Edwards rolls out anti-poverty plan

This morning, Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards laid out his proposals to fight poverty, should he win the presidency.  The Des Moines Register outlined the proposals:

His campaign provided an outline of the plans, which include several ideas:

*Encourage savings by offering $500 tax credits to low-income andmoderate-income families who put money in accounts for retirement,college, home down payments or small businesses. The credits wouldeffectively double their savings up to $500 per year.

* Add a $500 “work bond” for poor families, which would match additional savings they set aside.

*Give tax exemptions to the first $250 in investment income, toencourage saving and to simplify tax filing for families with smallamounts of interest or investment income.

* Expand the child-care tax credit and allow stay-at-home parents to use it to offset their costs.

* Expand the earned-income tax credit to ease the burden on low-income people without children.

*Raise the top tax rate on long-term capital gains to 28 percent, whichEdwards says would force wealthier Americans to pay taxes at ratescloser to what middle-class families pay on their salaries.

*Repeal President Bush’s tax cuts on families making more than $200,000.Edwards has said he would use the proceeds to pay for a universalhealth-care plan.

We like to see substantive plans such as these, as opposed to relying solely on broad, indefinite campaign promises that in the end might not be kept.  In this case, we now know specifically what John Edwards will fight for if he becomes president.  It would be wise for other candidates to begin laying out their own detailed policy proposals.

Comments

[George]

Great - how about stopping the war? That'll save $2 billion a day, right? There's a fucking plan.

[Project Vote Smart]

John Edwards’s history of speeches on Poverty Issues can be found at: John Edwards’s Record of Speeches

John Edwards’s ratings from special interest groups on Poverty Issues can be found at: John Edwards’s Interest Group Ratings

Project Vote Smart produces the National Political Awareness Test (NPAT), which essentially asks each candidate “Are you willing to tell citizens your positions on the issues you will most likely face on their behalf?” You can find John Edwards’s responses to the NPAT at: NPAT

For more information on John Edwards, please visit John Edwards’s Project Vote Smart Page or call our hotline at 1-888-VOTE-SMART.