Two Americas, indeed
And for some reason, a member of one reputedly speaks for the other.
By Jeff Emanuel Posted in Democrats | Featured Stories — Comments (53) / Email this page » / Leave a comment »
The Carolina Journal is reporting that John Edwards, man of the people, member of the proletariat, and top spokesman for the common working man, has - for the good of America's working families, no doubt - recently moved into a 28,220-ft2 house, the "largest and most valuable home in Orange County," North Carolina. (Aerial photo at right; click for high-res.)
Read on . . .
Wonkette feels pretty strongly about it, saying about the family's Christmas card photo:
John Edwards sent out his Christmas card today, to pretty much everyone who might give him money.
It features a large, lovely photo of his large, lovely family, taken inthe hurricane-ravaged lower Ninth Ward of New Orleanstheir big-*** North Carolina house.
Below the pictures is a nearly indecipherable scrawl from John himself, about families and homes and poor people and Iraq and [stuff].
[Ed note: Profanity cleanup mine]
Says the Carolina Journal:
The rambling structure sits in the middle of a 102-acre estate on Old Greensboro Road west of Chapel Hill. The heavily wooded site and winding driveway ensure that the home is not visible from the road. “No Trespassing” signs discourage passersby from venturing past the gate.
Ah yes, the key element of being a man of the people: openness and accessibility. A 102-acre piece of property provides plenty of room for the homeless to stay, especially those displaced by Edwards' favorite city, New Orle...wait, i'm sorry. I had originally missed that bit in the article about all the “No Trespassing” signs. Oh well; it would make the President look far too good if there were fewer homeless or displaced New Orleanians on the streets to blame him and the eeeeeeevil Republicans for, and might hurt the chances of a Democrat being elected in 2008, which we just can't have. So, you understand, it's for the homeless's own good that he maintains his own private land, and demands that government provide more.
And the "basketball court, a squash court, two stages, a bedroom, kitchen, bathrooms, swimming pool, four-story tower, and room designated "John’s Lounge" that the recreational building contains? They're private, too - no great unwashed allowed.
What's the problem with this? Why, none at all - we on the Right are all for earned income, private property, and discretionary spending. The issue here is that John Edwards - man of the people that he is - professes to be against them all.
There really isn't a problem with running a campaign based on the idea of the "Two Americas" (the haves and have-nots); the Democratic party has been running on this for years. The problem - laughable as it is - comes when those who are running (John "Can I get me uh huntin' license here?" Kerry, John Edwards, etc., etc.) are so firmly entrenched in the America of the "haves" that they have to pretend - very badly - to participate in the activities which they attribute to the Great Unwashed (but don't really understand).
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he wins from his architect and contractor for malpractice.
Envisioning when all that is Left is the Right.
You know, people like FDR!
Why should it matter if the man is rich? He is self-made, achieving the "American dream", and he has advocated so much more for the poor of this country than our currant prez, who had everything handed to him on a silver platter.
There's no problem with having wealth. The problem is that he and others pretend to be plebeian, and preach forced redistribution from everybody else.
comes from government-mandated forced redistribution.
While I accept that plaintiffs' attorneys have a role to play in our system, a "self made man" who got rich hammering corporations in the courtroom is not, in my opinion, in the same category as a "self made man" who got rich by providing goods and services that people chose to pay for. Edwards knows nothing about how wealth and jobs are created.
Given that we're still waiting for that explanation of why he mixed up General Motors with General Electric.
Judging from his recent posting history, I think that he should address this before going onwards. Good faith gesture, and all that.
Moe
PS: I further think that ignoring this would be contraindicated on his part.
The Fuzzy Puppy of the VRWC.
Umm...examples? Quotes? Anything?
As for "forced redistribution from everybody else", I think it's forced redistribution from himself, considering that he, as a rich man, is selflessly standing up for the poor.
...but then again, that'd mean clicking the mouse, instead of just having something spelled out in the comments.
As for "forced redistribution from everybody else", I think it's forced redistribution from himself, considering that he, as a rich man, is selflessly standing up for the poor.
Breathtaking.
Aren't you the one who was arguing, upthread, that it was ok for him to dodge redistribution by whatever legal means were at his disposal?
Nonetheless, you are free to change your mind, as difficult as it is for the rest of us to follow.
John Edwards is not for redistribution from himself, as demonstrated by the pretty house in the woods. One doesn't buy a house like that to benefit the poor. Don't get me wrong, I'm pleased that Mr. Edwards has such a pretty house in the woods. It's a great country. But it's for him, not for others. I am also fully pleased with that.
Now, considering that he is a rich man who is not for redistribution of his own wealth, but is for redistribution of the wealth of other rich people to poor people, he cannot therefore be said to do it selflessly. Well, you can say it, as you no doubt will try, but not without copious doublethink.
It is without doubt that Edwards indeed stands up. Very little can be accomplished by a lawyer of his ilk on his knees, one would suppose. But if the prepositional phrase "for the poor" is to have any meaning at all, it must mean the he is standing up in a way that the poor cannot. Since the only thing that separates Mr. Edwards from the millions of nicotene-addicted car crash victims left homeless by hurricane Katrina is pretty house in the woods, it must be that Mr. Edwards built the house to turn into a homeless shelter.
Having reached an obviously false conclusion, I am at a loss to explain my error. It can only be that Mr. Edwards believes that the poor should go to law school and learn how to profit from the misfortune of the dimwits who pay insurance premia.
But by law that's everyone, even the very poor for whom he is alleged to stand up.
The Academy: researching the Illiberal Arts
Plain and simple.
No wonder he made so much money. He did NO PRO BONO WORK in his entire legal career!
If John Edwards were POOR and talking about raising taxes on the wealthiest American's for the benefit of the POOR, it would seem... well... selfish.
But John Edwards has money... money he earned... and any tax increase would come out of his pocket first and foremost.
How is his having money hypocritical to what he preaches.
I mean, flip his political orientation and he'd be that guy from that old Walter Matthau / Robin Williams flick. You know, the survivalist leader with a briefcase full of stock options.
The Fuzzy Puppy of the VRWC.
...and he'd be the exact same guy.
The R or the D is not the issue.
It's the policies, right?
So again, he'll be on the short end of the stick of his own policies, so where's the issue.
What makes him faux?
Has he ever claimed to be poor himself?
John Edwards is all for being generous to the poor with my money.
He's just not so into doing it with his money (needs it for his conspicuous consumption) or his time.
In other words, he's a fake, a guy who talks the talk but doesn't walk the walk. Even beyond party and ideology, I don't like fakes.
Learn something new every day.
Moe
PS: I call him 'faux' because the alternative is to believe that the man's an absolute dolt who really does think that we're living in some sort of Dickensian class structure dystopia.
But if you prefer, I can stop giving him the benefit of the doubt.
The Fuzzy Puppy of the VRWC.
One who has a pocketful of Starbuck Gift Cards and a firm belief in the eventual conversion of Islamic fanatics into vegans.
Envisioning when all that is Left is the Right.
Are you somehow implying that there are not two Americas?
Walk through Dorchester, MA and walk through Lexington, MA. Take in the whole of Washington, DC. There are two Americas, and Edwards deserved accolades for that.
As for the stuff about "Dickensian class structure dystopia", that seems to me to be sheer hyperbole unless you can provide some sort of quote on that.
And, I agree, it is sheer hyperbole; I wish that Edwards would stop indulging in it*.
Moe.
The Fuzzy Puppy of the VRWC.
*Yes, I know what you meant, but it was an obvious straight line.
of poverty in the richest nation on earth where most of the poor live the equivalent of a middle class life in the 60s, I do think it is important to try and implement policies that help more of the poor develop the skills to take advantage of the historic opportunities in America today. Yes, the poorly educated could legitimately called a second America.
Edwards' mistake is the same mistakes that democrats have been making since the great society despite the failures of those policies.
The key to climbing the ladder in America is taking advantage of freedom thru a stable family of a mother and father committed to their children and their education, self reliance and hard work.
The dems can't advocate for what works though, as to do so would offend their PC, alternative lifestyle, multicultural and moral equivalence, victim-dependant, class envy grievance, constituencies.
"One man with courage makes a majority." - Andrew Jackson
The HinzSight Report
Race 4 2008
One were people take reality as it is and work to better themselves and understand that the oldest lie is "I am from the government and I am here to help"
The other is populated by people that think Democrats actually want to help them.
Veritas magna est et praevalet.
>>>>It's the policies, right?
Yes, it is. We can easily see where similar policy proscriptions have gotten the political career of Patrick J. Buchanan.
>>>>What makes him faux?
1)Criticizing Wal-Mart on the stump and then sending one of his Chode-Boys to Wal-Mart to buy his son a PSIII.
2) Criticizing the housing conditions in NOLA, while snot contributing one red dime of the $114M he spent on this architectural abomination from Golgotha.
Has he ever claimed to be poor himself?
He grew up working in a mill. Much the same way Al GOre used to pick the tobacco by hand as a boy, before he got bored and invented The Internet.
Harry Reid is to ethics reform what HIV was to free love!
that he set up a dummy company in order to avoid paying medicare taxes too.
Two thirds of the world is covered by water, the other third is covered by Champ Bailey
Why take advantage of loopholes if you believe in higher taxes? Shouldn't he be more than joyous to offer up his income to the government, after all he is the one who advocates for more taxes. He had the opportunity to raise his own taxes first and passed.
Two thirds of the world is covered by water, the other third is covered by Champ Bailey
it is not therefore moral, as well?
If my wife were to commit mass murder, I could not legally be compelled to testify against her. Would it be moral for me not to testify?
Suppose I have the chance to stop some crime just by saying "Stop that." Is it moral for me to keep silent, saying I'll just call the police later?
The Academy: researching the Illiberal Arts
The IRS has clear rules about forming an S Corp to avoid this particular tax and it is (and was) not a legal maneuver. As he (or he and wife) is the sole owner, and the sole income earner, the dividends are supposed to be treated as ordinary income for the Medicare tax.
And anyone's accountant who told them to do it would be sued for malpractice if he hadn't also advised his lawyer client that it was risky, but might fly below the radar.
I meant what I said and I said what I meant. An elephant's faithful 100 percent.
Here you go...
Although I didn't think a link would be necessary, it is very widely known that he formed an S-corp to avoid medicare taxes. It's a legal way to avoid them, but really STUPID if you advocate for higher taxes and seek to avoid paying them yourself.
Vice presidential candidate John Edwards saved $600,000 in taxes by forming an S corporation (also known as a subchapter S corporation). How can an S corporation help you?
Edwards made $26.9 million as a trial lawyer in 1995, and he minimized paying Medicare taxes by forming his own S corporation. Edwards paid himself a salary of $360,000 each year for four years and had the S corporation pay him the rest in dividends.
Salary is subject to Medicare taxation at a rate of 2.9%, but dividends escape Medicare taxation. There is no wage base for Medicare, all wages or salaries are subject to the full 2.9% tax. Social Security does have a wage base, which means wages above some limit (currently $87,900) are exempt from the Social Security tax.
So, Edwards saved 2.9% of $25,460,000 or $738,000 in Medicare taxation. However, sole proprietorships are allowed to deduct one half of what they pay in Social Security taxes from their income tax (sole proprietors file Schedule C along with their personal 1040 tax returns). Thus, had Edwards operated as a sole proprietor, he'd get a deduction for $369,000 from his income tax. Figuring income tax at the then-current 39.6% rate, he'd reduce his income tax by about $146,124 if he had filed as a sole proprietor.
Thus, Edwards net savings for forming the S corporation were about $591,000.
Two thirds of the world is covered by water, the other third is covered by Champ Bailey
Once Mr. Edwards has given all he can privately, I would be more receptive to his policies of forcing other people to pay for his ideas.
But when someone is trying to force others to pay for their ideas, it seems somewhat hypocritical for them not to put their own money out there first. Why not start the "Edwards Foundation" instead of the Edwards Mansion.
______________________________________
Social Security Choice - Club For Growth
it isn't so much that he is rich, but that he seems to want to keep his wealth, and live his extragance while demanding other rich people pay more.
I went to school with a girl whose parents were millionaires (they owned a regional plumbing/septic company). They lived in a very normal house, in a very normal neighborhood-no swimming pools, tennis courts or anything. I never saw her or her brother in designer clothes, and they drove fairly typical normal cars. The family gave tons of money to local and other charities.
I remember being shocked, when my mom told me her parents were that rich, because they didn't live that way.
If Edwards lived a bit more like this family, I could buy his "two Americas" spiel, but given that he seems to not want to put his own money where his mouth is, it comes across to me as being pretty disengenuous.
Remember, the income tax doesn't touch money you made last year or the year before, or the money you put in your home. It will, however, impact the income of those who follow after.
What makes this country so stinkin' great is that it affords an unprecedented degree of social and economic mobility- unmatched by any civilization or locale, ever. Steep income taxes thwart this upward mobility.
He bought a house that is probably bigger than a couple of Wal-Marts. Instead of living like a decent person and not flaunting his wealth, he could have just chosen to live in a normal (but nice) house, but instead, he chose ostentation. How many children in Africa could he have sponsored with the savings? How many homeless people could he have bought winter coats for? How many refugees from New Orleans could he have helped get back on their feet with that cash?
Not to mention that a giagantic house like that is likely not very energy efficient.
He could have set an example. Instead, he shows off.
I think these rich Proletarians feel obligated to go out there and spew this populist crap to the masses just to keep the great unwashed from storming their compounds with pitchforks.
I also think they're happy to raise taxes on "the rich" because that means all of their rich friends will suffer, as well. No way in the world a beautiful person like Edwards will suffer all by himself, see his fortune dwindle in the fools errand of "helping the poor" while his buddies get richer. I think think cowardice and envy are the psychological traits that force craven folks like Edwards to not do anything personally to help the poor except run as Democrats preaching redistribution. Helping folks from his own private charity will deplete his fortune while his friends stay rich. He (or his wife) can't stand the idea of him throwing dollars around while the Jones-es just look on with amusement.
Setting an example requires too much character for any trial lawyer to be able to muster on his own. He must get the government to force his kindheartedness.
one for his daughter and a guest house (IIRC), maybe there are 3 Americas?
Don't get me wrong, I don't begrudge him building the house, but he can shut up now about the "2 Americas" thing because the "other" America lives in a house that is smaller than his walkway between the main house and the gym (2200 sq feet of heated walkway).
Two thirds of the world is covered by water, the other third is covered by Champ Bailey
But his pappy was a millworker!
(Until pappy went into management at the mill, that is)
That is one of the ugliest "estates" I've ever seen. The main house isn't too bad, even though it seems like some kind of bizarre, quasi-symmetrical mishmash of a Shaw's Grocery store with a few pretensions of grandeur thrown in through with the columns -- but they should have tossed four of the columns in the front and the squashed appearance of the house itself doesn't do anything to merit the inclusion of the extra columns in the first place. Someone just threw them in there. Any house with columns worth its salt has to have at least one more story, and you NEVER double them up like the architect did here.
But the single most visually jarring and incongruent thing about this property is the mishmash of additions that look like they were just tacked onto the side of the main house every time John thought of something else he wanted -- with absolutely no forethought to how they look when they're all strung together. It looks like someone just said:
"There's no plan here. Just keep tacking stuff on to the right side of the house until it gets to the Barn and greenhouse." It tilts, it sways, none of the construction facades or rooflines match, it just is all askew.
What a waste of The People's money. For a man who seems to care so much how well every hair is placed, this property looks like the shotgun marriage between a linear collider and a plantation. It's just glued together like an old Erector set. I could do better than this, visually and in terms of aesthetics and space with a copy of 3-D architectural software, and I'm not even trained.
Where are all of his Eco-Freak supporters to complain about the poor trees which were cut down to build this monstrosity?
What a heartless bastard, killing all those trees and such.
...who are deemed to be "For the Working Man", then get a free pass from the people and the media on their boorish, self-serving behavior.
Like, for example, Bill Clinton's magnanimous donation of his poo-poo undies to Goodwill, and then taking a $2 per each tax deduction.
Like, for example, Al Gore's $300/yr charitable donations.
Like, for example, Al Gore jetting around the country trying to make people feel guilty for driving an SUV.
man was the US Constitution's protection of private property rights, ie the fruits of one's labor, ie the lynchoin requirment of freedom.
The democratic party hasn't supported a policy that helped the working man since...I can't recall.
"One man with courage makes a majority." - Andrew Jackson
The HinzSight Report
Race 4 2008
</sarcasm>
Best. Snark. Ever.
The Academy: researching the Illiberal Arts
the Toby Keith album, is all I can think of when I see that house.
In Vino Veritas
one in which economic and educational opportunity are there for those that work for it, and one in which people expect it as an entitlement.
___________________________________________________________
Thou art the Great Cat, the avenger of the Gods, and the judge of words...-Inscription on the Royal Tombs at Thebes
As in money, not environmental frugality. What is the utitlity bill for this place?
It looks to me like he bought the house on the right, built the house on the left, then had that hallway in between built to let him cross in safety from the elements.
Couldn't he just build what he wanted from scratch?
Run like Reagan!
First of all, I have to qualify what I say. I am not objective. John Edwards, The Breck Girl, is maybe my least favorite political figure of the last 10 years. I think he is the phoniest hypocrite standing amongst a bunch of phoney hypocrites. Therefore, my mind is made up.
One thing I have been impressed by, though, is the contempt that my fellow North Carolinians hold the former Senator in. I have only lived here for 2 1/2 years but it is very clear to me that Edwards is despised by people on both sides of the aisle here in NC. I am guessing he would have trouble getting to 45% here and that's picking up 5% as a favorite son.
One of the stories that is getting alot of play down here is this "Poverty Study Center" that he has set up in Chapel Hill jointly with UNC. Everyone here knows he is using it as a fund raising device. Yesterday, alot of people here were talking about the fact that he arranged a $40K salary for himself from the center. $40K? That won't pay the heat bills at his house. The guy is like other suddenly wealthy people. He just doesn't know how to handle it, does he?
He's such a man, though. When this story ran on Sunday, what did he do? Sent his wife out to defend him. Wuss.
A few years ago, I was at a Hurricanes playoff game (2002) and they showed the UNC basketball coach who was at the game on the screen, everyone booed. Then they moved to the guy sitting next to him, John Edwards, the booing grew much, much louder. Although Chapel Hill is the right place for him to live.
Two thirds of the world is covered by water, the other third is covered by Champ Bailey
You could at least buy one that looks nice.
What a rambling piece of ****.