Carly Fiorina Answers 12 Christian Post Questions for Every Presidential Candidate
6. Should the federal government devote resources to encouraging all states to adopt the same set of education standards, such as Common Core?
Fiorina: I do not support Common Core because there is absolutely no evidence that a big, centralized bureaucracy makes anything better. In fact, there is a lot of evidence to the contrary.
The Department of Education has been growing in size and budget for 40 years while the quality of our education continues to deteriorate. We know that the two most important things in a child's education are a good teacher and an involved parent. You don't foster those things with a bloated federal bureaucracy — you encourage them when you support choice and accountability.
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7. A growing consensus of liberals and conservatives agree that economic mobility in the United States has decreased and is a serious problem. What can the federal government do to improve economic mobility for Americans struggling in the bottom half of the income distribution?
Fiorina: I am a conservative because I know that no one of us is better than any other one of us. I know our policies work best to lift young men and women up — regardless of their background — so that they can choose their own path and live lives of dignity, purpose, and meaning.
We must fix our broken education system. Every parent deserves a choice as to how to best educate their children so that every child has a chance to fulfill their potential.
We must also tackle the webs of dependence that are trapping men and women today. We need a top-to-bottom review of every economic development and assistance program we have to ensure that they encourage everyone to strive instead of settle, because there is dignity in all work.
8. At what point in a pregnancy, and under what circumstances, should abortion be illegal?
Fiorina: I am proudly pro-life and believe that science is proving those who believe in the sanctity of life right every day. A majority of Americans now agree that abortion after five months for any reason is wrong.
As president, I will take that common ground and sign the Pain Capable Unborn Child Protection Act. I will stop allowing taxpayer money to fund Planned Parenthood. And I will support those pregnancy centers and women's health clinics around the country that are actually serving their communities.
9. For those opposed to gay marriage as a matter of faith or conscience, to what extent should they be allowed to behave according to those beliefs now that the U.S. Supreme Court has declared gay marriage is a fundamental right found in the U.S. Constitution?
Fiorina: I do not agree that the court can or should redefine marriage. I believe that responsibility should have remained with states and voters where this conversation has continued in churches, town halls and living rooms around the country.
Moving forward, all of our effort should be focused on protecting the religious liberties and freedom of conscience for those Americans that profoundly disagree with the decision.
We must continue to show tolerance for those whose opinions and sincerely held beliefs differ from our own. We must lead by example, finding a way to respect one another and to celebrate a culture that protects religious freedom while promoting equality under the law.
10. What are your priorities related to both protecting the nation's natural resources and using those resources to provide for the nation's energy needs?
Fiorina: As president, I will ensure that the United States is the global energy powerhouse of the 21st century.
That means reinstating the Keystone XL Pipeline that President Obama rejected. It also means rolling back the regulations from this administration that limit our ability to find resources by imposing regulations on hydraulic fracturing and our ability to be energy independent by regulating drilling on federal lands. As president, I will make America an energy leader through technology and innovation.
11. How would you seek to change defense spending, Social Security, healthcare spending, or the tax code in order to slow the growth of deficit spending and tackle the nearly $18.3 trillion national debt and over $100 trillion in unfunded liabilities?
Fiorina: The only way to reduce our national debt is to grow the economy and cut spending. We have no idea how our money is being spent. As president, I will move all agencies to zero-based budgeting so that every agency has to justify every dollar that they spend.
We need to enact fundamental tax reform. The weight and complexity of our 73,000-page tax code are crushing everyday Americans. We need to radically simplify the tax code so that we can re-start the real engine of growth in our economy. That means our tax code needs to go from 73,000 pages down to about three pages.
We must also move from revenue-neutral to revenue-reducing tax reform, because the federal government spends far too much money.
In order to do both of those things, we need to lower every rate and close every loophole. I will support a low, flat tax for businesses and individuals so that we fix the tax base and grow the economy.
12. What caused the Great Recession, and what should be done to ensure it doesn't happen again?
Fiorina: The financial crisis was a classic case of the political class failing the American people. Twenty-five agencies were supposed to be minding the store during the financial crisis and every one of them was asleep at the switch. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac — two bloated and corrupt government-sponsored programs — contributed heavily to the crisis.
In order to prevent another crisis, we need to do what we should have done years ago — reform Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. We also need to repeal Dodd-Frank, the Democrats' failed solution. Under Dodd-Frank, 10 banks too big to fail have become five banks too big to fail. Thousands of community banks have gone out of business.
Finally, we need to ensure that the government agencies that are supposed to be regulating the financial system are actually doing their jobs. We must shrink the federal government and hold it accountable — and to do that, we need a leader who understands how bureaucracies work and how to cut them down to size.
Carly Fiorina is the former CEO of Hewlett-Packard and former chairman of Good360, a philanthropic non-profit organization.
