==If Edwards had fought the poverty war outside the campaign==
Months after Kerry-Edwards lost he founded a poverty center at the University of North Carolina. Here is the mission of the center:
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Mission
Introduction
For over two centuries, the University of North Carolina has educated North Carolina's leaders and improved the lives of its citizens. It has long been a place where scholars expanded the horizons of thought and knowledge and students received a world-class education regardless of their ability to pay. In recent years, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill established the groundbreaking Carolina Covenant, enabling low-income students to receive a debt-free college education. The UNC Center on Poverty, Work and Opportunity joins this proud tradition to bring together scholars, policymakers, lawyers, community leaders and students in a mission of public service and public outreach to the state of North Carolina and the nation.
The Vision and Goals of the UNC Center for Poverty, Work and OpportunityThe UNC Center for Poverty, Work and Opportunity will create a forum for the best minds in the state and the nation to work on issues of poverty, work and opportunity. The Center has four goals: first, to address the pressing needs of those currently living at or below the poverty level; second, to provide a non-partisan interdisciplinary forum to examine innovative and practical ideas to move more Americans out of poverty; third, to raise public awareness of issues related to work and poverty; and fourth to train a new generation to combat the causes and effects of poverty and to improve the circumstances of working people. 1. Address the needs of persons living at or below the poverty level.Insufficient incomes to meet daily needs and lack of financial resources to achieve long-term goals have adverse consequences in every aspect of life.The Center will seek solutions to the problems plaguing the poor, as it strives to break the cycle of poverty.To accomplish this first goal, the Center will analyze and devise solutions for a wide range of issues affecting low-income Americans. These include:
(1) The lack of job opportunities for Americans living in poverty who seek to work their way out of the poverty cycle;
(2) The circumstances facing millions of Americans who work full time but have inadequate savings or insurance against misfortune;
(3) The persistent deficiencies in the delivery of high-quality education to students in low-income areas;
(4) The unavailability of affordable health care coverage and the disparities in access to and quality of medical services and health outcomes;
(5) The shortage of quality and affordable housing, particularly in areas close to job markets;
(6) The plight of low-income Americans forced to borrow and bank with abusive lenders due to lack of access to mainstream financial institutions; and
(7) The particular challenges facing low-income communities affected by high-levels of crime and drug use.
2. Provide an interdisciplinary forum for examining poverty, work and opportunity issues.The cause of poverty is multi-faceted. Alleviating its effects will call for interdisciplinary solutions to create opportunities for work and to address problems in the workplace. To accomplish this second goal, the Center will establish an advisory committee of senior faculty representing the best thinkers across a wide range of academic fields. In addition, the Center will create opportunities for collaboration among experts in economics, public health, law, and governmental policy from around the country and the world to explore questions on poverty and work opportunity.
3. Raise awareness of work and poverty issues.Inequities in labor markets and poverty in America are not attention-grabbing headlines.Yet, they sap the human capital of our communities and cause suffering among an alarmingly high number of individuals and families. We, as Americans, have a moral responsibility to address the structure of labor markets and the effects of poverty in our country and to explore the relationship among meaningful work, a living wage, and a vibrant participatory democracy. To accomplish this third goal, the Center will seek to bring attention to work and poverty issues in innovative ways. To sharpen the state and national focus on these issues, the Center will host conferences and lecture series to educate community and thought leaders on poverty, work and opportunity issues and to increase public awareness of the grave difficulties facing their neighbors.
4. Train the next generation of community leaders.Fighting poverty and improving conditions of work in the United States are not the tasks of any single generation, however brilliant or inspired. To accomplish this fourth goal, the Center will be a central locus to prepare a new generation of leaders to take innovative approaches to disrupt the cycle of poverty and improve the lives of working people. For those called to devote their professional lives to these issues, it will facilitate a comprehensive and multi-disciplinary education. Talented students drawn to UNC-Chapel Hill by the work of the Center will receive here unparalleled legal and social science training. They will have opportunities to be directly involved in community development projects and the creation of state and federal policies, under the direction of experienced teachers, policymakers and lawyers dedicated to public service. The Center will work closely with the School of Law's civil clinic, Center for Civil Rights and Community Development Clinic, as well as with other disciplines across the campus - including the Schools of Education, Public Health, Social Work, Business and Journalism, and the graduate departments in city and regional planning, economics, geography, public policy, sociology and related disciplines - to ensure that the next generation has the knowledge and skills necessary to solve tomorrow's hard problems.==
http://www.law.unc.edu/centers/poverty/mission.aspxThe center's work led to the book
Ending Poverty in America.
http://www.amazon.com/Ending-Poverty-America-Restore-American/dp/1595581766 He could have written a self-promoting book that would have sold a ton more copies than a wonky book on an issue that was not on the political radar screen before Edwards. Such a book would have been a much better launching pad to a presidential victory. Instead his book offered solutions to the issue of poverty thanks the the work done by his center.