NH regulators have given conditionalapproval of the sale of Verizon Corp.'s land telephone lines to FairpointCommunications.  Deliberations have been lengthy and rhetoric longbut is there any evidence of what impact the sale may have on the economyof NH?   In the attached February  2008 issue of"Trend Lines NH" we suggest how increased deployment of residential broadband might affect rural regions and we look for evidenceof impacts among some of NH's rural communities. 

Highlights from the February 2008Trend Lines NH : Will Broadband Give A Lift to RuralNH?·         

• What Can We Expect From Investments inRural Broadband (pg. 2)
• Sorting Broadband's Causes From its Effects. (pg 2)
• Higher Employment and Wage Growth. (pg 3)
• Does Broadband Increase the Appeal of Towns?(pg 4)

Trend Lines is designed to provide insight into important trends affecting NH.

http://www.nhinsider.com/storage/TrendLinesNH_Feb08.pdf

My four guiding principles can be summed up simply: Stimulus, Safety, Security, and Sustainability.

When I took office as Governor of Arkansas in 1996, I faced a highway system which was among the worst in the country.  The road conditions were harming our economy and had reached the point of becoming an actual safety risk.   With overwhelming voter approval, we launched a highway bonds project that generated a billion dollars of highway construction, created some 40,000 new jobs, and created new movement for our economy.  Our roads were then called the "most improved" according to Overdrive magazine.  We need to do the same for this country.

Stimulus

• President Bush and Congress have come together to create a short-term economic stimulus package, which I commend and support as a valuable first step.
• However, we must also look to the next century, not just to the next few quarters. 
• So we must also look at longer-term ways to grow local economies and our national economy by: first, easing congestion by emphasizing road expansion and mass-transit investment; second, funding strategic capital improvement projects to make more localities attractive to new businesses and workers; and third, rebuilding the infrastructure of our "tools for trade" such as improvements to and expansions of our seaports and airports.
• This past fall, Texas A&M released a report on the price of congestion in time and money-we now spend 4.2 billion hours each year in our cars, and spend an extra 38 hours per urban driver.  That's nearly the length of a workweek-time taken away from our families, missing kids' soccer games, dance recitals, and school plays.   According to the Texas A&M study, we waste 2.9 billion gallons of gasoline during this lost time; the total cost to our economy is $78 billion every year.
  • In Florida, the Sunshine State is currently working on a project on I-75 in Collier and Lee counties to add an additional lane in each direction.  The cost of that project is $430 million.  Now not only will that construction mean the creation of over 20,000 jobs, it also means that Florida will be reducing congestion, reducing wasted productivity and gasoline, reducing wear on your vehicles, and speeding up the state economy.
• Infrastructure reform enhances productivity and eliminates waste, but it also generates new jobs and revenue.  The U.S. Department of Transportation tells us that every $1 billion invested in federal highway and transit infrastructure results in the creation of some 47,500 jobs, and every $1 spent on infrastructure investment results in an estimated $5.70 in economy activity.  Now that is a stimulus package.
• Florida's economic engine rests on moving people and freight. It has the longest coastline in the continental U.S. and many vital ports.  A strong highway system is integral to moving tourists through the state in a timely manner and taking freight across the country. 
• There is an immediate need to expand the ports of Miami, Tampa, and Jacksonville, which are enormous economic engines not only for Florida but for the entire country.  Yet there are challenges ahead:
  • Annual operating security costs at the Port of Miami almost quadrupled from 2001 to 2006, from about $4 to $16 million.

o       The current expansion of the Panama Canal will allow for much larger tankers to come through Florida.  To harness these benefits, we must enlarge the capacities of the Port of Miami, the Port of Tampa, and the Port of Jacksonville.

o       The Port of Jacksonville is currently working on becoming a deepwater port and expanding to double its cargo capacity.  The Port will need road/rail improvement to transport goods across the state and country.

o       Miami has requested $13 million to complete dredging of the Miami River this year or next.  This would complete an $86 million dredging project started in 2004 and run by the Army Corps of Engineers.  Over the next 20 years, this should generate $100 million in business from ships, letting them use the river at both high and low tides.  The river had not been dredged since the 1930's.

•  
  • The Miami Harbor has requested $2 million for engineering and design for dredging the harbor.

§         These are just some of the important projects that a Huckabee administration will seek to foster.

Safety

• Such infrastructure-based economic development is not just about giving our economy a shot in the arm-it is also about protecting and preserving what we have already developed.  In decades past, our predecessors built canals, then railroads, and then the interstate highway system.  And yet now we can't even keep these vital projects adequately maintained - our bridges are sometimes reinforced with wood, our pavements are crumbling.  These are not just economic challenges; they are safety hazards.
• Our interstate highway system covers 47,000 miles.  Before it was built, motorists could only drive 250 miles a day dawn-to-dark, but after it was built, drivers could cover twice that distance.  There's enormous economic potential in dramatically improving transportation productivity.
• The American Society of Civil Engineers gave our infrastructure a "D" and said that we will need $1.6 trillion in the next five years, and that's not even including our national security needs.  We need this amount just to deal with our "congested highways, overflowing sewers, and corroded bridges".  Poor roads cost Americans $54 billion each year in repairs and operating costs - an average of $275 for each driver.

§         All of our infrastructure is suffering from a lack of maintenance and expansion - we have seen this in the collapse of the Minneapolis bridge on August 1, 2007, the steam pipe explosion in New York City on July 18, 2007, and a year of frustration with air travel, with almost 30% of flights delayed.  Antiquated infrastructure and overcrowded airports are inherently dangerous.

§         In 2006, 73,764 American bridges were rated "structurally deficient" by the U.S. Department of Transportation.  We need to take a hard look at our bridges and make sure they are safe and secure.

§         Bridges and air travel are an issue throughout Florida:

o       Miami has requested federal funding to replace the Northwest 17th Ave. Bridge and 12 Venetian causeway bridges linking Miami and Miami Beach.  This is the sort of infrastructure overhaul we need.

o       The Kendall-TamiamiExecutiveAirport in Miami has requested funds to extend two runways.

o       Orlando International Airport, the busiest airport in Florida, will soon start a $400 million construction project to sustain its main terminal.

o       The highway interchange around Tampa International Airport is currently being expanded.

o       Around Pensacola and Tallahassee, Interstate 10 improvements now underway will significantly enhance transportation across the Panhandle. 

§         We must do a better job of setting priorities.  Much of our federal funding is still apportioned to the states under mechanisms established 50 years ago when we created the interstates.  As President, I will make sure that our prioritization system responds adequately to our most urgent needs. 

§         We need an Asset Management System.  As President, I will instruct my Secretary of Transportation to develop a comprehensive database that assesses the existing condition of infrastructure and then provides options for the funding - including creative private-sector options - to maintain each asset in the condition it needs to be.  This makes funding decisions data-driven, rather than political, so that we can remove the excuse for Congressional earmarks. 

Security

• Moreover, allowing these weaknesses to continue provides openings for the terrorists to exploit. I will address the many security issues still unresolved after 9/11, such as the security of our ports and our chemical plants. 
• For all our effort, we still have far to go in ensuring that our planes are secure and our passengers not overly inconvenienced.  DHS' Transportation Security Lab is researching new technologies to update and secure our air travel.
  • For Miami, this includes a $20 million request for changes made in the terminal to install a baggage explosives detection system.
  • In Orlando, the airport is already taking advantage of new technologies such as the "Clear" card, a voluntary ID system, which will be available in Orlando International Airport starting this June.
• If states choose even tougher standards to protect their people, I will respect their authority and not allow the federal government to pre-empt those standards.  When New Jersey passed standards for its chemical plants, lobbyists for the chemical companies tried to get Congress to pass weak federal legislation for these plants and to pre-empt New Jersey from enforcing its stricter standards.  I will always fight for you, not the lobbyists.

• I will reassess, tighten, and strengthen the focus and mission of the Department of Homeland Security.  When the Department was formed, it brought together 180,000 people from 22 agencies, combining tasks as diverse and unrelated as the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service from the Agriculture Department to the Nuclear Incident Response Team from the Department of Energy.  Its size and structure have proven to be unwieldy and inefficient.  We must reform and restructure DHS so that it is even more effective at identifying threats and foiling attacks.
  • For example, at the Port of Miami, divers search for contraband at the Coast Guard's request, but since DHS is not reimbursing them, the Miami Dade Police Department is picking up that tab.  DHS should provide the funding to conduct hull searches as ships enter the port. 
  • I also support Miami's request for DHS to open a regional office in Miami-Dade County. This will make sure that Florida's largest metropolitan area has the resources to work with state and federal officials in case of a terror attack or other emergency.
  • We need better radiation detection devices to screen cargo in our ports.  The current generation has technology limitations.  I support DHS' pilot program called SETCP (Southeast Transportation Corridor Pilot), which Florida participates in, for using mobile radiation detection devices.
  • Miami has also requested $6 million to improve communications between police and firefighters.  This sort of interoperability is key to our ability to respond to a national disaster or terrorist attack.
• When Congress put FEMA in the Department of Homeland Security, they moved its director too far down the food chain.  I will restore FEMA to cabinet status, so that the Director reports directly to me.  My FEMA director will have sterling credentials, leadership and management skills, including extensive, hands-on experience in disaster response.  
• During the massive emergency of Hurricane Katrina, when local, state, and federal governments were in melt-down, I stepped forward and directed the rescue and relief of 75,000 victims. Our success amidst so much failure was one of the reasons Time magazine named me one of America's five best governors.
• A sound infrastructure is also the key to developing our energy security, and our energy independence.  As President, I will work to make sure that we have a comprehensive and balanced approach to the enormous challenge of strengthening  America's energy independence from unstable and sometimes hostile foreign governments.   If we could put a man on the moon four decades ago, we can accomplish this mission in the coming decade.

Sustainability

§         I have always been a conservationist. Stewardship of the air and land and soil is very important to me.  I will follow the principle I learned from the Boy Scouts: Always leave the land better than when you found it.  I am proud of my record in Arkansas, building constructive consensus on key issues.  I look forward to bringing the same leadership to America. 

§         We need to move toward long-term solutions, bringing a comprehensive vision, combining economic development and environmental protection.  We can have both.

§         We must link land use and transportation planning.  It is folly, for example, to provide rail service to places that don't have the density to make it work. 

§         We keeping building schools and post offices outside of town centers, so that everyone has to drive.  Our children don't walk to school or to the playground anymore, which is not only a transportation issue, but causes childhood obesity as well.  So transportation becomes a health issue, a lifestyle issue, which shapes the future of our children and our county.  We need to trim the fat and produce an efficient, sustainable plan for the future.

§         We must also consider sustainability relating to water, of particular importance to Floridians.

o       South Miami-Dade has a request for a $6.25 million water pipeline.

o       Biscayne Bay has made a $500,000 request for a study of water quality.

§         Properly used, public transportation can reduce congestion and emissions, lower our demand for oil, and improve accessibility.

o       Miami has requested funding for 12 new Metromover vehicles; $6 million for new buses and routes, $5 million for transit security, $8 million for pedestrian overpasses.

• We should use the new technology and markets available to us to encourage the next generation of sustainable infrastructure. The US Green Building Council has created the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating Systems, which cover everything from homes and offices to schools and hospitals, even neighborhood development.  LEED is the nationally and internationally accepted benchmark for designing, building, and running green structures.  We should consider offering personal and corporate tax benefits for LEED Certified buildings.

Conclusion

• These improvements are vital to our economic prosperity, but they also define our quality of life. We've spent decades ignoring the issue, and we no longer have a national transportation or infrastructure vision like the one that built the interstate highway system in the 1950's or sent us to the moon in the 1960's.  The Huckabee administration would restore and act on that national vision.

Agenda for Safe and Healthy Families

Ø Preventing the need for adoption – Hillary will reform the foster care financing system to allow states to invest in what’s right for the children in their care. Along the lines recommended by the Pew Commission on Children in Foster Care, Hillary will provide support to states as they provide the range of services from prevention of placement in foster care to support for children who have been reunified with their families or adopted. Without taking away the entitlement for children in foster care, Hillary will provide new rewards for states that succeed in reducing the number of children in care and lessening the time they spend in care. Rather than essentially forcing states to keep kids in care in order to get federal matching dollars for payments to foster homes and administrative funds, Hillary will enable states to invest in keeping families healthy and kids out of foster care, investing in services from housing assistance, to mental health counseling, to respite care. The policy will also enable states to invest more money in quickly reunifying children with their families when it is safe to do so.

Ø Getting Adoptive Parents in the Door -- A recent study found that 48 million Americans have said they would consider adopting out of foster care. Approximately 240,000 Americans reach out to child welfare agencies each year to inquire about adopting or fostering a child, but only 22% of those fill out an application or attend an orientation meeting; only 6% complete the adoption home-study; and an even smaller fraction actually adopts or fosters a child. The problem is that states aren’t investing in encouraging parents to adopt; while 22% of children in the foster care system are available for adoption, yet states spend only 1.3% of their foster care funds on recruiting and training foster and adoptive parents. We can do much more to draw in prospective parents and connect them with children who desperately need loving families. As President, Hillary will:

• Recruit Prospective Adoptive Parents -- Hillary will provide an enhanced federal match for child welfare funds spent on parent recruitment initiatives. She will also provide $50 million for innovative public-private partnerships designed to recruit and retain prospective parents. Hillary’s guiding principle will be that no child should remain in foster care for one day longer than is necessary.
• Require states to streamline their adoption processes in order to make them user-friendly – As President, Hillary will require states – as a condition of receiving child welfare funding – to develop and implement improved systems for retaining adoptive parents all the way through the process. States will be required to track the number of inquiries they receive as well as their retention rate at every step in the process, and to develop and implement an action plan based on their findings. And she will gather and disseminate information on the best practices communities are using to recruit and retain adoptive parents so that states and communities can build on each other’s successes in this area.
• Make the Adoption Tax Credit Permanent – The Adoption Tax Credit provides $10,960 to cover any costs incurred in the course of an adoption, or in the case of children adopted out of foster care, any tax liability of the adoptive parents. This credit is set to expire in 2010. As President, Hillary will make this tax credit permanent. She will also look for ways to provide an even greater incentive to adopt children out of foster care, such as making it partially refundable.

Ø Keeping Adoptive Families Together – W hile most adoptions succeed, 10 to 25 percent of adoptions out of foster care are dissolved or disrupted. One major reason is that adoptive parents often can’t get the support their children need. In the most tragic instances, adoptive families have to send children back to foster care to get them the services they need, such as mental health treatment. In addition, many states provide less in adoption assistance than foster care assistance, discouraging foster parents who’d like to adopt from actually doing so. As President, Hillary will:

• Fund comprehensive post-adoption services – Hillary will ensure that federal funds support children who have been adopted out of foster care and make mental health and other services for adopted children reimbursable under federal child welfare guidelines, just as these services are for children in foster care .
• Increase access to adoption assistance – Hillary will put adoption on a level playing field with foster care by increasing adoption assistance payments to the same level as foster care payments, in states where they are lower.

Ø Supporting Other Forms of Permanency

• Subsidized Guardianship – Hillary will also support families doing what they have done for generations – caring for their extended kin. She will provide federal resources to support subsidized guardianship programs for children who have been in foster care for at least one year, are not candidates for adoption or returning home, and who demonstrate a strong attachment to a relative who is willing and able to care for them. Through subsidized guardianship, children can achieve permanency yet remain connected to their biological relatives. Research has shown that the availability of guardianships encourages permanency, including adoptions, by encouraging family members to think in terms of the children’s long-term interests. Because subsidized guardianship has worked in the states where it is available, Hillary will support it nationwide.

Today, Hillary Clinton outlined her agenda to ease the burden on families that are struggling to balance caring for elderly parents, spouses and children, while meeting their job obligations. Maintaining this balance is a growing practical and financial struggle. Today’s parents have 22 fewer hours to spend with their children. Two-thirds of working parents say they do not have enough time with their children. And with a growing elderly population, many of these working parents are finding themselves in the “sandwich generation,” providing care not only as “working parents” but as “working children” for their own parents as well. Out-of-pocket costs for families with long-term caregiving responsibilities have skyrocketed to $5,531 per year – more than what most of these families spend on their own health care. Burdened with both long-term care and child care costs, many caregivers are dipping into their retirement savings or forgoing health care coverage for themselves.

Hillary Clinton understands the need to ease the burdens on these families. Americans are working harder for less pay and feeling increasingly overwhelmed as they struggle to balance work and family. With sound policies and sensible investments, Hillary will provide people more choices to make the decisions that are best for them. Hillary’s plan for caregivers will offer:

· A New $3,000 Caregiving Tax Credit : Hillary will offer a new $3,000 Caregiving Tax Credit to any person with substantial long-term care needs or to their caregivers. On average, unpaid caregivers pay more than $5,000 in out-of-pocket costs, often dipping into their savings or forgoing their own health care. The credit will not require a complex accounting of out-of-pocket costs, but instead would be available directly to any individuals with substantial long-term care needs or their caregivers.

New Hampshire : Hillary’s Caregiver Tax Credit will provide generous new assistance to at least 20,000 New Hampshire residents. [CRS, 2007; Census 2007]

· A New Long-Term Care Insurance Tax Credit: Hillary will offer a new tax credit to help those planning for their long-term care needs afford high-quality insurance policies that are right for them. This new tax credit will cover 75 percent of long-term care insurance premiums up to $1,500 per year for qualified long-term care insurance policies that meet strong new consumer protection requirements. The credit will reward middle-class families that take steps to prepare for their long-term care needs.

New Hampshire : Hillary’s new Long Term Care Insurance Tax Credit will benefit at least 45,000 New Hampshire seniors and near-retirees. [ http://www.ahipresearch.org/pdfs/18_LTC2002.pdf (p. 27)].

· Stepped Up Support for Unpaid Family Caregivers : Hillary understands that the heroic work of caregiving can take its toll. By providing temporary relief and counseling for caregivers, we will improve the quality of life of those they care for. As President, Hillary will invest an additional $300 million per year in the Lifespan Respite Caregiver Act and the National Family Caregiver Support Program.

· Paid Family Leave by 2016 : Hillary will set a bold goal of having paid leave for all American workers by 2016. She will reach that goal first by expanding the Family Medical Leave Act to cover employers with 25 or more workers, a change that will provide legal protection for unpaid leave to 13 million additional workers. Second, Hillary will commit $1 billion per year for a Family Leave Innovation Fund to support the establishment and expansion of state-level leave programs for new parents and those caring for their aging parents.

New Hampshire : In New Hampshire, this proposal could impact approximately 500,000 private-sector workers – 91 percent of all private-sector workers – who do not have paid family leave. [National Partnership for Women & Families]

· Guaranteed Access to Sick Days for All Americans : Hillary is proposing to make seven sick days a year – to care for yourself or your children – standard. When people go to work ill or worry about their sick child, they make other people sick and they run the risk of affecting the productivity of the organization as a whole.

New Hampshire : In New Hampshire, this proposal could impact approximately 263,000 workers (42% of the private and public workforce) who currently do not have sick days. [National Partnership for Women & Families]

· Increased Support for Child Care : Hillary has worked to expand access and improve quality of child care in our country for decades. The Bush Administration has essentially frozen the level of child care funding for the last eight years. As a result, the real purchasing power of child care subsidies has fallen significantly. According to the Bush Administration’s own estimates, 300,000 children will lose child care assistance by 2010, and 150,000 have already lost child care assistance since 2000. Hillary believes we need to increase child care funding through the Child Care and Development Block Grant and return the program to it’s original intent: to serve working families.

The social compact with the middle class is under siege because big corporations and special interests have taken over Washington. That compact says that if you work hard and do what’s right, you’ll get some security and the chance to build a better life for yourself and your family. But today, middle class families are not rising, and the gap between the haves and everyone else has grown wider than at any time since the great Depression.

The American middle class is struggling. Wages are stagnant even though the economy is growing, while the cost of middle-class essentials like health care and child care continues to grow. The basic American bargain is breaking down.

· Our economy is growing only at the top: Forty percent of economic growth over the past 20 years went to the top 1 percent of households. Income inequality is at its highest since the Great Depression. [EPI, 2006; CBPP, 2007]

· Families are working longer hours, but finding it harder to get by: Families work 10 more hours a week than they did 20 years ago. But middle-class incomes have stagnated for the past seven years. [DOL, 2007]

· Higher costs for the basics: Costs for middle-class essentials – including housing, health care, college, child care and transportation – have all outpaced wage growth. A child born in 2003 will cost middle-class families 15 percent more to raise than a child born in 1960, after adjusting for inflation. [Draut, 2005; USDA, 2003]

· Powerful corporate interests have taken control of our government: The number of Washington lobbyists has tripled to 36,000 since 1996, more than 60 for every member of Congress. Their impact can be seen across our society: a broken health care system, reliance on old sources of energy, the neglect of poverty, unfair terms of credit, and subsidies for corporate agribusiness. [Senate Office of Public Records, 2006]

· Losing hope for the American dream: More Americans are worried that the next generation will face fewer economic opportunities and less security and mobility. Only 30 percent of Americans think life will be better for the next generation. [Pew, 2006]

Today, John Edwards outlined his Middle Class Rising plan to restore the American dream and meet the moral test passed by 20 generations before us: to leave a better future to our children than we inherited. We must strengthen America’s middle class to make sure that all Americans have a fair shot at the American Dream.

Create Good Jobs that Pay Enough to Support a Family

· Invest in the Industries of the Future: Renewable sources of energy – including ethanol, biodiesel, wind and solar – can create new industries and at least 1 million new jobs. Edwards will establish the New Energy Economy Fund to jumpstart renewable energies with start-up capital and train over 150,000 workers for Green Collar jobs. He will also invest in other sources of innovation such as life sciences, technology and private-sector research.

· Enact Smarter Trade Policies: Iowa has seen the results of unfair trade – losing more than 17,000 jobs in the last six years due to growing trading deficits with China. Trade deals need to make sense for American workers, not just corporations. Edwards will reject NAFTA-style trade deals and make sure any new trade agreements include strong labor and environmental standards and will vigorously enforce American workers' rights in existing agreements. He will also expand trade adjustment assistance to do much more for the workers and communities that are hurt by global competition. [EPI, 2007]

· Eliminate Tax Incentives to Move Offshore: The U.S. tax code encourages multinational corporations to invest overseas by allowing them to indefinitely defer taxation on their foreign profits. In practice, this means that multinational companies pay little or no tax on their foreign profits. Edwards will eliminate the benefit of deferral in low-tax countries, ensuring that American companies’ profits are taxed when earned at either the U.S. rate or a comparable foreign rate, to eliminate any incentive to move overseas.

· Make Work Pay by Raising the Minimum Wage: Under Gov. Culver, Iowa has been a leader in raising the minimum wage. But even at its 2008 level of $7.25, the earnings of a single parent with two children will still be $2,000 below the federal poverty line. Edwards will set a national goal of a minimum wage that equals half the average wage. He will raise the minimum wage by 75 cents a year until it reaches $9.50 in 2012 and then set it to rise automatically with average wages, ensuring that all workers share in America’s growth. [HHS, 2007]

· Reform the Tax Code to Reward Work, Not Wealth: As a result of President Bush’s regressive tax policies, the share of the federal tax burden borne by taxpayers in the middle and fourth quintiles is increasing while the share of taxes paid by the top 1 percent fell. Edwards will overhaul the tax code with new tax breaks to strengthen the middle-class pillars of saving, work, and family. He will also ensure that the wealthy pay their fair share of taxes by raising the tax rate on capital gains to 28 percent for the most fortunate taxpayers and repealing the Bush income tax cuts for individuals making more than $200,000 a year. [Tax Policy Center, 2006]

· Build Career Ladders: Two of the fields with the largest predicted job growth – health care and education –have both low-end and high-end positions and offer the potential for mobility. Edwards will invest in career ladders in these and other fields, helping low-wage workers to train on the job, gain new skills, and move into better jobs. For example, health care aides could become certified nurse assistants and registered nurses.

· Strengthen Workers’ Right to Organize: Union families earn up to 30 percent more than non-union families, but union membership has fallen from 30 percent of private-sector workers in 1973 to just 8 percent today. The right to choose a union is poorly enforced, full of loopholes, and routinely violated by employers. Edwards will enact the Employee Free Choice Act, vigorously enforce labor laws, and ban the use of permanent replacements for striking workers. [BLS, 2007; Census Bureau, 2007]

Give Americans the Tools to Build a Secure Retirement

· Create Universal Retirement Accounts that Move from Job to Job: Only 27 percent of households within 20 years of retirement have adequate retirement savings. Americans who retire with a pension have nearly twice the annual income of those who depend only on Social Security and personal savings, but too few middle-class families are able to start saving. Edwards will create a new universal retirement account available to all workers without another pension. Workers will be able to build up these savings accounts over the course of their careers, regardless of how many times they change jobs. Edwards will match worker contributions up to dollar-for-dollar on the first $500 with a new Get Ahead tax credit, far more valuable than the 10 percent or 15 percent tax deduction that many workers get today on retirement savings. [EPI, 2006; PRC, 2007; Gale, Gruber and Orszag, 2006]

· End the Housing Crisis: Edwards has proposed a comprehensive plan to lead us out of the foreclosure crisis and help families keep their homes, without bailing out irresponsible investors and speculators. He will go further than the Bush-Paulson plan to give every family an opportunity to renegotiate the terms of their mortgage, with counseling and small amounts of aid from a new Home Rescue Fund. He will also let families adjust the terms of their mortgages in bankruptcy, like investors can on their second homes and investment properties. Edwards will prevent future crises by passing a strong national law against predatory lending and creating a new federal regulator for financial services products.

· Rein in Credit Card and Other Abusive Lending: Half of Americans say they live paycheck to paycheck – meaning millions of families rely on short-term credit just to pay the bills. Middle-class families are facing a radically transformed credit environment because interest rates were deregulated in 1978, which has led to looser lending standards and higher rates and fees. Edwards will require minimum protections on credit cards, such as restoring a 10-day grace before late fees and applying interest rate increases to future balances only. He will also create a new consumer watchdog agency – the Family Savings and Credit Commission – whose sole purpose will be to crack down on these kinds of predatory practices. [[MetLife, 2003; Draut, 2006]

Remove the Burdens that Are Weighing Families Down

· Make College More Affordable: The three-quarters of Iowa’s graduating college students who have debt owe $23,700, on average -- 25 percent more debt than the national average. Roughly one in five young adults reports that student debt caused them to delay starting a family and forced them to change careers. Edwards will create a national College for Everyone initiative to pay public-college tuition, fees and books for students who work part-time, take a college-prep curriculum in high school, and stay out of trouble. [TICAS, 2007; Nellie Mae, 2003]

· Offer Universal Preschool and Expand Affordable Child Care: More than two-thirds of mothers are working, most of them full time, but our workplace practices and public policies have not kept up with this new reality. Child care costs more than a rent for a family with two children. Edwards will create a Great Promise early childhood education program for every four-year-old. For younger children, he will more than double the child care tax credit and create a national Smart Start initiative to work with local nonprofits to make child care higher quality, more available, and more affordable. [BLS, 2005; NACCRRA, 2006 ]

· Create Paid Family and Medical Leave: Edwards will create a $2 billion National Family Trust to offer paid family and medical leave benefits to all workers by 2014, and he will make the federal government a model employer with a generous paid leave benefit. He will also expand the Family and Medical Leave Act to cover 13 million more workers by reducing the threshold for exemption for the law from 50 workers to 25 workers and help long-term part-time workers. In addition, Edwards will require businesses to offer their workers seven paid sick days a year, with pro-rated leave for part-timers.

· Help Families with Rising Home Heating Costs: John Edwards has championed the need to take on big oil and gas companies to halt global warming and build a new energy economy based on efficiency and renewable energy. Edwards has called on Congress to release some of the nation’s home heating and oil reserves to bring down prices and finally fully fund the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program, which could help more than 3 million more families. He has also proposed more than doubling assistance for weatherization programs and called on neighbors to help weatherize the homes of vulnerable seniors this winter. Finally, he has proposed helping states and non-profits offer low- or no-interest emergency loans so that squeezed families do not fall prey to high-cost lenders.

Guarantee True Universal Health Care

· Guarantee True Universal Health Care: Forty-seven million Americans live without health insurance. Edwards will take on the big insurance and drug companies and guarantee true universal health care for every man, woman and child in America. Employers will have to help cover their employees, the government will make insurance affordable with new reforms and subsidies, and all Americans will have insurance. His plan offers every American the option of a public plan that could evolve to a single payer system. [Census Bureau, 2007]

· Deliver Better Care at Lower Cost: Health care costs have consistently grown faster than wages for almost 50 years. Over the past five years alone, families have seen premiums grow by 90 percent while benefits have been cut. Edwards will take on the insurance and drug companies to cut needless waste in the health care system. He will also take much needed common-sense steps such as emphasizing preventive and primary care, requiring electronic medical records, and identifying and publicizing the most cost-effective treatments. Togethe rthese steps will save the average family $2,000 to 2,500 a year. [Kaiser Family Foundation, 2006]