Post by: RadioFreeSeaLab on October 28, 2007, 05:25:30 PM
Quote
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.
"It is disappointing that instead of taking the opportunity to lay out his ideas to New Hampshire voters, John Edwards is consistently choosing to engage in misleading, desperate attacks against Senator Clinton," Strand said.
Edwards called the Iran vote made by Clinton and others "a signal" to President Bush about what's permissible.
"Are we going to hear six months from now, Bush invades Iran, 'If only I had known then what I know now?' " Edwards said. "How long does it take to learn this lesson? There's a very hard lesson that I've had to learn from Iraq."
As a senator, Edwards voted to authorize the war in Iraq, as did Clinton. Since then, Edwards has apologized and called the vote a mistake, while Clinton has not, saying that she "takes responsibility" for her vote and she would end the war. Edwards has often criticized Clinton for stopping short of an apology.
Edwards said he would pull combat troops out of Iraq within 10 months, while leaving behind a strike force in the region and limited troops in Iraq with missions like protecting the American embassy. He said it's impossible to predict the future of the country.
"No one knows what's going to happen in Iraq. We're in a bad place, the choices are ugly," he said. And we have to make the best choices under the circumstances to maximize the chances for success, but there are enormous risks in Iraq. And a lot of it is out of our hands."
Edwards billed himself as a "rare combination": The most progressive of the major candidates as well as "the most electable." He pointed to the fact that he was elected to the Senate from a "red state" and that he comes from a rural area, two factors that he said prove his electability.
Edwards said the time has passed for "poll-driven, careful, cautious ideas."
"I think you have to say, 'There's something rotten in Denmark,' " he said. "The system needs to be fixed."
------ End of article
By LAUREN R. DORGAN
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.
"It is disappointing that instead of taking the opportunity to lay out his ideas to New Hampshire voters, John Edwards is consistently choosing to engage in misleading, desperate attacks against Senator Clinton," Strand said.
Edwards called the Iran vote made by Clinton and others "a signal" to President Bush about what's permissible.
"Are we going to hear six months from now, Bush invades Iran, 'If only I had known then what I know now?' " Edwards said. "How long does it take to learn this lesson? There's a very hard lesson that I've had to learn from Iraq."
As a senator, Edwards voted to authorize the war in Iraq, as did Clinton. Since then, Edwards has apologized and called the vote a mistake, while Clinton has not, saying that she "takes responsibility" for her vote and she would end the war. Edwards has often criticized Clinton for stopping short of an apology.
Edwards said he would pull combat troops out of Iraq within 10 months, while leaving behind a strike force in the region and limited troops in Iraq with missions like protecting the American embassy. He said it's impossible to predict the future of the country.
"No one knows what's going to happen in Iraq. We're in a bad place, the choices are ugly," he said. And we have to make the best choices under the circumstances to maximize the chances for success, but there are enormous risks in Iraq. And a lot of it is out of our hands."
Edwards billed himself as a "rare combination": The most progressive of the major candidates as well as "the most electable." He pointed to the fact that he was elected to the Senate from a "red state" and that he comes from a rural area, two factors that he said prove his electability.
Edwards said the time has passed for "poll-driven, careful, cautious ideas."
"I think you have to say, 'There's something rotten in Denmark,' " he said. "The system needs to be fixed."
------ End of article
By LAUREN R. DORGAN
More taxes, more government handouts, more more more more more. Say what you want about Ron Paul, but he's the only guy running for president who says "less."
Post by: Manedwolf on October 28, 2007, 06:17:26 PM
Not gonna give a free ride to others unless my parents and I get a full refund for what we paid.
Post by: Thor on October 28, 2007, 06:58:19 PM
Post by: CAnnoneer on October 28, 2007, 08:10:03 PM
Post by: Perd Hapley on October 28, 2007, 08:20:29 PM
Post by: Euclidean on October 28, 2007, 09:07:50 PM
After the experience I've had as a professional educator, I'm all for the meritocracy privately funded by people who are clamoring to find that one in a hundred people with the temperament to learn how to be a ___________ and the sizable number of civic minded folks who choose to give something back.
Post by: Leatherneck on October 29, 2007, 02:27:44 AM
TC
Post by: jefnvk on October 29, 2007, 05:03:32 AM
Post by: El Tejon on October 29, 2007, 05:23:15 AM
GO OUT AND BUY AN ALARM CLOCK SO YOU CAN WAKE UP AND GO TO WORK, YOU LAZY, SHIFTLESS TAX LEECHES!
There I feel better now.
I humped t-shirts out of the basement of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, I cut grass, I worked in my uncle's slaughterhouse, and bagged groceries all during high school in order to buy guns, ammunition and money for college. I worked all throughout undergrad hawking guns, archery and fishing gear and sold guns on the side. Got out of undergrad not owing a frigging dime.
All that time spent working when all I had to do was sit on the couch and wait for others to give me their money. How I loathe the Democrat Party.
Post by: Thor on October 29, 2007, 05:28:40 AM
Spot on, Euclidian. When I graduated from HS in 1961, I daresay I had a better education than the majority of Bachelor's candidates today. Physics, advanced calculus, Latin, english, history, music and sports, with a year of wood shop to boot. People without a well-grounded basic education simply can't benefit from the advanced learning available in good colleges. We've devalued the K-12 education process so much that college has replaced it (in some cases).
TC
TC
Leatherneck, that's an understatement. When I was a Junior in high school, we were required to take some test. I scored as well as any Junior in College. I took all the college prep courses that the high school offered.
Post by: GigaBuist on October 29, 2007, 05:30:20 AM
If everyone goes to college, it is just going to become the next high school.
Too late. I gave up on college back in 2000 after attending for 2 years because it was really just High School Part II.
Post by: Tallpine on October 29, 2007, 07:02:33 AM
Quote
he described his plan for increases in capital gains taxes, saying taxes on "wealth income" should be in line with those on work income.
Capital gains taxes are primarily a tax on inflation, itself caused primarily by govt deficit spending.The Democrats should rename themselves the "Socialist Party"
Post by: HankB on October 29, 2007, 08:25:39 AM
. . . if everyone has a PhD, there are gonna be a lot of overqualified employees at Wal-Mart.
They'll actually be well qualified for positions as cashiers, greeters, broom pushers, and stockers if their PhD's are in areas like Art History, Women's Gender Studies, Medieval French Poetry, Sports Journalism, or other, similarly weighty fields . . .
Post by: Desertdog on October 29, 2007, 08:51:23 AM
Quote
When I graduated from HS in 1961, I daresay I had a better education than the majority of Bachelor's candidates today. Physics, advanced calculus, Latin, english, history, music and sports, with a year of wood shop to boot. People without a well-grounded basic education simply can't benefit from the advanced learning available in good colleges.
But you didn't learn how to put on a condom, listen to a lecture on sex, go to the nurse and get condoms for that night's date, get gay indoctrination, and many other nonsense time wasters.Quote
Can we please have Edwards as the Dem candidate? Pleeeeeeeeease?
I would be willing to change my registration to vote for him if I thought it would stop Hillery. Post by: Manedwolf on October 29, 2007, 08:53:54 AM
But I was just both horrified and amused to hear of a "try on a hijab day" at a Canadian college, and the girl interviewed was a "Caribbean studies major".
What kind of job do you get with that? Social director on cruises?
Post by: jefnvk on October 29, 2007, 10:50:17 AM
Quote
What kind of job do you get with that? Social director on cruises?
She's not getting her carribean studies degree. She's getting her Mrs. degree.
Post by: El Tejon on October 29, 2007, 11:56:24 AM
I usually tell them I'm a "doctor" but I do not specify JD instead of MD.
Post by: Monkeyleg on October 29, 2007, 12:19:49 PM
You had to buy guns and ammunition for college? Must have been a rough campus.
Post by: Waitone on October 29, 2007, 12:20:03 PM
Shift to our current campaign we see democrats standing in line promising the undecided voters they fully intend to raise taxes once they are returned to absolute power. Chuck Rangel and his Mother of all Tax Increases, Hillary and her "You people can't afford all my ideas", John Edwards and his "College degrees all around".
Are these people delusional or has the electorate lost its freakin' mind. The old day of saying one thing during primaries only to have it forgotten during the general election are gone. These people are destined to be beat about the head and shoulders with their own comments. Do they just not understand reality has shifted?
Post by: Euclidean on October 29, 2007, 12:45:28 PM
If everyone goes to college, it is just going to become the next high school. Soon, a masters will be considered the necessary thing to succeed, everyone will go after one, the gov't will fund everyone getting one. Then PhD's. Then, I dunno, if everyone has a PhD, there are gonna be a lot of overqualified employees at Wal-Mart.
This is kind of how it is already. I'm in the process of switching careers (a big part of which is getting the piece of paper that says I'm allowed to play the new game) and working a McJob in the process, and I have a lot of overeducated coworkers.
When I went to the grad school info session, the dean of the college informed us that among the pool of applicants the non instructional positions at the university, jobs which mostly require and only truly need a bachelor's degree or equivalent experience, 70% of them have their master's degree.
The bar's been raised, a master's degree is what a bachelor's degree was 20 years ago, and so on down the line.
Post by: Regolith on October 29, 2007, 03:27:16 PM
There was an article on CNN.com a few months ago that talked about this, but for the life of me I can't find the damn thing.
Free education would ruin the US Higher Education system just as assuredly as the draft ruined the military.
Post by: Nitrogen on October 29, 2007, 08:13:27 PM
You have the grades for college, but don't want to go? Spend 4 years building/maintaining roads, cleaning up after disasters (hello katrina!) etc, and Uncle Sam will get you into a good college.
Giving something away for nothing diminishes the value of anything.
Post by: Euclidean on October 29, 2007, 09:00:07 PM
You have the grades for college, but don't want to go? Spend 4 years building/maintaining roads, cleaning up after disasters (hello katrina!) etc, and Uncle Sam will get you into a good college.
Uh, we have that already. I actually think it's a good idea. Or was that your point?
Post by: charby on October 30, 2007, 05:24:27 AM
-C
Post by: Manedwolf on October 30, 2007, 05:43:04 AM
If a democrat gets elected it almost wants me to quit working and go on the government plan. Seems like poor folk are going to be living better than us working stiffs. More section 8 housing, free college, free health care, free matching retirement program, etc.
-C
-C
Section 8 people can quite often get a better apartment than the people who work hard, but can't afford one that nice.
And then the Section 8 people, (unfortunate truth!)...not all of them, but a number of them totally trash the place, or bring in the rest of their family who trash the place.
There's been several formerly-nice apartment communities here that have gone from luxury to "shouting and bottles thrown in parking lot, fights, stolen property, cars broken into, cars being worked on, blaring salsa music at all hours, 3 am police visits, and a gunfight in an apartment over a drug deal" and worse when they went Section 8. A number of them are no longer section 8, unsurprisingly!
Post by: El Tejon on October 30, 2007, 06:56:00 AM
Post by: Sergeant Bob on October 31, 2007, 08:31:39 AM
I saw that where I lived in Chicago, mane. I lived downtown in Presidential Towers (the 4 big buildings sticking up in the background of the helicopter pad shots in "ER"). Bottles and trash in the hallways and stairways. People passed out at the entrances. Disgusting.
I guess Cabrini-Green was full?
Post by: Tecumseh on November 08, 2007, 10:39:41 AM
Quote
When I graduated from HS in 1961, I daresay I had a better education than the majority of Bachelor's candidates today. Physics, advanced calculus, Latin, english, history, music and sports, with a year of wood shop to boot. People without a well-grounded basic education simply can't benefit from the advanced learning available in good colleges.
But you didn't learn how to put on a condom, listen to a lecture on sex, go to the nurse and get condoms for that night's date, get gay indoctrination, and many other nonsense time wasters.Quote
Can we please have Edwards as the Dem candidate? Pleeeeeeeeease?
I would be willing to change my registration to vote for him if I thought it would stop Hillery. Could you please explain the "get gay indoctrination" that you mentioned?
Post by: CAnnoneer on November 08, 2007, 06:07:51 PM
Could you please explain the "get gay indoctrination" that you mentioned?
The indoctrination is that homosexuality is as valid and normal as heterosexuality. Ergo, children's books about Timmy having two mommies, and George using the female toilet because inside itself it feels like Georgina. That's about as big a load of crap as maintaining the Earth is flat. Force-feeding Friscan values to little kids is indoctrination that is both perverse and potentially damaging.
Post by: Sawdust on November 09, 2007, 06:40:13 AM
I humped t-shirts out of the basement of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, I cut grass, I worked in my uncle's slaughterhouse, and bagged groceries all during high school in order to buy guns, ammunition and money for college. I worked all throughout undergrad hawking guns, archery and fishing gear and sold guns on the side. Got out of undergrad not owing a frigging dime.
All that time spent working when all I had to do was sit on the couch and wait for others to give me their money. How I loathe the Democrat Party.
All that time spent working when all I had to do was sit on the couch and wait for others to give me their money. How I loathe the Democrat Party.
Major +1, dittos and all that.
I worked full-time at various jobs to pay for my engineering degree. Did not borrow one cent or have my parents give me any money.
Rented a "studio" made from a converted master bedroom of a divorcee's house. No kitchen priveleges as the room was walled-off from the rest of the house. Had a microwave and a hot plate in the bathroom - could stir my canned soup while I sat on the john. Washed my dishes in the bathtub.
It took me seven years because of not being able to take a full load some semesters due to having to work, but I made it.
Worked offshore on oil rigs before that, so I could see my future without college - and it wasn't going to be stable or pretty.
People who cry that they can't afford college just won't make the necessary sacrifices - there is always a way if you *really* want to.
Sawdust