opinion ever since.
- While running for Senate, Fiorina campaigned with similar positions on health care in 2010 as she is now in 2016, such as her view that we should encourage competition in the health care market and the importance of providing health care to everyone, despite pre-existing medical conditions.
Representative Quotes
- “Woman need to have access to all of the information and the resources they need to make positive decisions about their family’s future.”
- “If we care about unlocking the potential of women, that we must reduce out of wedlock births.”
We need to try the one thing in health insurance we've never tried. Health insurance has always been a cozy, little game between regulators and health insurance companies. We need to try the free market. The free market. Where people actually have to compete.
Poverty and Social Welfare Programs
Carly Fiorina’s policies regarding the nation’s poor go hand-in-hand with her goal of encouraging entrepreneurship and innovation in the United States, which to her is a means of raising the capable out of poverty. In place of any specific proposals or policies to help the poorest members of the nation, she focuses on competitiveness and removing welfare, which she likens to incentives not to work, as viable alternatives to removing oneself from the labor force. Fiorina claims that, although clear income inequality and poverty issues exist in the country, government programs will prove inferior to the free market’s ability to create jobs and opportunities for upward economic mobility.
Like most other Republicans, Fiorina's welfare policies focus on a philosophy of minimal government intervention, with poverty best addressed through free markets; even still, her competitors for the primary generally propose a larger variety of programs, and focus more heavily on reducing taxes and welfare excesses than simply “encouraging innovation.” The Democratic candidates, more inclined as they are to use the Federal government to address these issues, have larger policy-oriented goals for resolving poverty, from increasing the size of the very programs Fiorina intends to repeal to adding additional programs.
Policy Proposals
Relevant History
Representative Quotes
Like most other Republicans, Fiorina's welfare policies focus on a philosophy of minimal government intervention, with poverty best addressed through free markets; even still, her competitors for the primary generally propose a larger variety of programs, and focus more heavily on reducing taxes and welfare excesses than simply “encouraging innovation.” The Democratic candidates, more inclined as they are to use the Federal government to address these issues, have larger policy-oriented goals for resolving poverty, from increasing the size of the very programs Fiorina intends to repeal to adding additional programs.
Policy Proposals
- Fiorina cites entrepreneurship and the free market as means to improve the nation’s economy, with a reduced tax code and government encouragement of an innovative spirit (though it’s worth pointing she wants to eliminate or reduce the size of government educational programs) aiding the poor.
- Rarely has she ever been asked about poverty and welfare; however, when she does, she generally raises two issues — America’s lack of entrepreneurship, especially in the middle class, and the income gap between men and women.
Relevant History
- Never having held a political office, Fiorina’s has no formal experience with poverty or welfare policies.
Representative Quotes
- “...entrepreneurship works to lift people up out of poverty and we are crushing entrepreneurship in this country.”
- “We need to build a meritocracy.”
- “...if we want to deal with poverty, we also have to deal with women [earning less than their male counterparts].”