File this one under "tough love", or a failure to understand the needs of American People. Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer of South Carolina was supposed to be favored to win the Governor Mark Sanford's seat during the next election. However in a recent public speech that he probably wishes he never did, Bauer drew a comparison to feeding stray animals about people on government assistance, babies having babies, and parents whose children are on free and reduced-price lunch. Considering the amount of food our country wastes daily, it's amazing how we don't offer school children a free lunch everyday. Many parents will still make lunch for their kids regardless. But how completely unconnected must one be to draw some kind of connection between a poor family, who needs to put their children on a free/reduced-price lunch program in order to make sure they get a meal in school, and an abandoned house pet? In the end, anyone can figure out that Bauer wants to cut funding for the school lunch program in his state. As a person who briefly benefitted from this in Massachusetts when my father died, forcing my mom to raise three kids on her own with very little time and monetary resources, I can find several faults with this. But does anyone in office actually think before saying things anymore?
I'm quite sure his press secretary will call it a slip of the tongue. But we'll know for sure if he comes out, inadvertently, for compulsory neutering as well.
And as often as Haley's Comet arrives - I am in complete agreement on this one. Regardless of the circumstances of the parents/guardians - it certainly isn't the fault of the children and they should never be denied full meal access. And you didn't even mention VB - Bauer himself benefitted from free lunches as a child. What a douchebag.
Finally read through this thread. Has anyone else noticed that when he's not being a complete tool that Starimposter actually has a heart and sense of compassion?
I work in this field, and I hate to say it, but- folks on welfare need to NOT have babies. But they keep doing it. Why? Well, for one, they dont wear condoms. Secondly, they get more money if they have another baby....at least that's how it is in California. We need to incetivize work and take away insentives to have more babies. I deal with this stuff every day. There are more people taking advatnage of the system than most people realize or are willing to admit.
I'm only referring to his comments about folks on welfare having kids, who also end up on welfare. Free or low cost lunches should certainly be made available to kids.
Well, if you dealt with things like this every day then the solution should be obvious. Just telling them not to have babies is not going to cut it. First off, we're talking about poor people who live in areas that don't have the same access to things as other areas. I know this first hand because I grew up in a poor neighborhood and went to school in a wealthier suburb less than an hour away. Just on first glance you can see how difficult it is for some people. There are no substantial jobs in their neighborhood, plus there's very little income coming in and/or out of the home. When one has to worry about keeping a roof over their head or finding food to eat, things such as condoms don't always factor into the picture. And again, we're talking about poor areas. They don't have the same types of clinics available to them where they can get free ones either. Their schools? Forget that too, since none of them are adequately funded to even give them a history book that talks about anything beyond WWII... nevermind safe sex education, which constantly gets targeted by the so-called "moral majority". You can only imagine what this does to the overall morale of anyone who is stuck in these situations with no real way to get out. Getting the picture? Good... let's continue. When people are stuck in a situation where they feel hopeless, they tend not to pay attention to anything else besides the bare essentials. Unless you've lived it (or grew up in it), there's no way you could ever understand the plight. People get stuck in government systems not because they WANT to, but because they feel they have no other choice. With no jobs, no money and a need to survive, people get into infinite loops so they can survive right now. They lack the ability to plan for the future because that is not promised to them. It's a social class thing that very few people can even begin to grasp or understand. But ask yourself... if you offered a woman on welfare & 3 kids a job that paid $30K a year, a rental apartment they can afford and access to adequate food to put in their mouths, you think they would turn it down just to continue to get handouts? You'd be a fool if you think anyone would rather sit at home and produce babies in order to get government assistance. Survival comes in all shapes and styles. Remember that.
