John Edwards Two Americas

[adios]

Edwards railed about the haves and have nots in his 2004 campaign calling it "Two Americas" where the haves get the breaks and the have nots don't more or less. He's resurrected that theme for his run at the 2008 nomination:

Edwards returns to 'two Americas' economic theme in speech and New York college

Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards bemoaned the growing divide between rich and poor Thursday as he returned to the signature theme of “two Americas” from his unsuccessful 2004 White House bid.

Looking to break out from under two leading rivals, Edwards focused on the economic gap that he argues has widened since his last run.

“Our tax system has been rewritten by George Bush to favor the wealthy and shift the burden to working families,” Edwards said. “There are still two Americas.”
Edwards told the crowd at the Cooper Union school that people deserve the American dream, the right to succeed on the strength of one's own merits, but that too many Americans don't have the opportunity anymore.

I wonder if this is something the haves only indulge themselves in or is available to the have nots:

Splitting Hairs, Edwards's Stylist Tells His Side of Story

For four decades, Joseph Torrenueva has cut the hair of Hollywood celebrities, from Marlon Brando to Bob Barker, so when a friend told him in 2003 that a presidential candidate needed grooming advice, he agreed to help.

The Beverly Hills hairstylist, a Democrat, said he hit it off with then-Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina at a meeting in Los Angeles that brought several fashion experts together to advise the candidate on his appearance. Since then, Torrenueva has cut Edwards's hair at least 16 times.



At first, the haircuts were free. But because Torrenueva often had to fly somewhere on the campaign trail to meet his client, he began charging $300 to $500 for each cut, plus the cost of airfare and hotels when he had to travel outside California.

Apparently Mr. Edwards knows of what he speaks when he talks about the "haves."

[UATrewqaz]

Wouldn't a more honest description of John Edwards two Americas be

1. People worth suing
2. People not worth suing

[ElliotR]

This sort of post was a lot better and funnier when done using the BGC gimmick account. This effort is just pathetic. D-.

[NeBlis]

[ QUOTE ]
This sort of post was a lot better and funnier when done using the BGC gimmick account. This effort is just pathetic. D-.

[/ QUOTE ]


This sort kneejerk partisan reply was a lot better and funnier when done using the Q/Q gimmick account. This effort is just pathetic.

LMB

[Misfire]

Edwards also likes to talk about his humble beginnings as the son of a mill worker. Shouldn't that illustrate that there aren't really two Americas, just two kinds of Americans--those who seize the American dream and those who don't?

[canis582]

How did George Bush get rich anyway? Hard work?

[ShakeZula06]

[ QUOTE ]
How did George Bush get rich anyway? Hard work?

[/ QUOTE ]
Used emminent domain while owning a portion of the Rangers.

[andyfox]

Edwards has never denied the fact that he's rich. George Bush has hidden the way he got that way, and with good reason. But does either really matter? Shouldn't we be concerned more about what their public policies are and would be?

[Taraz]

[ QUOTE ]
Edwards has never denied the fact that he's rich. George Bush has hidden the way he got that way, and with good reason. But does either really matter? Shouldn't we be concerned more about what their public policies are and would be?

[/ QUOTE ]

Thank you. Can we all please stop bashing politicians with all this irrelevant jabber? Shouldn't we be focused on what they would actually do as president?

[adios]

[ QUOTE ]
Edwards has never denied the fact that he's rich. George Bush has hidden the way he got that way, and with good reason. But does either really matter? Shouldn't we be concerned more about what their public policies are and would be?

[/ QUOTE ]

It strikes me as exploitation and pandering to the base. I believe it's reflective of his political mindset and the bankruptcy of his ideas on "two americas." It's one thing to be wealthy, it's another to be extravegant to the sense of being ridiculous to many people and then railing against tax cuts that not only have benefitted him but benefitted a lot of people making a lot less than Mr. Edwards. I don't fault Mr. Edwards for taking full advantage of the tax laws to pay as little as he legally can necessarily. But it strikes me as disingenuous to rail against the widening gap between the "have" and "have nots" while he has no problem in taking full advantage of tax laws. There's nothing precluding Mr. Edwards from paying more taxes if he wants to. The political message from Mr. Edwards is that we need higher taxes to enlist more government handouts because this will help eliminate poverty. There's a saying that charity begins at home and methinks that Mr. Edwards could take the money he does on haircuts and maybe contribute towards a homeless shelter or something. I have no problem with people being extravegant and enjoying the trappings of being super wealthy. I do have a problem with those same people telling me that it's my responsibility to contribute more when it's quite obvious he could be doing alot more himself.

Get Me John Edwards

If Washington changes the Social Security payroll tax, it might be time to incorporate--as the former senator did.
High-earning self-employed professionals are likely hearing one word from their accountants these days: incorporate. It might make sense in light of President Bush's recent comment that he's "open-minded" to an increase in the amount of salary--now $90,000--that the Social Security payroll tax is levied on.

The idea is to do what Democratic vice presidential candidate and former North Carolina Senator John Edwards did back when he was a trial lawyer: Set up your practice as an S corporation, pay yourself a reasonable salary as an employee and then take the rest as S corp profits that are subject to income but not payroll taxes. (S corp profits aren't subject to corporate tax but are all passed through to an owner's return and taxed at ordinary income rates.)



As far as Bush is concerned I think it's fair to say that he doesn't see it as "two americas" so I'm not sure why his wealth is relevant. I know that Bush actually pays a high proportion of his income in taxes. Here's an article I dug up about the taxes he paid in 2004. I believe 2005 and 2006 are similar:

Bushes Paid $207,307 In Federal Income Tax

But in reality the amount of money that Bush pays in taxes and his wealth (alot less wealth than Edwards btw) is a side show. Bush isn't claiming there's "two americas" nor did he run on a platform that states that he could help eliminate poverty with higher taxes. Edwards is though and that's why this story is reflective of his political mindset and he deserves the scruting.