Name as it Appears on the Ballot: Toni Morris
Full legal name, if different: Antoinette K. Morris
Date of Birth: September 7, 1964
Campaign Web Site: www.tonimorris4congress.com
Occupation & Employer: Mental Health Therapist – Fayetteville Psychiatric Associates
Home Phone: 910-822-2706
Work Phone: 910-323-1543
Cell Phone: 910-489-3725
Email: Antoinette.morris45@gmail.com
Twitter handle, if applicable: @tonimorris12
1. If elected to the House, what is your highest priority for the next Congress? Please discuss what you would do to help it be achieved.
Working on a jobs bill. Encouraging members of congress to put aside their differences and work on a job bill to get citizens who are unemployed working and those who have lost their jobs back to work. This is essential for our economy.
2. Some House candidates favor term limits and pledge, if elected, to limit the number of terms they will seek? Is that a good idea? Will you, if elected, impose terms limits on yourself?
I think this is a good idea. Yes.
3. As a result of Citizens United and related factors, so-called “dark money” is pouring into American political campaigns without voters knowing where it came from. Do you favor or oppose measures to require that contributors be identified when their money is used to pay for political ads and other activities?
Favor.
4. The American economy is not producing enough jobs for everyone who wants one, especially not enough jobs that pay enough to support a family. Conservative critics say the reason is too much federal spending which crowds out private investment. Critics on the left say there’s not enough public investment in job-producing sectors, while private capital is flowing to other countries. Where do you come down on this issue?
Current tax laws allow corporations to defer off-shore profits until that revenue is brought back to the United States. This means revenue earned off-shore can be readily reinvested off-shore to expand operations and creation jobs where wages and costs of benefits are usually lower. This deferment places some corporations in lower tax brackets further increasing the tax revenue loss for the U.S. Tax laws should encourage job creation here at home, not abroad. Federal spending is filling the gap left by that off-shore trend and will continue to be necessary until we find a way to bring those jobs home to America.
5. Do you support increasing the federal minimum wage? If so, to what amount? And should it be indexed for inflation?
Yes, I would support increasing the federal minimum wage. I agree with the proposed amount of $10.10, over a period of time. I believe the proposed amount takes inflation into account to some degree since the goal is to institute a livable wage. Once a more viable wage is established, it will be easier to keep a reasonable pace with inflation.
6. On the Affordable Care Act, what should the next Congress do? Repeal it? Change it? If so, how?
I would recommend re-evaluation since by the time that next Congress convenes adequate data would be available to evaluate various levels of progress. The purpose of re-evaluation is to ensure the people of the U.S have a health care law that is both effective and efficient.
7. Should undocumented immigrants be offered a path to citizenship? If so, what requirements would you impose? How should the law treat undocumented young adults and children who’ve grown up in the U.S. after being brought here by their parents?
I believe there should be a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants and their young children. Setting specific time limits for citizenship should be established. Young adults should be put on a pathway to citizenship as well but evaluated independent of their parents status and plans.
8. Do you think climate change is a serious, even urgent problem? Do you think human beings are causing it? What environmental policies should the U.S. adopt to combat climate change, if any?
Climate change is a serious and urgent problem. I think it is a combination of human beings and natural ecological evolution. As we identify specific human factors, we should address them to protect and preserve our environment for future generations.
9. Is it time to pass a federal Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) to protect the rights of LGBTQ people in the workplace?
Yes.
10. Should union organizing be facilitated by changes to labor laws, including the proposed Employee Free Choice Act (ECRA)?
No. The ECRA provides guidelines related to unionization.
11. Do you support or oppose increasing tax rates on the wealthy, either to reduce federal debt or as part of a package to raise money for public investments and/or cut taxes for the middle-class?
As we increase taxes on the middle class, we have to increase taxes on the wealthy. Not specifically to increase revenue or reduce debt, but to be fair. We all must do our part in reducing the federal debt.
12.What do you think of Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s idea of expanding Social Security benefits as private pensions become less and less common?
Social Security was developed to provide a source of support for people as they retired from the work force. With the decrease in the private pensions, people will need this source of support.