Edwards Campaign Press Release - Edwards Discusses Bold Plans To Strengthen Our Economy And Help Hard-Working Families

On Day Two of "Standing with Working Families" tour, Edwards discusses stimulus plan, as well as policies to help homeowners and curb credit card abuses

Reno, Nevada – At a town hall today in Reno, Nevada, John Edwards will call on Nevadans to join him in his fight to give working and middle class families a voice in Washington. On the second day of his "Standing with Working Families" tour, Edwards will discuss his plan to take on the powerful corporate interests standing in the way of change and strengthen our economy, so working and middle class families have the chance to get ahead. Edwards' trip comes as he is gaining strength in Nevada leading up to the caucuses. Polls showing him moving up and staff, supporters and volunteers, along with the Carpenters, Steelworkers, Transport Workers and Communication Workers,have been hard at work making phone calls and knocking on doors to spread Edwards' message. Later in the day, Edwards will echo his remarks at a town hall in Las Vegas and will visit with steelworkers and Nevada veterans.

Edwards will outline his $100 billion jobs package and renew his call for immediate Congressional action to create jobs and strengthen the economy. Edwards will also strengthen our economy and help families by ending the housing crisis and helping save families' homes, cracking down on abusive lending practices, raising the minimum wage, making it easier for workers to join unions and enacting trade policies that put the interests of workers first.

"Today, too many working families in Nevada are struggling with debt and facing skyrocketing costs of everything from health care to education to gas," said Edwards. "Meanwhile, big corporate interests are getting every break imaginable from Washington. Working families need a president who will stand up for them, not big corporate interests. I've been fighting these interests my entire life, and I know that together we can take our country back."

Born to a working family and raised in small, rural towns, Edwards knows firsthand the struggles facing working families. He has spent his entire life standing up to powerful interests on behalf of families like the ones he grew up with. As president, Edwards will stand up for working families by:

• Urging Congress to Take Action and Pass an Economic Stimulus Plan: To provide a much-needed boost to a weakening economy, Edwards' economic stimulus plan calls for investing in clean energy infrastructure, increasing federal aid to help states avoid cutting programs that help families through hard times, reforming unemployment insurance and tackling the housing crisis.
• Ending the Housing Crisis and Saving Families' Homes: Nevada has the highest foreclosure rate in the country. Edwards will (1) halt foreclosures until lenders take concrete steps to avoid defaults, (2) create a Home Rescue Fund to help families move into affordable mortgages, and (3) allow bankruptcy judges to rewrite mortgages on family homes. Edwards will also prevent future crises by passing a strong national law against predatory lending.
• Reigning in Credit Card and Other Abusive Debt: Edwards will require credit card companies to disclose the true cost of making only minimum payments; restore a 10-day grace period before imposing late fees and penalty rates; apply interest rate increases to future balances only, and end the practice of "universal default." Edwards will also create a new consumer watchdog agency – the Family Savings and Credit Commission – whose sole purpose will be to crack down on these and other kinds of predatory consumer credit practices.
• Rewarding Work, not Just Wealth: Edwards will reward work by raising the minimum wage by 75 cents a year until it reaches $9.50 in 2012, and then index it to so that it automatically rises each year along with average wages. He will also reward work with stronger unions, universal health care, Stepping Stone jobs and smart trade policies that put the interests of workers and families, not multinational corporations, first.