John Edwards thinks he knows how to pay for his healthcare plan. Raise the capital gains tax. Repeal tax cuts for the rich. Extend tax cuts to those making $200,000 or less.

But Robert McIntyre of the Citizens for Tax Justice has some doubts about Edwards’ math:

….if the cost of extending tax cuts for people earning less than $200,000 was added to the calculation, the plan would create a $35 billion revenue shortfall instead of the extra $50 billion predicted by the Edwards campaign.

“John Edwards is trying to do something nice for low-income people,” Mr. McIntyre said. “The question is whether he has a way to pay for it. He is repealing tax cuts on the rich that really do not exist and the only part of substance is that he is expanding the Bush tax cuts to everyone else, but doesn’t count it. I don’t want to go overboard in the criticism, but this is very deceptive.”

But here’s the most interesting insight into Edwards’ campaign:

Dennis J. Goldford a political science professor at Drake University in Des Moines, said Mr. Edwards’s tax plan is “consistent with his populist image of going after the wealthy and helping the poor.” But, he cautioned, “he’s got to be careful, everyone wants to be rich.”