Ezliving_Jim

Edwards plans big for presidency
Candidate: Sacrifice must be priority, too

By LAUREN R. DORGAN
Monitor staff

October 26. 2007 1:25AM

John Edwards says if he's elected president, he'll institute a New Deal-like suite of programs to fight poverty and stem growing wealth disparity. To do it, he said, he'll ask many Americans to make sacrifices, like paying higher taxes.

Edwards, a former Democratic senator from North Carolina, says the federal government should underwrite universal pre-kindergarten, create matching savings accounts for low-income people, mandate a minimum wage of $9.50 and provide a million new Section 8 housing vouchers for the poor. He also pledged to start a government-funded public higher education program called "College for Everyone."

"It is central to what I want to do as president to do something about economic inequality. I do not believe it is okay for the United States of America to have 37 million people living in poverty," he said in a meeting with Monitor reporters and editors this week. "And I think we need, desperately need, a president who will say that to America and call on Americans to show their character."

At every stop, Edwards said, he tells voters he'll ask them to sacrifice. Asked to describe what he means, he described his plan for increases in capital gains taxes, saying taxes on "wealth income" should be in line with those on work income.

"I think if we want to fund the things that I think are important to share in prosperity, then people who have done well in this country, including me, have more of a responsibility to give back," he said. Later, he added: "There are no free meals."


Like other Democrats, Edwards named his top three priorities as ending the war in Iraq, enacting universal health care and overhauling the American energy system. "Those are three things instantly I would do," he said.

Edwards also ripped fellow Democrat Sen. Hillary Clinton, who leads most polls nationally and in New Hampshire by a wide margin, for taking campaign contributions from federal lobbyists and for her recent vote in favor of naming Iran's Revolutionary Guard a terrorist group. Edwards barely mentioned Sen. Barack Obama.

Both Edwards and Clinton have proposed universal health care plans that mandate insurance for everyone, while Obama has proposed a plan that requires coverage only for children. Edwards, who was first to propose a plan, called Clinton's a "carbon copy" of his but said he is better positioned to negotiate because he has the "clean hands of not taking money from lobbyists."

"Senator Clinton has over the years has taken millions of dollars from lobbyists and defends the status quo system," he said. "She just basically says the system works and her argument is, 'I'm experienced, I can operate within the system.' "

Clinton spokeswoman Kathleen Strand questioned the line Edwards has drawn. He takes money from state lobbyists and from a variety of industry groups; according to a Washington Post roundup, he's taken more than $8 million this year from lawyers and law firms, including some that also employ lobbyists.

kmbrley1

It sounds good in theory. THEORY

engfant

so did the war. at least the money is staying in the country and not to the middle east.

megatanman

A better health care system needs to be implemented.If health care will cost me less,I could afford to pay employees more.

Along with Wal-Mart,the health care industry and drug companies are probably making more money than Big Oil

BP

Universal health care will kill the best health care system in the world, make more people dependent on govt. , increase the "handout" mentality and decrease incentive to strive to be a productive citizen.

Mr Derf

Sounds like socialism. Next step after that is communism.

Vote Edwards.

engfant

Communism sounds pretty good compared to the nightmare we are dealing with now.

Actually F'EM ALL. Don't vote Edwards.

There. We can all sleep easy.

mjabaay

Your anger has completely blinded you to reality, No other country in the world has immigration problems, only exodus problems. You live in the greatest country ever to inhabit the earth. Think about what has been invented in the last 100 years here. You name it we invented or perfected it. That is what true freedom does, it allows creativity to blossom. You need to go visit some of those lefty socialist countries. Quit *****in and moanin and go improve your life, if you are not happy change something. Because believe it or not everything is not GWB's fault.

TomorrowSun

No, but he just made it worse!!

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