How Many Folks Here Make UNDER Fifty Thousand a Year? And Does That effect who you Support?

[stravu9]

I 'm kind of trying to see if the working poor support one candidate over another because they , personally , really need the economy to turn around and how many support their candidate for more academic reasons? Or certain issues they personally find important?

I will fess up that , as a Social Worker I do what I do out of love and belief in helping the helpless it's obviously not about profit so , yes I make well under $50 k a year and could use a better economy which is why I support Edwards.
He has talked about "The Two Americas " for as long as I can remember so I believe his plans to change things like FDR.

What about you other folks?

[redqueen]

1. Hell yes I make WELL under $50K... and yes, it probably does have a lot to do

with my support for Edwards.

I switched to him for his healthcare ideas... but his putting poverty front & center in his campaign sure doesn't hurt.

[stravu9]

4. I'm Glad I'm not the only one!

Missouri State Employees always rank 49 or 50 out of all the States!

[Mythsaje]

2. I'd support Edwards no matter HOW much I made

because even in good times I remember the bad times. Some people don't.

[redqueen]

8. ...

:yourock:

[Andy823]

37. I agree

Edwards has the right message for change, and we need serious changes in this country!

[glowing]

3. I think most working stiffs support a Edwards.. newbie politicalites..

support Obama (go figure he's most republite) and those who have been around the block a time or two seem enchanted by the Clintons still...

[stravu9]

7. I have to go for Edwards Fro Myself And my clients!

We need the help!

[robbedvoter]

5. I do - and think any dem would be better for me than GOP. None better than the rest on the issue

Rhetoric doesn't sway me too much.

[FreakinDJ]

6. I make 100K per year and WE NEED EDWARDS

America needs a working class hero or we might as well start selling off chunks of America to the Chinese and Saudis

[stravu9]

10. Thanks! And Congratulations!

Glad your are doing well and would like others to do better!

[FreakinDJ]

16. We need Edwards or it will be the last year I make that

Hilary blames Bush for selling bonds to China to finance oil wars in the mid-east.

I don't see the difference between that and Hilary serving on the Walmart board of directors and Bill signing free trade agreements that export our manufacturing base over seas.

Either way we have a national debt / trade deficit that can't be paid. Our Grand children's future has been sold out from underneath them, and the only one I see willing to fight that fight is Edwards

[zanne]

9. I make well under 50K a year and I support Obama. nt

[stravu9]

14. What part of his agenda appeals to you? I know what Edwards has said about Canceling Nafta ...

and the WPA type program where he says he'll put people to work within 30days rebuilding the crumbling infrastructure. But I confess I don't know about Obama's plan. Can you fill me in?

[zanne]

24. After a roundtable discussion with him and eight others...

After the press and the other participants had left, I got up to leave and he said, "Can you stay a minute? I'm worried about you." Then he tried to help me find a way to get my prescriptions for free or at a reduced price. He doesn't just pretend to be compassionate in public. You can't beat that.

[stravu9]

26. I'm Sure he does Care about people.

You can almost tell that just by looking at him. I was just wondering about like, slecific stuff because , I confess, I haven't done my homework on it!
Thanks!

[bigwillq]

11. I make under 50 and support Kucinich

I will still vote for DK in the primary.

[dragonkeep]

12. Way under....

I think Edwards' message is spot on for the low-income, middle-income people. Every issue he is passionate about affects the bulk of Americans. Our family income is above that mark but it takes both of us to do it.

[stravu9]

17. That's the key! Back in the '80's women hit the job market hard...

and it kept the American Family afloat. Now , both parents already work and there is no way to get another income unless they Repubs repeal child labor laws!

[Mike03]

13. Important question.

I almost wish you would cross post this in GD. There are some discussions going on there now about the economy.

[stravu9]

18. Sure!

No problem.

[Mike03]

15. I remember when I felt lucky to make twenty five thousand a year.

Wow are those days gone.

[stravu9]

20. I know , but milk wasn't 5 bucks a gallon then!

:7

[hfojvt]

19. you think under $50,000 is "working poor"?

I make under fifteen thousand.

But I do have over $50,000 in assets.

[stravu9]

25. Well I'm trying to consider people in like San Francisco and other more expensive places.

Most folks in my profession make about $16.00 bucks per hour but I lived in San Fran for a time and rent alone will smoke you out there and they make more to make up for that fact.

[Berry Cool]

30. Then you should have said so.

I saw your post first in another forum. There's a whole world of us out here living in small towns, small and medium-sized cities, etc., where the cost of living is far lower than in New York, Los Angeles or San Francisco, just to name a few. We may not make $50K but in no way would we qualify as "poor"!

On the contrary...we're surrounded by people earning $20-$30K who think someone earning $50K is unimaginably rich.

[stravu9]

33. Wel for all I know you enjoy a penthouse view! you still didn't answer the question!

does what you make , little or a lot effect who you support?

[stravu9]

36. I was Asked to post his elsewhere if you lookabove to ...

Mike03 Important question post!

[mondo joe]

31. Even so. Poverty level for a family of 3 is about 17k. Even at 200% of poverty level,

that's not working poor.

And living in Seattle I'm sensitive to the fact that some cities have a much higher cost of living.

[stravu9]

35. Well my Medicaid client gross about 22 thousand a year and their children still qualify fo MChip.

I consider that working poor because mom still has no coverage and has to pay daycare to boot!

[mondo joe]

38. One of the un/fortunate things about referring to levels of income is that words

like POOR or RICH are subjective.

:shrug:

[stravu9]

42. Here in Missouri where I am a Social Worker...

"When Blunt took office in 2005, he decided Missouri couldn't afford its health care program for the poor, then known as Medicaid. About 100,000 adults below the poverty line were cut from the rolls. Most were single mothers.
Under Blunt, the number of children covered by the state has shrunk by 71,463, a decline of nearly 13 percent. A recent Post-Dispatch poll found that 57 percent of those surveyed opposed Blunt's approach to health care for the poor."

Mr. Blunt declared this week that he would not seek a second term because he said he had accomplished everything he had wanted to do in Missouri.

[Bluzmann57]

21. I make under $50,000

Unless I work overtime. Lots of overtime. I do, however, have a (very) small side business, which I do entirely on my own, and that adds to my earnings. I support Edwards in part because of his "Two Americas" message. He is dead on about that.

[stravu9]

28. I know about the Two Jobs thing also!

Social worker by day , book seller nights and weekends!

[balantz]

22. Well under $20,000, laboring grunt type here.

I would likely support Edwards no matter what I make, as I was raised in a progressive/populist environment and would like to see this country turn away from imperialism and elitism and focus on enlightening issues, like helping solve world problems and being a promoter of peace.

[stravu9]

27. Yeah, one of my friends works at a cereal factory, he always smells like sugar popps!

non union , of course and he supports Edwards too!

[balantz]

29. Love those sugar pops!

[zalinda]

23. Support Edwards........well under $50,000 here

Actually $50,000 would feel like rich to me.

zalinda

[asdjrocky]

32. Check.

[BringBigDogBack]

34. Under, I support Obama

and Edwards...

[toadzilla]

39. I'm under 50k and i support Edwards for a number of reasons.

i have free health care from my job (I know I'm lucky), but i still really really want universal health care. I think his plan is the best. Basically i just see him as the most progressive candidate. Education is another biggie for me, I'd like to be able to afford grad school.

edit: spelling

[Mitsuko]

40. Voting one's own economic interest cuts both ways

I make over 100K a year, so if I was to vote for my own economic interest I'd vote Republican. I'll never do that because I still remember growing up in the 1980s with a single mom who worked herself close to death just to provide shelter and groceries for me and my brother. I live in a fairly affluent area, so I hate to see economic interest being employed as a reason to vote for certain candidates. Essentially it encourages people who are comfortable financially to guard against what's perceived as money taken away from them.

BTW it's nice to see a non-divisive thread. I've decided to de-lurk and start contributing recently after lurking here for months.

[stravu9]

41. Your opinion is appreciated!

Welcome aboard! :hi:

[Mother Of Four]

45. WELCOME from another former lurker

I came out of the woodwork during this season.

:bounce:

[Yuugal]

43. way under

Its Edwards for me. I don't see Obama and Hillary rushing back to DC to make sure disabled people and the homeless will get any stimulus and thats really all I need to know about them. This party isn't much of a party for the working class/poor anymore, so after this primary season I'll be an independent. Neither of them ever fight for me, they have alot of balls expecting my vote in nov.

[Extend a Hand]

44. I support John Edwards

I think he understands how our current tax system punishes income earners at all levels and rewards the very wealthy that live of "economic rent" not "earned income". I think his plan to reduce taxes for those at the bottom end of the income level thru increases in capital gains and the elimination of corporate tax brakes rather than imposing higher taxes on earned income is fair. No wonder the giant media corportations are trying to ignore him.

The income difference between those living at the poverty level and the bottom of the top 1% is SMALL relative to the difference income between the income earner at the bottom of the top 1% and the those at the top the scale. And the disparity is really even worse, when the US Census Bureau reports data on income they do not even include those with incomes over $1,000,000. I think this little oversight is just another ploy to skew the data to protect the truly wealthy and pit the "poor" against the "affluent" to fight over the crumbs.

I'm over but John Edwards still supports my economic interests as a "WAGE EARNER"

http://commondreams.org/views02/1227-06.htm
Economist Paul Krugman notes that not only have the top 20 percent grown more affluent compared with everyone below, the top 5 percent have grown richer compared with the next 15 percent. The top one percent have become richer compared with the next 4 percent. And the top 0.25 percent have grown richer than the next 0.75 percent. That top 0.25 owns more wealth than the other 99¾ percent combined. It has been estimated that if children's play blocks represented $1000 each, over 98 percent of us would have incomes represented by piles of blocks that went not more than a few yards off the ground, while the top one percent would stack many times higher than the Eiffel Tower.


http://www.johnedwards.com/issues/tax-reform/tax-policy-4pg.pdf
In the Two Americas, there is no end to the special tax breaks for multinational corporations and wealthy
individuals. These taxpayers can afford lawyers to help them exploit weaknesses in the tax code and
lobbyists to help them get still more tax breaks. Today, the richest Americans have only a 15 percent tax
rate on their investment income, while regular families pay 15 percent in payroll taxes in addition to 10
percent, 15 percent or 25 percent in income taxes. As billionaire Warren Buffett noted, the result is that
wealthy investors pay lower rates than their secretaries. Making matters worse, George Bush’s tax cuts
on wealthy taxpayers’ investments have raised the share of the tax burden borne by middle-class wages.
John Edwards will overhaul the tax code with three new tax breaks to strengthen the middle-class pillars
of saving, work, and family. He will also reverse the war on work by requiring the most fortunate
Americans to pay a fairer rate of tax on their investments and take on special tax breaks for the insiders.
In the Two Americas, there is no end to the special tax breaks for multinational corporations and wealthy
individuals. These taxpayers can afford lawyers to help them exploit weaknesses in the tax code and
lobbyists to help them get still more tax breaks. Today, the richest Americans have only a 15 percent tax
rate on their investment income, while regular families pay 15 percent in payroll taxes in addition to 10
percent, 15 percent or 25 percent in income taxes. As billionaire Warren Buffett noted, the result is that
wealthy investors pay lower rates than their secretaries. Making matters worse, George Bush’s tax cuts
on wealthy taxpayers’ investments have raised the share of the tax burden borne by middle-class wages.
John Edwards will overhaul the tax code with three new tax breaks to strengthen the middle-class pillars
of saving, work, and family. He will also reverse the war on work by requiring the most fortunate
Americans to pay a fairer rate of tax on their investments and take on special tax breaks for the insiders.


PS. All three top dems promise tax relieve for the middle class but John Edwards is the only one to actually define who is middle class AND propose a way to pay for the cuts.

[stravu9]

50. Great Reasons!

I Support him too!

[Mother Of Four]

46. Under, but we are in a depressed area of NC

It's near the 50k mark, and we support a family of 6, +2 dogs ...a cat...and a goldfish named Earl.

If it weren't for my husbands Mil retirement, we'd not be able to survive.

Yes, it affects who I support.

[stravu9]

47. My Beta's Name is Lord Byron, My cat is Xena, because she's a tough old gal who has surviede fights.

and now gets to sleep on my bed, my yellow dog, what else for a Democrat is a border collie mix named Jake!

[Mother Of Four]

54. I love it that you adore your furry and finny babies....

Akita is named Baby (Shai) Black Lab is named Waylon, Himalayan kitty is named Smokey :)

[Jamastiene]

48. I am a student who lives with her aunt and our combined monthly

income is $1250 a month. I support in this order out of who is left:

Edwards
Clinton
...

That's it. As long as Edwards is in the race, I'm for him. If he drops out, I'm going to Hillary. If Obama wins the nomination, I'm flipping a coin on whether to write in someone or support whoever is running for the Greens.

[stravu9]

49. I Feel as you do!

Hope things get better!For all of us!

Go John!

[Jamastiene]

53. ...

:thumbsup:
:patriot:

:)

[adapa]

51. way under 50K, It's Hillary for me- she might actually get something done

I just don't buy into the concept that someone who doesn't know the system can change it.

[Digit]

52. I make under 50K, but that is not the reason I support him...

I support him because I CAN ACTUALLY SEE the inequality of the Two Americas he speaks of, and the pain and suffering it is causing to the bottom tier. I have seen the wealthiest get the highest tax breaks while seeing others lose their jobs to outsourcing and have to scramble to find money to feed their children.

Big Pharma continues to get bloated while people cannot afford their medications.
I have seen gas almost triple in price during this misadministration's illicit occupation.
I have seen the status of our country go down the drain in the eyes of the rest of the world.
Even our own country has become more divided...so much for * being the uniter!
And corruption...don't EVEN get me started!

I BELIEVE in John Edwards with all my heart and soul.

[sandnsea]

55. Under, I support Obama

He introduced an actual Constitutional Amendment to make Health Care a Right.

He proposed FICA tax rebates and social security bonus so that everybody would get help.

There is a lot more, but those two things alone show me he really understands working people. Krugman and his support for health mandates, before we're sure of the costs of the program, sure as hell doesn't.