2012 SelectSmart.com Presidential Candidate Selector Positions Michael Bloomberg (born February 14, 1942) is the current Mayor of New York City, and the 10th richest person in the United States, having net worth of $18 billion in 2010. He was a Democratic until 2001, Republican from 2001 to 2007, and is now an independent.

Foreign policy and war issues: He opposes a timeline for withdrawal from Iraq, and criticizes those who favor one.
Believes that Israelis and Palestinians should compromise and allow a Palestinian settlement. Source #1

Security/liberties: Bloomberg is also a supporter of the USA PATRIOT Act.

Social Security: Being a fiscal conservative is not about slashing programs that help the poor, or improve health care, or ensure a social safety net. It's about insisting services are provided efficiently, get to only the people that need them, and achieve the desired results. Fiscal conservatives have hearts too — but we also insist on using our brains, and that means demanding results and holding government accountable for producing them.

Stem cell research: He supports governmental funding for embryonic stem cell research, calling the Republican position on the issue "insanity."

Budget issues: To me, fiscal conservatism means balancing budgets — not running deficits that the next generation can't afford. Bloomberg praised Obama's stimulus package and its aid to cities and states. Source

Abortion issues: Bloomberg supports abortion rights, stating: "Reproductive choice is a fundamental human right and we can never take it for granted. On this issue, you're either with us or against us."

Same sex issues: He also supports same-sex marriage with the rationale that “I think anybody should be allowed to marry anybody".

Trade issues: Strongly in favor of free trade

Business & labor issues: As a businessman, Bloomberg is respected by the business community and governs with a pro-business platform. He is in favor of providing tax breaks to big corporations for the good of the whole community. He has had a less cordial relationship with unions as mayor. In 2002, when New York City's transit workers threatened to strike, Bloomberg responded by riding a mountain bike through the city to show how the city could deal with the transit strike by finding alternate means of transportation and not pandering to the unions.

Capital punishment: Bloomberg opposes the death penalty, stating, "I'd rather lock somebody up and throw away the key and put them in hard labor, the ultimate penalty that the law will allow, but I'm opposed to the death penalty."

Marijuana: He does not believe that marijuana should be decriminalized.

Gun control: Supports gun control.

Minimum Wage: A pending bill would set the minimum pay at $10 per hour for workers at development sites that benefit from NYC financial support. Mayor Michael Bloomberg dismissed the bill on Monday as prohibitively costly for corporations. Source

Health care: Bloomberg News reported that President Obama said revamping health care has gained broad support from Michael Bloomberg. Source

Environmental issues: He enacted a plan called "PlaNYC: A Greener, Greater New York" to fight global warming. Bloomberg also talked about how he would go about fighting climate change by reducing carbon dioxide emissions, using cleaner and more efficient fuels, and encouraging public transportation.

Immigration issues: Bloomberg believes that illegal immigrants should be offered citizenship. Bloomberg has attacked social conservatives on immigration, calling their stance unrealistic, "We're not going to deport 12 million people, so let's stop this fiction. Let's give them permanent status."
Mayor Bloomberg said Arizona's immigration bill SB1070, which takes effect in August, could hurt the country financially because it "sends exactly the wrong message." Source

Education issues: Gave public school teachers in NYC a 15% raise. Possibly as a result or not, the test scores of students in the city and the graduation rate rose as well.

Source #1