In this photograph provided by 'Meet the Press,' Sen. John Edwards, D-N.C., appears on 'Meet the Press'' Sunday, Feb. 4, 2007, at the NBC studios in Washington. (AP Photo/Meet The Press, Alex Wong)
Posted on 02/04/2007 1:36:09 PM PST by NormsRevenge
WASHINGTON - Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards said Sunday his plan for universal health care would require higher taxes and cost up to $120 billion year.
"The bottom line is we're asking everybody to share in the responsibility of making health care work in this country. Employers, those who are in the medical insurance business, employees, the American people — everyone will have to contribute in order to make this work," the 2004 vice presidential nominee said.
"Yes, we'll have to raise taxes. The only way you can pay for a health care plan that costs anywhere from $90 (billion) to $120 billion is there has to be a revenue source," the former North Carolina senator said.
Edwards said his plan would aim to provide health care coverage for the 47 million people who currently lack it and reduce the cost of health care coverage for middle-class families, partly by making health care programs more efficient.
Edwards cited health care insurance premiums that he said have risen 90 percent over the past decade.
"We want to make sure everybody's covered. We want to help middle-class families with the costs. We want to try to create competition that doesn't exist today," he said.
To accomplish all this, Edwards said he would expand Medicaid and a program that now provides coverage to 6 million people, mostly children, and provide federal health care subsidies. He said he wants employers to play a bigger role, either by offering coverage or buying into "health markets" that would include a government plan.
Edwards said he would free up money for health care coverage by abolishing President Bush's tax cuts for people who make more than $200,000 a year and by having the government collect more back taxes.
On the war in Iraq, Edwards sought to distinguish himself from one of the Democratic front-runners, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York.
Edwards, who served on the Senate's intelligence committee, repeated earlier statements that his vote to authorize the use of force in Iraq was a mistake.
"My vote was wrong and I take responsibility for it," said Edwards.
He added, "I think anybody who wants to be president of the United States has got to be honest and open, be willing to admit when they've done things wrong."
Clinton, who also voted to authorize force, has said "there are no do-overs in life." She says Congress received bad information from the Bush administration going into the vote and she would have voted differently given what she knows now.
"If she believes that her vote was wrong, then yes, she should say so," Edwards said. "If she believes that her vote was right, then she should defend it."
Edwards appeared on "Meet the Press" on NBC.
In this photograph provided by 'Meet the Press,' Sen. John Edwards, D-N.C., appears on 'Meet the Press'' Sunday, Feb. 4, 2007, at the NBC studios in Washington. (AP Photo/Meet The Press, Alex Wong)
What a dork.
Democratic U.S. Presidential hopeful and former U.S. Senator John Edwards (D-NC) speaks during a taping of 'Meet the Press' at the NBC studios in Washington February 4, 2007. Edwards spoke on his run for U.S. president in 2008. NO SALES NO ARCHIVE, MUST USE BEFORE (FEBRUARY 11, 2007) MUST CREDIT 'MEET THE PRESS' REUTERS/Alex Wong/Meet the Press/Handout (UNITED STATES)
but, he's so pritty pritty pritty..
Bye, Bye John "Walter Mondale" Edwards. Nice to see ya, wouldn't want to be ya.
So how many people have been voted to office on the platform of raising taxes...?
"...revenue source." Like sucker OB doctors, Johnny ?
More money for lawyers? (like him)
The idiot is too stupid to realize he is one of the causes of the problems in health care.
The problem is Lawyers. If I was a doctor I think I would hang a big sign out front "NO LAWYERS"
Oh and another one who was for the Iraq war, before he was against it.
NS, S.
"I'll be raising your taxes!"
The Breck Girl just applied for early retirement.
Just when you thought they couldn't get any dumber than Joe Biden talking about the first clean African-American...
He's pulling a Mondale already. Maybe they believe they need to start working on brainwashing the public to believe that adding taxes is good.
"Health Markets"? John, being the folksy kind of guy you keep telling us you are, I'm sure you are familiar with the saying "You can put lipstick on a pig, but it is still a pig".
Mondale also was elected twice to the senate, and twice as AG of MN.
He's about 1000X the man Edwards is. Mondale is many things, a liberal idealog is one of them, a demagogic moron like Edwards isn't one of them.
BUT..Edwards is so........pretty. JK
Well I suppose if he's only "asking", then I can politely decline to pay the additional taxes when I file my 1040 and there will be no repercussions?!?
Yeah right... It's like when the mafia "asking" you to pay protection money...
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