How can Edwards fight poverty?

[jcrew2001]

I think that the poverty issue is an issue that most middle-class democrats don't care about but I do admire that Edwards is trying to address it. There are more serious peripheral issues that deal with poverty such as: middle class tax cuts, health care, prescription drugs, home loans, education, free college tuition, low interest loans, lowering gas/oil prices, job creation, new business and technology investment, globalization, etc.

Economic Growth is a key issue for most Americans and that ties directly with his I-Banking employment. It makes him look like a Republican who only cares about the stock market.

The poverty issue obviously paints him into a corner because he hasn't done enough, except make general policy speeches. He has to show how he can help.

His House, Haircut, Hedge Fund Job don't address Poverty in any direct, immediate way.

He needs to get out in front of the Poverty issue and walk the talk. Here are some suggestions I thought up: Creating a Grant for College Tuition, or grants for the needy, Building Housing for the homeless, an education center, a soup kitchen. I suggest building a school for Kids Who Can't Read Good And Wanna Learn To Do Other Stuff Good Too.

What are some other suggestions?

[antiimperialist]

1. He was a senator before. Why don't you check his record?

You have more than enough material to find out wether John Edwards "walked the walk" when he was senator of the US from '99 to 2005; but no. You prefer to imply that his expensive haircut will get on the way of helping millions of Americans receive health care benefits without which they would die or fall severely ill, for example.

Why don't you quantify the extra-money in the pockets of those who would have received a minimum wage increase for which Edwards voted in '03? Or his vote to increase the Earned Income Tax Credit in '04?

But no. It's all about the haircut and the hedge funds job as a consultant.

[MannyGoldstein]

4. Permanent 'Free' Trade With China...

Both draconian bankruptcy bills... etc.

The record shows, in my opinion, that Mr. Edwards was not exactly a help-the-poor-and-middle-class kinda' guy.

Pretending that he grew up impoverished, the son of a mill worker, does little to indear him to those who are actually impoverished.

[antiimperialist]

11. Go ahead, keep going. Why did you stop?

John Edwards issued a lot of votes during his tenure.

did you forget his vote to increase minimum wage?
the vote to limit large farmers' subsidies and favor small farmers?
His vote to increase the credit for low-income people in '04?
His vote for allowing patients to sue HMOs in '03.
His vote to import drugs from Canada in '02?

Let's get real. John Edwards has fought for the well-being of the poor even if it means cutting benefits for the rich.

[Czolgosz]

13. If you're posting here, who's monitoring Drudge for new right-wing talking points to recirculate?

[Whoa_Nelly]

2. Let the haircut thing go

Edwards reimbursed the campaign for it
Read more here:

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/20/us/politics/20edwards.html?ex=1178942400&en=d7e43b8e47b418ff&ei=5070

Have you read anything from Edwards' site re: poverty?
http://johnedwards.com/about/issues/poverty/

[JohnLocke]

3. johnedwards.com/about/issues/poverty

http://johnedwards.com/about/issues/poverty/
http://www.law.unc.edu/centers/details.aspx?id=425&q=3 (founded by Edwards)

[bobbolink]

5. What are you really saying? Too bad you seem to be trying to bait!

You don't know about the poverty center he started?

You don't know about his other initiatives?

You don't know how he is pushing other Dems to make poverty a priority?

Oh, and BTW, I DON'T WANT A FRICKIN' SOUP KITCHEN!!

Yes, I'm hungry and low income, but I don't want CHARITY, and low-nutrition "soup".

That's what Edwards is doing--working for REAL poverty relief, and not more charity to make muddleclass people feel righteous.

[jcrew2001]

25. I like Edwards, he needs to do more about poverty

to combat his image.

[bobbolink]

27. Silly.

:silly:

[1932]

6. Be honest here. Edwards has done an incredible job making this issue his.

It's going to take way more than a haircut, the square footage of his house and his work with that investment banking firm chip away at the persona he has established (especially since nobody but Kucinich is going to beat him on those three fronts).

[bobbolink]

28. I think someone just walked over a bridge.

:hi:

[Czolgosz]

7. Is this what some people call walking the walk?

UNC-Chapel Hill creates Center on Poverty, Work and Opportunity;
names former Sen. John Edwards as director

CHAPEL HILL -- The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is launching a Center on Poverty, Work and Opportunity that will be led by former U.S. Senator and vice presidential candidate John Edwards.

The Center on Poverty, Work and Opportunity will be a nonpartisan initiative, bringing together UNC-Chapel Hill faculty and other national public policy experts to examine innovative and practical ideas for moving more Americans out of poverty and into the middle class. The center will have an advisory committee of senior faculty representing multiple disciplines across campus. In addition to leading the center, Edwards also will serve as a guest lecturer on campus.... Edwards spent six years in the U.S. Senate. In that time, he championed policy initiatives such as raising the minimum wage, expanding the earned income tax credit, creating matching savings accounts for low-income families, and providing incentives for teachers to teach in low-income schools. Edwards also focused on poverty during last year’s presidential campaign.

"The time I spent at Chapel Hill gave me many of the tools I have used all my life to help those who are struggling, and I am so proud that I will be able to continue this work and also give something back to UNC-Chapel Hill," Edwards said. "As director of the center, I will work to explore creative approaches to the difficulties that families in poverty face every day."

"John Edwards will be a marvelous resource for faculty and students across campus," said Law School Dean Gene Nichol. "His life experiences as well as his time as senator and vice presidential candidate make him ideally suited to lead this new center."

At UNC-Chapel Hill, Edwards will hold a part-time, two-year, fixed-term faculty position. He will be designated a University Professor and hold an Alumni Distinguished Professorship, which is funded by private gifts to the University. ...

http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/feb05/edwards020405.html

[MannyGoldstein]

9. Name Three Specific Things That They've Done

That are significant.

(Just calling for something doesn't count.)

[JohnLocke]

15. Link here

http://www.jregrassroots.org/forums/lofiversion/index.php/t16691.html

[MannyGoldstein]

16. OK, They Gave Some Presentations

And that did... what?

By contrast, how many families have been impoverished by the vote for permanent 'free' trade status for China?

[Czolgosz]

19. I'm sure their work to eliminate poverty pales in comparison to your Herculean humanitarian efforts

but here're some examples:

The New Orleans Recovery Initiative
A Project of the Center on Poverty, Work and Opportunity

Administered by the Center on Urban and Regional Studies;
with participation of the UNC School of Social Work,
the Department of City and Regional Planning
and the UNC School of Law;
and with the support of the UNC Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research and Development.

Eighteen months after hurricane Katrina devastated the City of New Orleans, the city and its residents are still struggling to recover. Estimates suggest that the recovery process will go on for at least several more years.

The New Orleans Recovery Initiative (NORI) was designed to connect the expertise of the University's faculty, students and staff with the needs of community groups in New Orleans. Its origins lie in a challenge issued by Walter Isaacson, Vice-Chair of the Louisiana Recovery Authority, during a Poverty Center-hosted event (Katrina Revisited, September 8, 2006). Mr. Isaacson called for the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill to commit its resources and energy to aid in the rebuilding of post-Katrina New Orleans. In response, Oscar Barbarin, a professor in the School of Social Work, traveled to New Orleans later that fall in order to explore ways that the University of North Carolina could become involved.

Upon his return, Professor Barbarin joined forces with Professor William Rohe (City and Regional Planning) and Dr. Spencer Cowan (Center on Urban and Regional Studies), and after consultation with the Poverty Center's Advisory Board, they selected District 6 as their area of focus.

In discussions with community spokespersons and planners, NORI identified two projects in which the participants' expertise and the residents' needs overlapped. The first is the creation of a neighborhood information center that would provide returning residents access to the full range of information necessary to undertake the rebuilding of their houses and lives. The second project is a study of various redevelopment scenarios: one of which will examine the cost and consequences of random, scatter-shot development; the other will look at patterns of development if "clustering" (the concentration of residences and businesses) is promoted.

Wednesday, October 11, 2006
The High Cost of Being Poor

The Center sponsored a panel to explore the ways that being poor in America is expensive, delving into issues of predatory lending, lack of access to banking services, rent-to-own stores, higher credit costs and lack of access to affordable goods. These issue were covered recently by two of the panelists--Rod Watson and Jonathan Epstein--for the Buffalo News, in an extensive four-part series which led to legislative discussion and potential action on behalf of the working poor. Laura Hogshead, former Assistant Director the of the Center, moderated this session, and former Director John Edwards served as the lead discussant/questioner. The panel was held in the auditorium of the School of Social Work from 4-6 p.m. Panelists were:

Michael Barr, Professor, University of Michigan School of Law
Jonathan Epstein, Financial Reporter, Buffalo News
John Herrera, Chair, Latino Community Credit Union
Mark Pierce, formerly President of the Center for Responsible Lending and currently Deputy Director of the Office of the Commissioner of Banks
Rod Watson, Urban Affairs Editor, Buffalo News

Watch the panel to hear our panelists recommendations and ideas.

The Center on Poverty, Work and Opportunity is proud to announce the publication of its new book, Ending Poverty in America: How to Restore the American Dream.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the U.S. poverty rate in 2005 was 12.6% or approximately 37 million people. While the percentage of people living in poverty has fluctuated since the Census Bureau started collecting this data, it has never dropped below 11.1%. Can we, the wealthiest nation in the world, do better? Morally, economically and socially can we afford not to?Ending Poverty in America: How to Restore the American Dream

Through thoughtful analysis and concrete policy suggestions from both liberal and conservative perspectives, the Poverty Center's new book tackles the seemingly intractable problem of poverty in the United States. Divided into five sections, each of which explores a facet of poverty, the book showcases contributions by some of the most distinguished academics and policymakers working in the field today. In addition, it features the advice and wisdom of dedicated community leaders, entrepreneurs and neighborhood organizers, creating a dialogue between anti-poverty theory and practice. Senator John Edwards' stirring conclusion summarizes the book's findings, issues a clarion call for public debate and suggests a bold new direction in combating poverty.

[jcrew2001]

26. What has Obama or Hillary done to address poverty?

nt.

[OHdem10]

8. BTW, Which Campaign are you supporting or

which one put you up to this.

Can you tell me with assurance which of our Candidates
Oppose Privatization of SS??

[Colobo]

10. None of them supports that

regardless of what some posters with agendas want you to believe.

[bobbolink]

29. Some days we really NEED a "bingo" or "target" emoticon!!

Cuz you hit the bullseye with that one!

:applause:

[TwilightGardener]

12. I'll be honest with you--I wasn't happy with his house, but I let it go.

I thought the haircut thing was dumb. But I let it go. But the hedge fund excuse was my last straw--he was my number two guy, but he's been demoted to #3, AFTER Hillary, and I never thought I'd say that. I don't think he can salvage his credibility on the poverty issue after the hat trick of Obscenely Rich Guy Behavior.

[Czolgosz]

14. Not happy with the house? Are you talking about the Kennedy compound or Monticello?

[TwilightGardener]

18. I have no problem with people being rich. I have no problem with

compounds, fine living, etc. I DO have a problem with someone who champions the poor while AT THE SAME TIME building a huge and sprawling estate. It's unnecessary, and I consider it a little ostentatious for someone who is building almost all of his platform on sympathy and concern for the disadvantaged. Who needs that kind of space? How many housekeepers would it take to clean and manage that kind of household? I'm not saying you can't be rich and at the same time show true compassion for the poor (yes, I know, FDR), but for me it's the timing and tone-deafness. Actually, on all three H's (house, hair, hedge), it's the timing and tone-deafness, more than any actual "sin". It shows he is not politically aware and astute enough to avoid charges of hypocrisy, and thus I wouldn't trust him to survive in the shark-infested waters of a general campaign against Rove's minions and tactics.

[Czolgosz]

20. By your litmus test, we get no Thomas Jefferson, no Roosevelt, no Kennedy, no Kerry ...

And about the hair cut, if we must re-beat that dead horse, here are 5 questions:

1. Are you aware that, when Edwards got the hair cuts, Obama and Clinton were raising over a million dollars a day and Edwards was raising almost that amount?

2. Are you aware that there are less than 10 hours a day when a candidate can do effective fund-raising?

3. If you have a goal of raising about $100,000 per hour, which option makes more sense: OPTION 1 - drive through Los Angeles traffic (losing about 1 hour of the candidate's fund-raising time), get the candidate's hair cut, drive back to the next campaign event (losing another hour of the candidate's time) or OPTION 2 - accept the barber's offer that he will drive to your location to cut the candidate's hair (paying the barber for three hours of his time to drive to the candidate, set up for the hair cut, and drive back to his barber shop instead of causing the candidate to miss 2 hours of $100,000-per-hour fund-raising opportunities while in traffic).

4. Should Edwards refuse to pay the barber for his time traveling to and from the candidate even though the barber could have seen a half dozen other clients in the time it took to travel in order to cut Edwards's hair?

5. Should Edwards have missed hours of fund-raising time in order to travel through LA traffic to get his hair cut at the barber's shop?



I think you're being naive if you don't think that Obama and Hillary and even many of the second tier candidates aren't spending comparable money to get their hair and make up done for televised appearances.

At least my candidate cannot be faulted for paying too much for his hair cuts:

[edwardsfeingold08]

22. That's a great post.

my hat's off to you for putting it in perspective.

[CreekDog]

23. Actually, that's not your standard, even though you say it is

Because if being wealthy, acting wealthy and at the same time advocating for the disadvantage demotes a candidate in your eyes...well, you are not being consistent by having Obama (I think) and Hillary above Edwards, because they are all wealthy, all have big homes, live like wealthy people. Heck, how much did Hillary's haircut cost? Oh, is it acceptable for women to spend more on hair than men?

Freakin hypocritical and hypercritical.

[TwilightGardener]

24. Well, yeah, it IS acceptable for women to spend more than men on their

hair, LOL! Barber shop vs Beauty Salon--c'mon now. I'm just giving my impressions on Edwards--it's not logical, but there it is. I feel he should be more careful to make his lifestyle, job choices and expenditures match his rhetoric. When he said the hedge fund job was intended to help him study the poor, I literally laughed out loud--if Romney had said he went into venture capitalism to study labor unions or non-profits, we as Dems would call bullshit too. I was giving him the benefit of the doubt on the superficial stuff, but now it's become a pattern of "Don't look at how I LIVE, listen to what I SAY". Hillary and Obama are certainly rich, as are the other candidates, but no one is associated more with the cause of poverty than Edwards, and as such he should take extra care in how he presents himself in that light.

[illinoisprogressive]

17. It is admirable but, most people want to sweep it under the rug. so sad

[edwardsfeingold08]

21. He created a learning lab at his local school

It was done in his son's memory so every child would have access to a computer if they couldn't afford one. Why don't you read Elizabeth's book if you really care? It's a good book.

Here's a link to the lab's web page.

http://www.wade.org/

It's odd that this week we found out the Republican frontrunner took hundreds of thousands in illegal gifts while mayor of New York. That created barely a blip on the DU radar. Yet, you and a lot of other DUers are still carrying the water for the republicans on the haircut and the house stories. It's sad.

Here's a good article on the media's fascination with democrats and their haircuts. Edwards, Kerry and both Clintons have all been victims of haircut attacks...how long are we going to allow these b.s. tactics to tear down our candidates.

http://mediamatters.org/columns/200705010001