Posted on 09/18/2005 2:09:26 PM PDT by lunarbicep
INDIANOLA, Iowa - Former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards called Sunday for a return of depression era jobs programs to rebuild the hurricane ravaged Gulf Coast.
Edwards said those programs would give new hope and money to victims of Hurricane Katrina as well as rebuild shattered cities, such as New Orleans.
He used the Work Products Administration as an example of a depression era program that built parks, bridges and other facilities that are still being used.
"We ought to have a new WPA like was used during the depression to create jobs, and we ought to bring those folks who have been displaced back into New Orleans to rebuild their city," Edwards said. "Give them a decent wage and decent benefits. That's the way to help rebuild New Orleans they way it should be built.
"Not just rebuild the city, but rebuild people's lives," he said.
Edwards spoke to more than 1,300 hard-core Democratic activists at Sen. Tom Harkin's annual steak fry, just outside Indianola.
Since the last presidential election, where he was nominee John Kerry's running mate, Edwards has opened a center for the study of poverty issues at the University of North Carolina.
He is traveling the country, making the case that the nation needs to face the growing level of poverty. He's made four stops in Iowa, where precinct caucuses launch the presidential nominating season.
Edwards said Hurricane Katrina has focused the nation's attention on poverty, because so many victims of the storm are poor.
He said that attention gives the country's political leaders an opportunity to make progress on the issue.
"The real issue is, in this window where people are paying attention, will we have leadership that sustains the effort?" Edwards said.
Edwards criticized President Bush's response to the storm, saying it showed a lack of understanding of the poor in America.
"He has consistently shown a lack of understanding," Edwards said.
He said a Bush relief proposal would give victims money in bank accounts that most don't have.
"He's talking about putting this money into people's bank accounts," Edwards said. "Most of these people don't have bank accounts."
Edwards said Bush also has suspended laws that require that the prevailing wage be paid on reconstruction projects.
"That's insane," he said. "What these people need is a decent wage. It's the reason so many of them are living in poverty to begin with."
Edwards has left little doubt that he's interested in another run for the Democratic presidential nomination, and being the keynote speaker at Harkins' steak fry was a plum assignment.
It's one of the largest Democratic events of the year, and allows Edwards to rebuild contacts he made during the 2004 campaign.
In his fiery speech, Edwards said the war on poverty takes Democrats back to their roots.
He said 1 million people have slipped into poverty in just the last year, a decline in living caused by Republican policies.
"We don't need another Republican party," he said. "We need to be Democrats because this party gives voice to people who have no voice, and they never needed it more than they do now."
Harkin has held his annual steak fry for 28 years and he echoed Edwards theme, pointing to the haunting images of the poor living in misery.
"I'll say this about Hurricane Katrina ... it opened our eyes," Harkin said.
Lt. Gov. Sally Pederson, who also heads the Iowa Democratic Party, said the momentum started by the steak fry is badly needed because the party faces a tough round of elections next year, including defending the governor's office.
Edwards said he'll be back often and that his theme won't change.
"Katrina has focused the country's attention on an issue that doesn't just exist on the Gulf Coast and New Orleans, but it exists all across the country and we need to take this window opportunity and act."
Louisiana has been under Democratic rule for over 40 years. It's clear that democrats have failed miserably in Louisiana.
Clinton actually said yesterday that Katrina was a good thing because it showed people that they need the government. This is indicative of how the left thinks. Make people dependent on government hand outs and get their votes. Interesting how that works.
No - doesn't ring a bell.
Someone buy Edwards a plane ticket to Germany. They'll need his brilliance.
Thanks for the warning.
Hey Harkin....we're still waiting for an apology for your crass, political, demeaning remarks about the president re: Memos that were bogus.
We are also waiting for an apology and an admittance you "lied" about being a pilot in Vietnam.
I have mixed feelings about the original W.P.A. I know it was part of Roosevelts socialists programs but my father worked for the W.P.A. building levees. He said it was hard work but he was thankful to have any kind of job. He always told me that he would have starved without that job.
Hasn't he heard that the Depression-era programs actually prolonged the Depression and solidified the dependence of the poor on the Democr....
Oh.
I had a teacher who lived through the great depression. He said that the shovel-leaners on WPA jobs led people to say that WPA meant, "We Play Around".
Typical of the left. Their solutions are always to repeat the past and emulate failure. They never solve any problems (except for having budgetary surpluses).
Be careful what you accuse the left of because we (the right)are now giving out bigger handouts than the democrats ever did.....;)
WPA boy I heard stories about that. Can't hurt to get the welfare recipients to work now can it?
The best way to rebuild NO is to give tax breaks to businesses that hire the poor locals to do the work.
I agree.
But let's start the jobs program slow, and fund it only with income tax revenue brought in from wealthy trial lawyers.
And maybe we could even do a retroactive tax (since Clinton did).
Maybe this would only pay for several thousand jobs, but hey, its a start.
it showed people that they need the government
can those clintins make their intentions any more clear? Socialism friends...socialism.
Ahhh, but has his hairdo changed? :)
***Hasn't he heard that the Depression-era programs actually prolonged the Depression and solidified the dependence of the poor on the Democr....
Oh.***
LOL! Thank you for saying everything I wanted to say, but in just a few well chosen words.
Ahhh, but has his hairdo changed? :)
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