John Edwards

Transcript: John Edwards during the third Democratic 2008 presidential primary debate (June 28, 2007) (the All-American Presidential Forum on PBS moderated by Tavis Smiley held at Howard University in Washington, DC)

MR. EDWARDS: Well, let me say first, thank you to the Howard Bison for hosting us here tonight. We’re very proud to be here. This is one of the great HBCUs in America, which all of us should be proud of. I’m proud of some that we have in my home state of North Carolina.

And I also want to thank you for hosting this debate where finally we can talk about inequality in America, which is at the heart and soul of why I’m running for president of the United States. The truth is that slavery followed by segregation followed by discrimination has had an impact that still is alive and well in America, and it goes through every single part of American life. We still have two public school systems in America. These two Americas that I’ve talked about in the past -- man, they are out there thriving every single day. We have two public school systems in America -- one for the wealthy, one for everybody else.

We have two health care systems in America, and we know that race plays an enormous role in the problems that African Americans face and the problems that African Americans face with health care every single day. There are huge health care disparities, which is why we need universal health care in this country. But we have work to do. All of us have work to do. And by the way, also making sure that every single American, including people of color, are allowed to vote and that their vote is counted in the election -- (applause) -- and that we know that their voice is heard in the election. But we have, all of us -- all of us have a responsibility to build one America that works for everybody, across all racial barriers that still exist in this country. (Applause.)

MR. WICKHAM: Thank you, Tavis. This question is about the link between education and poverty. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, in 2006 the unemployment rate of black high school graduates -- black high school graduates -- was 33 percent higher than the unemployment rate for white high school dropouts. To what do you attribute this inequity, which keeps many black families locked in the grip of poverty?

MR. EDWARDS: Let me say, first, DeWayne, this issue of poverty in America is the cause of my life. It’s the reason I started a poverty center at the University of North Carolina. It’s the reason I’ve been working so hard on this issue.

And I think the starting place is to understand that there is no one single cause of poverty. You know, when you have young African- American men who are completely convinced that they’re either going to die or go to prison, and see absolutely no hope in their lives; when they live in an environment where the people around them don’t earn a decent wage; when they go to schools that are second-class schools compared to the schools in wealthy suburban areas, they don’t see anything getting better, there are lots of things that we need to do.

I actually agree with what Senator Biden said about early childhood, but I think we should start much earlier than 4 years of age, which is what the focus has been.

I think it’s also true that we need to pay teachers better. I think we ought to actually provide incentive pay to get our best teachers in the inner-city schools and into poor rural areas where they’re needed the most. But it goes beyond that. We also have to make work pay for young men who are graduating from high school, the very group that you’re describing, which means we’re going to have to do a whole group of things. We need to significantly raise the minimum wage. We need to strengthen the right to organize. And we need to help low-income families save --

MR. SMILEY: Senator Edwards.

MR. EDWARDS: -- so they’re not prey to predatory lenders that are taking advantage of them today. (Applause.)

MS. MARTIN: Thank you, Tavis. Good evening, Governor. Good evening, candidates. I’m sure you’ll agree there are a lot of beautiful young people out here in the audience today, and we’re very pleased to be here at Howard University. So you can imagine how disturbed we were to find out from the Centers for Disease Control that African-Americans, though 17 percent of all American teenagers, they are 69 percent of the population of teenagers diagnosed with HIV/AIDS. Governor and candidates, what is the plan to stop and to protect these young people from this scourge?

MR. EDWARDS: Thank you very much for the question.

African-American women are 25 times as likely to be infected with AIDS today in America than white women. Over half of the new diagnoses of AIDS in America are African-Americans. So this is obviously having a disproportionate effect on people of color and on the African-American community.

I was in a medical center in Los Angeles just a few days ago, where they’re providing treatment and help to those who -- first to determine whether they have AIDS; second, to provide them the treatment and the drugs that they need.

But we shouldn’t be dependent on private funding to do what needs to be done about a scourge that exists in America, and particularly exists among African-Americans in America. Here are the three things I think we need to do.

First, we need to fully fund finding a cure for AIDS, so we can end this scourge once and for all. (Applause.)

Second, we need to fully fund the legislation, the law known as Ryan White, to make sure that the treatment is available for anybody who’s diagnosed with AIDS. (Applause.)

And then finally we need to ensure that Medicaid covers AIDS drugs and AIDS treatment -- (applause) -- to make sure that people get the treatment they need, particularly low-income families who get the -- who are diagnosed with AIDS -- low-income individuals.

MR. NAVARRETTE: Thank you, Tavis. This week billionaire Warren Buffett said that the very wealthy aren’t taxed nearly enough. In fact, he noted -- (applause) -- in fact, he noted that he’s taxed at a lower rate than some of his employees, who earn much less. Do you agree that the rich aren’t paying their fair share of taxes? And if so, what would you do about it?

MR. EDWARDS: Well, I think we have -- in fact, I’ve heard Warren Buffett himself talk about the genetic lottery that we have in America, where, you know, the family you’re born into has an awful lot to do with what happens with your life.

And what we want to do, I think, is live in an America where, no matter who your family is or what the color of your skin or where you’re born, everybody gets the same chance to do well. And people who have done well ought to have more responsibility to pay back to the country and to the community and those around them.

I think there are at least a couple things we need to do. First, we need to get rid of George Bush’s tax cuts for rich people -- (applause) -- which have distorted the tax system in America. I would use that money to pay for universal health care, to make sure everyone’s covered.

But the second problem that he’s talking about is, we have a capital gains rate, 15 percent, which is the rate that most pay on their investment income, like Warren Buffett, that’s significantly lower than the tax rate that his secretary pays.

MR. SMILEY: Senator Edwards --

MR. EDWARDS: That’s not right. There is a moral disconnect. We ought to honor work in this country, not just wealth.

MR. WICKHAM: Okay. Okay, please stay with me on this one. According to FBI data, blacks were roughly 29 percent of persons arrested in this country between 1996 and 2005. Whites were 70 percent of people arrested during this period. Yet at the end of this 10-year period, whites were 40 percent of those who were inmates in this country, and blacks were approximately 38 percent. What does this data suggest to you?

MR. EDWARDS: Tavis, I -- everything that’s been said is correct, you know -- changing mandatory minimum, changing the disparity between crack and powder cocaine, having a system that’s fair. If you’re African-American, you’re more likely to be charged with a crime. If you’re charged with a crime, you’re more likely to be convicted of the crime. If you’re convicted of the crime, you’re more likely to get a severe sentence. There is no question that our justice system is not color-blind.

But can we also create an infrastructure for success for those who are charged and convicted for the first time, so that we help them with drug counseling, job counseling, job training, education -- (applause) -- help them get the back -- back into the community with some chance of changing their lives.

MS. MARTIN: Okay. The question is, would you support a federal law guaranteeing the right to return to New Orleans and other Gulf regions devastated by Hurricane Katrina, based on the United Nations human rights standards governing the internal displacement of citizens -- and I can go further -- that includes the requirement that authorities establish conditions and provides the means to allow internally displaced persons to return voluntarily in safety and dignity?

MR. EDWARDS: This is an issue I care about personally and deeply. As many of you know, I announced my presidential campaign

from the Ninth Ward of New Orleans. I think we took 700 college kids down to help rebuild who gave up their spring break to work with me and others to help rebuild New Orleans. I’m proud of those kids. (Applause.)

We have a huge responsibility. As president, I would make one person -- a very high-level, competent person in the White House -- responsible for reporting to me every day on what he did in New Orleans yesterday -- (applause) -- and then I’ll say the next day: What did you do yesterday? And what we should do is allow the people of New Orleans to rebuild their own city. We ought to pay them a decent wage, give them health care coverage, instead of having big multinational --

MR. SMILEY: Senator?

MR. EDWARDS: -- corporation(s) get billion-dollar contracts with the government.

MR. NAVARRETTE: A lot of Americans are concerned with outsourcing of U.S. jobs. Most corporations, I think it’s fair to say, don’t share that concern. In fact, they argue that we’re living in a global economy and Americans have to compete in that environment. Which side are you on? And if you agree that outsourcing is a problem, what’s your solution?

MR. EDWARDS: Let me say first, this is something I don’t have to read about in a book. I’ve seen it up close. I saw what happen when the mill that my dad worked in all his life, and I worked in myself when I was young, closed and the jobs went somewhere else. It was not just devastating to him and his pride and his dignity. It was devastating to the community, and the same thing has happened all over America.

I think a lot the things that have been said are true. America’s got to compete.

We have to be the best-educated, most innovative workforce on the planet.

We also need trade agreements with real environmental and labor standards that the president of the United States is willing to enforce.

And third, we need to eliminate all tax breaks for companies who are taking their jobs overseas and getting a tax break for doing it. (Applause.)

MR. WICKHAM: This question is about Darfur. This is the second time that our nation has had a chance to do something about genocide in Africa. The first came in Rwanda in 1994, when we did nothing as more than a half a million people were slaughtered there. What does this country’s unwillingness to move aggressively to end the slaughters that take place in Darfur today -- what does it say about our claim to moral leadership?

MR. EDWARDS: I agree, a no-fly zone -- we need to get a security force on the ground; sanctions -- we need to put pressure on the Chinese. But I -- Darfur is part of a bigger question for America, which is, how do we re-establish ourselves after Iraq as a force for good in the world again? And I think there are lots of things we ought to do.

Instead of spending $500 billion in Iraq, suppose America led an effort to make primary school education available to 100 million children in the world who have no education, including in Africa.

MR. SMILEY: Senator Edwards --

MR. EDWARDS: Suppose we led on stopping the spread of disease, sanitation, clean drinking water and economic development.

Read John Edwards's transcript from the first primary debate here

Read John Edwards's transcript from the second primary debate here

2008 Democratic Candidates:

Joe Biden
Hillary Clinton
Christopher Dodd
John Edwards
Mike Gravel
Dennis Kucinich
Barack Obama
Bill Richardson