John Edwards for President-Rewarding Work And Helping Families Get Ahead

Rewarding Work And Helping Families Get Ahead

With Washington dominated by powerful special interests, it is no coincidence that the benefits of economic growth are enjoyed by increasingly few individuals. Over the last 20 years, American incomes have grown apart: 40 percent of the income growth in the 1980s and 1990s went the top 1 percent. The top 300,000 individuals now make more than the bottom 150 million. [EPI, 2006; Saez, 2007]

Today at the United Steelworkers conference, John Edwards outlined his agenda to create One America where everyone's hard work is rewarded and families can build a better life.

Raise the Minimum Wage to $9.50 an Hour: Edwards will set a national goal of a minimum wage that equals half the average wage. He will raise the minimum wage by 75 cents a year until it reaches $9.50 in 2012. He will also restore the minimum wage for tipped workers to half the full minimum wage—the minimum wage for these workers has stood at $2.13 since 1997—and extend wage and hour protections to home health care workers.
Strengthen Workers' Right to Organize: Edwards believes that unions are essential to building the future middle class. The right to choose a union is poorly enforced, full of loopholes, and routinely violated by employers. He will enact the Employee Free Choice Act, vigorously enforce labor laws and ban the use of permanent replacements for striking workers.
Help Low-Income Families Find Work and Join the Middle Class: Edwards has set a national goal of eliminating poverty within 30 years. He will cut taxes on low-income workers by expanding the earned income tax credit for single workers and reducing its marriage penalty. He will create 1 million Stepping Stone jobs to help people struggling to find jobs gain skills and work experience. He will also expand affordable housing near good jobs, rather than concentrating it in high-poverty neighborhoods far from opportunity.
Make College Affordable for Everyone: College tuition and debt is escalating. To help students work their way through college, Edwards will pay one year of public-college tuition, fees, and books for more than 2 million students who take a part-time job.
Enact Smarter Trade Policies: Trade deals need to make sense for American workers, not just corporations. Edwards will insist on strong labor and environmental standards, vigorously enforce American workers' rights, and help workers and communities hurt by global competition.
Guarantee Universal Health Care: Edwards has a truly universal health care plan that will guarantee affordable coverage to every family. Employers will have to help cover their employees, the government will make insurance affordable with new reforms and subsidies, and all Americans will buy insurance.
Fight Abusive Debt and Help Families Save: Edwards will crack down on abusive credit card companies, predatory mortgage lenders, and payday loan shops that take advantage of working families. To help families save, he will provide matched savings accounts for low-wage workers.