by Bradley Parsons
Staff Writer
John Edwards’ words are less likely to make headlines two years after his failed run for the vice presidency. But the attorney and former senator from North Carolina is still pressing his case for America’s poor.
Edwards was the keynote speaker Monday for the Jacksonville Bar Association’s Law Day Luncheon at the Hyatt. He told a crowd of more than 600 that the world was watching how America treats its poor.
“The world knows we’re powerful, the world knows we’re prosperous. They want to know, are we going to turn our backs on the 37 million people in this country who live their lives in poverty?” he said.
In comments that sounded like a possible stump speech in the making, Edwards recommended the continuation of college aid programs, a hike in the national minimum wage and the expansion of tax credits for the poor as a means of leveling America’s economic playing field.
Edwards said America’s prosperity had largely eluded minorities. Hispanic and black families earn one-tenth as much as white families, he said. As America’s economy continues to expand, poor people are being left further behind, he said.
“This increased productivity we’ve seen has been for the people at the top, not for the middle class and not for the working poor,” said Edwards. “We’re moving toward a country with a few rich people and everybody else.”
Edwards said he applauds those who have achieved financial success through sustained hard work. But hard work doesn’t always translate to a healthy bank account, he said.
Edwards recalled talking to a man who camped out on the New Orleans streets in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, hoping to pick up work doing odd jobs.
“He said ‘I’m out here every morning at 5:30 a.m. Nobody’s picked me up yet, but I know they will,’” said Edwards. “These are the kind of people that America should be all about.
“I know the stereotype of people that are struggling is that they’re lazy, they’re no-account. It’s a lie. I know it’s a lie.”
Edwards said his own life disproved that notion. Famously raised as the son of a mill worker, Edwards said his own success wouldn’t have been possible without help from his government. He paid for college and law school with federally-backed student loans, he said. He wants to make sure that same help is available to America’s poor.
“I didn’t get here by myself, nobody in here did,” he said. “I benefited from public schools, dedicated teachers, I borrowed money financed by the taxpayers. We have a moral obligation to make sure that everybody has the opportunity to prosper.”