John Edwards for President-Edwards Outlines Key Economic Policies To Help Middle-Class And Working Families

Edwards Outlines Key Economic Policies To Help Middle-Class And Working Families

Edwards brings "America Belong to Us Week" to New York to spotlight his plan to shakeup Washington, and fight for hardworking Americans on the kitchen table issues they care most about

New York, New York – Today, as part of "America Belongs to Us Week," Senator John Edwards discussed our country's growing economic divide and his bold vision to restore the promise of the American Dream to hardworking Americans and their children. At a rally in Washington Square Park to support the striking Writers Guild members and Broadway stagehands, Edwards said he is the one candidate the American people can trust to shake up Washington, stand up to irresponsible corporations and their lobbyists and fight for one America where the dream of America is shared by all, not the chosen few who work on Wall Street.

"The problem of Two Americas is especially true here in New York City," said Edwards. "Investors lost $74 billion this year – but last week it was reported that Wall Street is paying out $38 billion in bonuses this year just the same. At the same time we learned of these record-high bonuses, a new report revealed that one in six New Yorkers goes hungry.

"It's no accident that the economy is working well for Wall Street. Our economy is designed to benefit the wealthy and the powerful because it was designed by the wealthy and the powerful. Last year, the securities and investment industry spent $61 million on lobbying. Since 1996, the number of Washington lobbyists has tripled to 36,000 – that's 60 lobbyists for every member of Congress.

"Putting the power in this country back on the side of middle-class families won't be easy. It's going to take a president who's willing to go to Washington and shake things up. Politicians in Washington have forgotten who they're fighting for. They shouldn't be fighting for Wall Street – they should be fighting for Main Street. When I'm president, we're going to take on Wall Street's excesses and make things right for hardworking American families. Because this is America, and everyone – no matter where they come from – deserves the chance to work hard, get ahead and live the American Dream."

To return the promise of the American Dream to millions of hard-working families, Edwards will:

End abuses in the credit card industry: Interest rates and fees have skyrocketed since rates were deregulated in 1978 and fees in 1996. Today, almost all of the top 10 issuers of credit cards reserve the right to change the APR on the account at any time, for any reason. A single late payment – even by as little as minutes – can result in penalty interest rates that average almost 25 percent. Edwards will pass the Borrower's Security Act to ban the worst abuses in the credit industry, like (1) raising interest rates when a borrower runs into problems, even if they are current on their account, (2) interest rate increases applied to past balances, and (3) a lack of a grace period before imposing penalty rates and late fees. He will also create a new federal agency to protect consumers against unsafe financial products.
Reform the tax system: Repeated, regressive tax cuts on capital gains and dividends have shifted the tax burden onto middle-class workers. Billionaire managers of hedge funds and private equity funds shower Congress with financial contributions to protect their special tax rate – a rate that is far lower than what most Americans pay. That's wrong. As president, Edwards will increase the savings rate by giving more than 20 million families up to a dollar-for-dollar match on their retirement savings. But he will also insist on fairness. And that means raising the capital gains rate to 28 percent for families making above $250,000 a year so the wealthiest investors don't pay lower tax rates than regular families do. And it means closing the billionaire tax benefit for hedge funds.
Address the mortgage crisis: There are millions of families facing foreclosure, but banks have renegotiated fewer than 1 percent of mortgages. A wave of defaults is threatening to swamp our economy and devastate families. As president, Edwards will get families out of these mortgages with a Home Rescue Fund and pass a strong national ban on predatory mortgages.