John Edwards:Globalization

Edwards:Globalization

ACorrea

P.3

"Our generation must be the one that says, 'we must halt global warming.' If we don't act now, it will be too late. Our generation must be the one that says 'yes' to alternative, renewable fuels and ends forever our dependence on foreign oil. Our generation must be the one that accepts responsibility for conserving natural resources and demands the tools to do it. And our generation must be the one that builds the New Energy Economy. It won't be easy, but it is time to ask the American people to be patriotic about something other than war." Presidential candidate John Edwards strongly believed that global warming was a very big issue that had to be dealt with during the 2008 election. Edwards’ plans were to help to common people deal with what is a great issue right now, and that is the global warming issue that does not only deal with the climate change but also with trade, workers and their wages, international trade, and labor it self.

During his presidential campaign Edwards focused on dealing with issues that he thought really matter to people like trade. He states "Trade has become a bad word for working Americans for a simple reason: our trade policy has been bad for working Americans. We need new trade policies that put workers, wages and families first.” Edwards planned to be a tough negotiator, unafraid to reject bad deals. So far thanks to President Bush the trade negotiations had been brought about by cooperate lobbyists. In doing this trade deals include special privileges for American multinational corporations but not protections for worker rights. Which lead to another issue that was also considered important which is the way the labor fields were being ran. John Edwards strongly believed that the people are being mistreated and were not given their proper place in front of the trade policies. Edwards also says that thing have changed and conditions had improved but that the conditions for the people have not changed at all. He says “Our economy is growing and the productivity of our workers is at an all-time high, but workers' wages have failed to keep up with the costs of health care, education and retirement.” He based some on his argument for presidency on the harsh conditions and low wages of laborers. He believed that the NAFTA was the perfect example of a organization that was in need of change and believed that it was better to negotiate with it rather than just canceling it. He shows that by closing a business then that ends up affection many people as he shows in the following quote, “When communities lose a major employer, there is a predictable downward spiral: retailers lose customers, home foreclosures depress property values, and falling tax receipts force cuts in public services.” Edwards planed to require the independent U.S. International Trade Commission to study which communities will face stiffer competition under new trade deals. He also planned to bring about new resources will be available for shoring up the local tax base, attracting new family-sustaining jobs, and helping local businesses expand. As well as many other issues he had to address the issue involving the environment. "I do not favor nuclear power. We haven't built a nuclear power plant in decades in this country -- there's a reason for that. The reason is it's extremely costly, takes an enormous amount of time to get one planned, developed, and built, and we still don't have a safe way to dispose of the nuclear waste -- and it's a huge problem for America over the long term. I also don't believe we should liquefy coal. The last thing we need is another carbon-based fuel in America. We need to find fuels that are, in fact, renewable, clean, and will allow us to address directly the question that has been raised, which is the issue of global warming, which I believe is a crisis." In regards with the environment, Edwards believe that the United States needs to be focused on helping residents of New Orleans rebuild after Katrina. Katrina gave face to millions of faces of poverty. Edwards had a very strong believe that the new president should help them and not just ignore them after a bit of aid was given to them. John Edwards also believed that we have to “investigate & enforce clean air laws against the refineries.” Edwards also proposed a $13-billion-a-year New Energy Economy Fund that would invest in renewable energy, efficiency, carbon-capture technology, and cleaner cars. The fund would be financed by the auctioning of permits to emit greenhouse gases and the repeal of some oil-industry tax breaks. Lastly he proposed that the EPA must do better on mercury clean-up. John Edwards made very strong proposals and had legitimate arguments when defending them. His stand on globalization involved many aspects other than just environment. He addressed many other issues and was very clear on where he stood on each issue.

References:
Source A: "“Smarter Trade That Puts Workers First”." February 2008. John Edwards for President . 8 Feb 2008 <http://www.johnedwards.com/issues/trade/.>
Source B:"Edwards on the Issues." February 2008. John Edwards for President . 8 Feb 2008 .
Source C: "John Edwards on Environment, Free Trade, Jobs." February 2008. John Edwards for President . 8 Feb 2008 .
Source D: "Edwards to Hit Rivals on Trade." February 2008. John Edwards for President . 8 Feb 2008 <http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalradar/2007/11/edwards-to-hit-.html>.
Source E: “John Edwards." February 2008. John Edwards for President . 8 Feb 2008 .