Hey all, I'm back again with another installment of Edwards Evening News Roundup. Edwards has begun his four day tour in the great state of South Carolina. As Edwards travels around the state he'll be focusing on strengthening the middle class and American jobs. Follow me below the fold and read why Edwards is our strongest candidate for working families......
Who Will Invest in American Jobs?
Our harmful trade policies have resulted in the loss of American jobs, the depletion of our manufacturing sector and created the widest income gap in history between the wealthy and everybody else. Here's a statement Edwards made today about the American middle class:
"While powerful interests get every break imaginable from Washington, families here in South Carolina and across the country are working harder than ever just to get by," said Edwards. "We need to stand up for the middle class and American jobs before it's too late. This is personal for me. I saw what happened when the mill that my dad worked at closed and the jobs went somewhere else. We can change our country though. If we have the courage and backbone to take on the powerful interests, we can restore the middle class and make sure we leave our children a better future."
Right now, we are on a dangerous path to a serious recession. The type of recession that the majority of the American people not only aren't familiar with, but will be completely taken off guard by. We're dealing with a multitude of problems like the weakening dollar, the high price of oil, loss of the manufacturing sector and the flattened housing market. There's no time to wait and sit pretty, something needs to be done.
Edwards Calls on Congress to DO Something
Today, Edwards renewed his call on Congress to immediately invest at least 25 billion in a jobs program. If the recession nears at a faster rate than expected, Edwards is calling for an additional 75 billion. Edwards believes that Congress should spend the money to accelerate our investment in a clean energy economy, strengthening unemployment insurance, addressing the housing crisis and help states deal with budget shortfalls.
Can Green Energy Save Our Economy?
I believe as Edwards does that the key to jump starting our economy is to seriously invest in green collar jobs. The financial strain that oil causes in America is staggering. We spend 240 billion a year on foreign oil. What if we were to spend billions of that money into our own economy? Who would benefit? The American people would and so would our environment.
Edwards Proposals on Creating a Green Economy
Edwards will create a 13 billion a year New Energy Economy Fund. It will be financed through the sale of emission permits by greenhouse gas polluters and by closing the tax loopholes and tax subsidies for big oil. Edwards will double the Dept. of Energy's Budget for renewable energy and double the budget for research into such development. By investing in research and development, we will not only be able to market products such as solar panels, we'll also see a reduced cost of such products. His proposal will also result in the creation of 1 million green collar jobs. This doesn't just result in good paying jobs for middle class Americans, it will also cause the industry to expand. Expanding the green industry will result in lower prices for energy efficient vehicles and green building.
Investing in the American Auto Industry
From the Edwards website:
Edwards will provide $1 billion a year to help U.S. automakers advance and apply the latest technology, including biofuels, hybrid, plug-in hybrid, and electric cars, hydrogen fuel cells, ultra-light materials, and drive train improvements. He will also invest in engine efficiency and low-carbon fuels for the freight, aviation, and maritime transportation, such as biodiesel for truck fleets.
More and more Americans will be buying hybrids and automobiles that run on bio-fuels in the years to come. Gas prices will continue to rise and more Americans will wake up to the reality of climate change. I wish our automakers had been innovative decades ago, but unfortunately that is not the case. We need to provide incentives for American car companies so that they take part in the blossoming technology which will strengthen American jobs.
There are so many more detailed proposals in Edwards plan to sink your teeth into. Edwards proposal to create a new energy economy also has proposals to open up the electricity grids and create economic incentives for farms to conserve. Give it a read:
http://www.johnedwards.com/...
Enacting Smart Trade Policies
Here's a statement from Edwards on American trade agreements:
"Trade has become a bad word for working Americans for a simple reason: our trade policy has been bad for working Americans. We need new trade policies that put workers, wages and families first." – John Edwards
Edwards and all of the other candidates have stressed labor and environmental guidelines in our trade agreements. Edwards goes much further on addressing the negative affects of globalization on the American job market. Here's some tidbits for you....
How About a Little Enforcement?
One problem with our existing trade agreements is that the U.S. has no way of enforcing environmental or labor regulations overseas. Here's how Edwards plans to address that problem:
Edwards will assign top prosecutors at the U.S. Department of Justice to the job of enforcing trade laws, including the stronger labor and environment standards he will negotiate. He will also go after illegal trade subsidies and insist that China and other countries move toward ending manipulation of their currencies, seeking WTO sanctions if necessary.
Protecting Communities from Massive Layoffs
We've seen what happens to small communities when a plant is closed. The entire community is affected. The small business owners aren't making enough to get by because so many of their townspeople were unexpectedly laid off. Edwards has plans to reverse the ghost town trend in America:
Edwards will require the independent U.S. International Trade Commission to study which communities will face stiffer competition under new trade deals. When a plant closing appears imminent, Edwards will immediately deploy technical assistance and recovery specialists to work with affected employers, unions and local officials just as the government does for areas facing a military base closing. New resources will be available for shoring up the local tax base, attracting new family-sustaining jobs, and helping local businesses expand.
Catching the Workers Who Fall
Once a worker is laid off because of their plant closing, or because the company is moving overseas, it's incredibly hard to pick themselves back up. Once a person's income is gone, how can one expect a worker to be able to pick up and move to a city that has a better economy? These workers deserve our help, and helping them will benefit the American economy. I wish Republicans would realize that! Here's what Edwards will do to help workers who have been laid off:
Edwards will help states provide UI coverage to 500,000 more workers a year, particularly low-wage and part-time workers. He will help the long-term unemployed by creating a standard 26-week extended benefit and expanding options for benefits during job training. He will also expand TAA's extended unemployment insurance and training benefit to all workers dislocated by globalization, regardless of their industry, making an estimated 600,000 workers a year eligible.
There's so much more to Edwards proposals on trade. I just discovered his proposal to create a new Training Works Initiative tied to high wage jobs. Many people in the white collar jobs sector have lost their jobs or have taken significant pay cuts. Instead of moving up the ladder, we have qualified workers moving down the ladder. Check out his proposal that addresses this problem and many other aspects of his trade policy:
http://www.johnedwards.com/...
There are numerous other policy proposals that will help working families. His Work Bonds proposal will help low income families save $500 a year. Edwards will also subsidize banks to offer millions of Americans savings accounts who currently don't have one. Edwards will also help states and non-profits make available emergency low to no interest loans to Americans. This could help so many American families in need who end up getting reeled into a high interest bank loan or credit card because of their financial desperation. If you'd like to read more about Edwards proposals to help families save and his proposals on reining in on abusive lenders go here:
http://www.johnedwards.com/...
Check Out Edwards New Ad in South Carolina:
Edwards Wants To Hear Your Voice
The Edwards Campaign is holding a video contest and the winner will get to travel and meet John! You'll also have your voice and your ad aired on t.v. All you have to do is create a thirty second video describing why you support John Edwards. The contest ends in five days so get to work!
Go here to read more about the contest:
http://www.johnedwards.com/...
Donate to the Edwards Campaign!
Go here a give what you can:
http://johnedwards.com/...
Wanna Volunteer?
Go here to volunteer in Nevada:
http://johnedwards.com/...
Go here to volunteer in South Carolina:
http://johnedwards.com/...
Thanks to all who came by and thanks to all my fellow Edwards supporters who continue to advocate for huge progressive changes. Good night!