A Bureaucrat With a Mental Case

I don't know where to begin on John Edwards. He has got to be embarrassed at least half the time he makes the headlines. And we're talking the Goliath Media. From his kneejerk obsession with class warfare to his trip to Wal-mart to buy his son a Playstation 3, to his 28,200-square-foot home and $400 haircuts, he has proven himself to be a man of excess.

His latest stunt is almost minor in comparison, but it may potentially effect all Americans.

According to NewsMax, John Edwards' proposals could cost American tax payers $1 trillion. If successfully enacted, this could be the largest shopping spree in American history.

While many Democrats have proposed tax cuts for the middle-class, John Edwards makes no such promise. In a recent interview with the Associated Press, Edwards defended his plan to hijack the middle-class for the common good.

"I think for me, as opposed to the additional tax relief for the middle class, what's more important is to give them relief from the extraordinary cost of health care, from gasoline prices, the things that they spend money on every single day that are escalating dramatically."

His proposal for health care alone is projected to cost between $90-$120 billion a year. Employers would be forced to provide insurance or contribute to the coverage of every worker. The federal government would then pay the tap for low-income Americans. Edwards would fund his plan by rolling back the Bush tax cuts. According to the Laffer Curve, tax cuts pay for themselves by generating more government revenue in the long term as a result of allowing Americans to keep a higher percentage of their paycheck. A tax increase on the wealthy may help generate government revenue in the short-term, at the risk of numerous long-term consequences, including less job creation in the private sector, a decrease of economic activity, and reductions in employee benefits. Ergo, an increased progressive income tax and a requirement for employers to provide coverage would be an illogical contradiction.

Like many hardliners in his party, his goal is not only to fight poverty, but to end it as we know it. His War on Poverty will cost an annual $15 billion-$20 billion. Reagan once famously said, "Some years ago the United States declared war on poverty, and poverty won." At the end of the day, Reagan was right. During the Reagan era, so-called "decade of greed", private charity doubled. Social programs are well-intended, but they have historically benefitted middle-class social workers far more than the poor.

Other high-ticket items on the annual Edwards shopping list include a $13 billion energy fund, $5 billion for foreign aid, and a $1 billion rural recovery plan. He has also hinted federal assistance for college tuition, a border security plan, and federal funding for stem cell research. The costs have yet to be projected. Current figures estimate that John Edwards has already made $125 billion worth of annual proposals.

In addition to his enormous budget, Edwards has a few setbacks in his personal life. His wife is not expected to live for another ten years, although she has publicly approved of Edwards' decision to run for office.

On a far less serious matter, his hair has made headlines across the globe. The media couldn't help but succomb to the sensationalism of his whopping $400 haircuts. So that's where all the Coulter Cash went. In addition to his Antoinettesque lifestyle, bloggers have had field days with this YouTube video: