JOHN EDWARDS LAUNCHES NEW CAMPAIGN TO REDUCE POVERTY

John Edwards seems to be doing what too few prominent losing candidates do: take their hard earned constituency and turn it into a movement.

Former Presidential candidate Senator John Edwards announced that he will serve as national chair of Half in Ten: From Poverty to Prosperity, a new campaign to cut poverty by 50% over the next ten years. This campaign brings together four organizations with the experience, knowledge, and resources to make this goal a reality: ACORN, the Center for American Progress Action Fund, the Coalition on Human Needs, and the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights.

Speaking before a crowd of activists at North Philadelphia's Thankful Baptist Church, Edwards called on Congress, the Presidential candidates, and all Americans to make the fight against poverty a priority. "The challenge before us is to make it so that hard work is enough to get ahead again. That is not just a question of helping our brothers and sisters who are living in poverty - it is a question of restoring the fundamental fairness that this country was founded upon," said Senator Edwards. . . .

The multi-year campaign will elevate focus on the issues facing the poor and middle class in America, building an effective constituency to advocate for specific policy changes..

The first years of the campaign will focus on:

- Expanding the Earned Income Tax Credit and the Child Tax Credit;

- Raising both state and federal minimum wages;

- Increasing the number of low-income families receiving child care assistance;

- Increasing eligibility for unemployment insurance

According to modeling by the Urban Institute, the expanded tax credits, minimum wage increases, and child care assistance alone would cut poverty by a full 26%.