GOP Candidate: People On Public Assistance Are Like 'Stray Animals'

[bobbyw24]

Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer said Saturday he could have chosen his words more carefully when he compared people who take public assistance to stray animals Friday.

But Bauer, in an interview with The State Saturday, said a furor over his comments doesn't change this fact: South Carolina needs to have an honest conversation about the cycle of government dependency among its poorest residents.

Bauer, a two-term Republican who is running for governor, said there are parents who are dependent upon the government for food and shelter, but who are unwilling to engage in their children's education. This, he said, robs children of a chance to break out of poverty.

And as a candidate for governor, Bauer said, now is the time to start talking about something that others are unwilling to tackle. Bauer said he wants to lead that conversation.

"Why shouldn't you have to do something?" Bauer asked of people receiving food stamps, free school lunches and public housing. "In government, we are too often giving a handout instead of a hand up."

http://www.thestate.com/local/story/1125111.html

[silverhandorder]

I was on liberal forums and the outrage over this was delicious. I think if it hits this close home it is a good line of attack. However the GOP guy simply wants to reform our welfare and not get rid of it. I guess as a transition this could be achieved. If it gets people off welfare and raises them out of poverty then I am all for it. Better then getting more in welfare with every generation.

[angelatc]

I am tempted to send him money. I agree that it is over the top but the liberals are always saying stuff far worse. Tea baggers, racists, greedy, selfish...it's about time somebody on the right took that approach.

[FindLiberty]

...useless eaters.

[Stary Hickory]

Well he has the right idea. It hurts those who are dependent and the country as a whole. People are being robbed to pay for all of this. It needs to stop. Moreover what happens when the government inevitably collapses because of all these programs?

These people are now fully dependent on hand outs...which have disappeared. I have met welfare recpients...they are not saints. Many of them use the system intentionally. Most are perfectly able to work but prefer to now work and take hand outs.

This is ridiculous. We all must work. This is the main reason charity is the solution not government programs. A charity organization will help those in need and be less inclined to help those who just want a free ride.

[angelatc]

Here's what he said that got 'em all riled up:


"My grandmother was not a highly educated woman, but she told me as a small child to quit feeding stray animals," Bauer told a Greenville-area crowd. "You know why? Because they breed.

"You're facilitating the problem if you give an animal or a person ample food supply. They will reproduce, especially ones that don't think too much further than that. And so what you've got to do is you've got to curtail that type of behavior. They don't know any better."

And here's the audio. Democratic Underground linked to it, so anybody that feels like a morning flame war should head on over to YouTube. YouTube - Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer : "Don't feed the poor. They'll 'breed.'" FULL AUDIO (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jpb4nwfiaPY&feature=player_embedded)

[MelissaWV]

Well, that quote is a little different I think. It's just crappily-worded. If he'd said "they keep coming around for more" instead of "they breed" it would have sounded a little less creepy. All that being said, people get their panties in a wad over everything you do or don't say these days. Vote at the ballot box next time you get a chance, if it bothers you THAT much.

[Fr3shjive]

Although I agree with him I really cant give these neo-cons too much credit because they'll bitch and moan about giving AMERICANS aid but then they'll pay billions to blow up other countries and then billions more to rebuild it.

Dont complain about taking care of your own people if you're taking that money and wasting it in another country.

[Working Poor]

Reasons for needing the assistance needs to be studied though. There are many able bodied people who cannot find work. I am one of the people who live on almost no cash. I made a few good moves last year to help protect myself and my property. I am a very independent type and know how to live on nothing and I grow much of my own food.

I can't imagine how hard it is right now for people who are not accustomed to living on nothing to suddenly have to start. People with children probably get more assistance then people who don't we have to feed the children.

My family has been helping me what about people who don't have anyone to help them? They can't be hung out to dry because some shift is happening in the economy. I have worked most of my life I started very young creating my own jobs at first then later working for other people when I was old enough for the government to deem of proper age to get a workers permit and pay my taxes like a good citizen. Most of my adult life I have been self employed and have had to pay even higher taxes than most people because of being self employed. The state I live in refuses to give me a license to practice in a field that I have about 25,000 dollars in education. How many people have to have a state national and local license to work? Plus 50hrs continuing ed every 3 years. Why all this extra tax on my work? I can't afford it. why can they tell me I can't work? It is awful. I am back to selling stuff on the side walk...

[MelissaWV]

A few things, just in general.

I believe the quote is more about the cycle of people raising their kids to depend on the state, and then those kids growing up and raising their kids to depend on it, etc.. It's not so much harping on people who get aid, but those who expect to get a handout with no strings attached. I actually prefer private charities because all the ones I donate to force people to work for their keep :)

People with kids do get more handouts. They also get priority when limited beds are doled out in shelters. They also are someone's ticket if they claim their spouse is abusing them. I wish we looked at the totality of situations, as as society, rather than the kneejerk emotional arguments. I've seen firsthand that kind of discrimination, but it's okay in society to give more value to a mother than a woman who doesn't have kids. Anyhow, the issue with kids is a non-issue, because there are programs like WIC which could be extended to include food for young children as well, which means the parents can't skim the aid intended for the children. I suppose they COULD if they wanted to drink Juicy Juice and eat store-brand Cheerios, but it's less likely than just tacking on children as dependents and upping the EBT limits.

When you don't have family, and you're down on your luck, here's the dirty little secret: you usually don't know where the foodstamp office is, and you don't know how to go about applying for most of these programs. Where you usually end up depends on what you've seen and what you donated to in better times. Personally, I tried churches first. Many of them were more free with their money in small doses. Sometimes it was a gas voucher to fill up the car at the gas station for free. Sometimes it was a bag of basic food items donated by churchgoers. Other times it was just a matter of the doors being open and there being a nice, quiet place out of the snow to relax and breathe. From there, the church can direct you to the appropriate offices... but usually the first one they'll tell you to go to is the job assistance place. Go there, and they'll usually give you a voucher for job search expenses, and direct you to a career closet in your area if you need it. It's funny, but I wasn't on foodstamps for the longest time (then I was for about 2-3 months, but I hated it, and ran off, and never took another cent). I worked and I had help from local places, and once I left and got on my feet I donated back double the money I took. The thing that irked me the most is that I couldn't really "donate back" the foodstamp money. That part makes me feel ill.

YMCA/YWCA houses allow you to live there and often will require only that you contribute to the basic maintenance of the place. Usually someone mans the front desk, etc., and everyone helps clean and cook and such. In the meantime, if you're good at that, and if you're a good tenant/worker, you get help from the volunteers there. You might even go to some classes where you learn a few additional skills, and through the work placement programs you might get a leg up. That's way better than "here's your foodstamps."




Reasons for needing the assistance needs to be studied though. There are many able bodied people who cannot find work. I am one of the people who live on almost no cash. I made a few good moves last year to help protect myself and my property. I am a very independent type and know how to live on nothing and I grow much of my own food.

I can't imagine how hard it is right now for people who are not accustomed to living on nothing to suddenly have to start. People with children probably get more assistance then people who don't we have to feed the children.

My family has been helping me what about people who don't have anyone to help them? They can't be hung out to dry because some shift is happening in the economy. I have worked most of my life I started very young creating my own jobs at first then later working for other people when I was old enough for the government to deem of proper age to get a workers permit and pay my taxes like a good citizen. Most of my adult life I have been self employed and have had to pay even higher taxes than most people because of being self employed. The state I live in refuses to give me a license to practice in a field that I have about 25,000 dollars in education. How many people have to have a state national and local license to work? Plus 50hrs continuing ed every 3 years. Why all this extra tax on my work? I can't afford it. why can they tell me I can't work? It is awful. I am back to selling stuff on the side walk...

[Brooklyn Red Leg]

Its Malthusian, Fabian-Eugenicist bullshit. Fuck Andre Bauer. What he said was NOT even remotely in-line with the concept of Liberty. While its a noteworthy goal to get people off government dependence, comparing them to stray animals 'that breed' is fucking Malthusian logic. Its FUCKED UP!