And You Thought Hillarycare Was Scary…
2008 Presidential Campaign, Democrats, Economics, Education, Health Care
I guess, by that measure, this is some kind of horrible nightmare from which I can’t wake.
Perhaps I should expect this by now, but still I find myself shocked at what is being proposed by John Edwards on the campaign trail. I’ll allow the story to speak for itself:
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.”…
Allow me to break this down for you. So far, in an Edwards presidency (shudder), we can look forward to the following:
- Universal Health Care
- Universal College Education
- Universal Pre-K
- A $9.50 minimum wage
- Matching savings accounts for the poor
- At least a million more low-income housing vouchers
Did I miss anything? Perhaps it’s time to keep a running tally…
Why stop at the 90% tax rate that’s going to be needed to fund these programs, John? You can do better than that! Let’s account for that extra 10%! How about universal ice cream? That sounds fun. Anybody have any better ideas?
For the full article, click here.
Please Share This Story!Ben Carnes @ October 28, 2007
Well, universal ice cream does sound good to me…
I saw Edwards when he came here to Columbia. (A few of my friends and I may have even sat in the front row and heckled him a bit) He talked about a college work program that would pay students’ entire tuition if they would work just 10 hours per week. I’m no math expert, but I think that comes out to about $50 per hour at my school without my other scholarships.
He said that a similar program was already in place and working in North Carolina. Later, he admitted that the program was privately funded. (Which received vigourous applause from mis amigos.)