SC Shows Its Rear to the Nation Again

This time it’s our lieutenant governor and gubernatorial candidate Andre Bauer, who seems lost in a forest of prejudice and ignorance. Is it a coincidence that all the politicians who are causing SC national — indeed, international — mortification are Republicans? 

I think not.

Posted on Sat, Jan. 23, 2010

Bauer: Needy 'owe something back' for aid

By NATHANIEL CARY
The Greenville News

GREENVILLE - Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer has compared giving people government assistance to   "feeding stray animals."

Bauer, who is running for the Republican nomination for governor, made his remarks during a town hall meeting in Fountain Inn that included state lawmakers and about 115 residents.

"My grandmother was not a highly educated woman, but she told me as a small child to quit feeding stray animals. 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," Bauer said.

In South Carolina, 58 percent of students participate in the free and reduced-price lunch program.

Bauer's remarks came during a speech in which he said government should take away assistance if those receiving help didn't pass drug tests or attend parent-teacher conferences or PTA meetings if their children were receiving free and reduced-price lunches.

Bauer later Friday told The Greenville News he wasn't saying people on government assistance "were animals or anything else."

In his speech, Bauer said people have to become more engaged with government.

"You see, for the first time in the history of this country, we've got more people voting for a living than we do working for a living."

Later in his speech, Bauer said, "I can show you a bar graph where free and reduced lunch has the worst test scores in the state of South Carolina," adding, "You show me the school that has the highest free and reduced lunch, and I'll show you the worst test scores, folks. It's there, period.

"So how do you fix it? Well you say, 'Look, if you receive goods or services from the government, then you owe something back.'"

Bauer said there are no "repercussions" from accepting government assistance.

"We don't make you take a drug test. We ought to. We don't even make you show up to your child's parent-teacher conference meeting or to the PTA meeting.

"You go to a school where there's an active participation of parents, and guess what? They have the highest test scores. So what do you do? You say, 'Look folks, if you receive goods or services from the government and you don't attend a parent-teacher conference, bam, you lose your benefits.'

"We're going to have to do things like that. We can't afford to keep just giving money away."

And, Bauer said, it is time to confront "babies having babies. Somebody's got to talk about. Politicians don't want to talk about it anymore because it's politically incorrect."

Bauer told The News later, "People in society have certain responsibilities; just like if you don't pay your taxes, there are certain repercussions."

He said government hasn't made requirements to make those receiving aid be more responsible.

"They can continue to have more and more kids, and the reward is there's more and more money in it for them."

Instead, he said, the government should place incentives in its welfare programs, such as providing child care so parents can work or receive education so they can break the welfare cycle.

Government continues to reward bad behavior by giving money to people who "don't have to do a thing," he said.

Tymeco Gregory grew up in a single-parent home in which, he said, his family relied on free-lunch programs at school to survive while struggling to pay bills.

"If I didn't get any money or help with food for school and stuff, we probably would have to go without eating at school," Gregory said. "We don't have a lot of extra money."

Now an 18-year-old freshman physics major at Wofford College, Gregory credited a support system from Furman University's Bridges to a Brighter Future program and government assistance with helping him achieve his goal to attend college.

Tobi Swartz, director of Bridges to a Brighter Future, declined to comment on Bauer's remarks but said students can achieve despite their backgrounds if shown the opportunity.

"Income and circumstance does not define you, and young people have the ability to make choices that are their future," Swartz said.

"We need to provide opportunities and exposure that will provide them the vision for something beyond their circumstances."

Greenville News staff writer Ron Barnett contributed.

Comments

[Morgan]

Just the first sentence in this article is amazing. How can giving aid to people who need it like feeding stray animals? There is a reason these people need aid and there is no way that anyone can possibly compare a human being to a stray animal. He is trying to make the point that if we give aid to these people that they will reproduce therefore just creating more people that need aid. But what are we supposed to do? Just let these people live on their own when we can help? I do, however, agree with his statement that we have more people voting for a living than working for a living. I think these people do need help but just enough to get back on their feet. After that they need to get out there and work for themselves and be independent.

[quicktype89]

I have never been a fan of Bauer and still stand by that, even more so now. I attended a public school in which the majority of the students were on free lunch, so the idea of welfare, poor families, and needing that program to survive is not news to me. All to often lunch was the only meal some students received during the day, and sometimes never ate over the weekend. The fact that Bauer is living in a dream world in which those on such programs have the time to even try and make it to every PTA meeting is pathetic. Most parents in that situation are working 3 to 4 jobs and can't make a spare moment for such matters, so denying free lunch as a penalty for being poor can't be an option. Bauer cannot place the blame of finical struggles on low test scores and claim that penalties are the way to fix the situation because that just places poorer families in a vicious cycle they can't remove themselves from. What South Carolina really needs is stated in that final quote by Tobi Swartz, "We need to provide opportunities and exposure that will provide them the vision for something beyond their circumstances." Required tutoring programs can be added for students who are scoring low for instance. That is a proactive move in ending the cycle of family financial struggle, rather than reactive.

[kmcnutt]

I've never known anything about Bauer, but from what I do now, I am no fan either. How can a man say such a thing about people? After I read his statement about feeding stray animals, I automatically thought, "well what happens when you don't feed them? Don't they just walk off in the woods and die?" I mean how can he stop giving a small benefit as free lunch to a student who can't help if their parents can afford lunch? I always went to public school, until now and I was always on reduced lunch. I guess Bauer would be ok with me, since I did fair in school, but neither of my parents could attend a PTA meeting. If he's worried about giving money away, then how much does he think child care or providing them with education costs? From what I remember, lunch was around 75 cents to $1.25 a day. I don't know who would want to watch children for that much a day. His ideas are good though, if he will go through with them and help educate or provide jobs, I agree that would help.
This is difficult to comprehend how far out Bauer is. I have worked with elementary school students since high school as a reading and math tutor. Most students that I work with are from the homes of parents who may not have a high level of education and are most likely on reduced or free lunch. They come in wearing the same things 2 or 3 days in a row and according to appearance have not bathed in the same amount. As quicktype89 said, these students may eat only once a day, and if that is taken from them because of a situation they can not help, we as Americans are wrong.
Not everyone chooses the life they are given, but we all should be given the chance to live the one we want.

[Julie Jackson]

How could someone be so cruel and call humans stray animals? This man is a nut. I have went to a private school so I do not really know too much about free lunch and stuff, but I think that students should have free lunch. I think it is so dumb how he picks out something like kids eating for free. What do you want them to do starve? That is ridiculous! Some people have it better than others and may be able to afford lunch, but some may not and that is not fair. I mean imagine going to school and all your friends getting lunch, but you could'nt afford it. That would not only be embarrassing but miserable. I like how kmcnutt said, "not everyone chooses the life they are given". That is right, kids can't choose to be born into a family with enough money to feed them lunch every day. Also, it is not like all these kids could get jobs to pay for their own lunches. Bauer needs to open his mind and think about what he is saying.

[mgn]

Andre Bauer is out of his mind if he thinks that schools should not provide free lunches for those students who cannot afford to buy them. I mean how can anyone ever want to deny students food? It’s like what quicktype89 said that for some students their one free lunch a day is the biggest and quite possibly the only meal they may get in a day. So by taking that away the state would only hurt itself because students need food to do well in school. I just don’t understand Bauer’s political tactic by trying to get rid of providing free and reduce lunches especially when so many potential voters rely on this program.

[Larz]

I feel like he is picking on these people. He sounds terribly rude throughout this whole article. I disagree with him completely. How can he say that these people owe something back just because they receive free or reduced lunch? I don't understand why they 'owe' anything back. Thats not how it works and is not how it should become, obviously they depend on this and really do need it for one reason or another so why owe something? What is going to a pta meeting going to accomplish either? Nothing, so why say it? I cant believe he compared people to stray cats, and then tired to go back and say thats not what he means. No, that was exactly what he meant and thats exactly why he said it. All he did was piss people off and make South Carolina sound dumb...again.

[Sarah Thullbery]

Bauer's response to people receiving government assistance is outrageous, but also it is pretty common. I absolutely disagree with both what he said and what he implied in his statements. However, our welfare system is in trouble. While free lunch at schools is a great thing, the system of helping people who are going through hard times needs to change. I think that those in government who are doing nothing to change the welfare system to do a better job of helping people to gain food, shelter, and work are just as bad as Bauer.
Children whose parents are not involved with school or with their lives in general really do worse in school. However, socio-economic status and intelligence or ability have no correlation. That is why it is important for schools and those in the government to offer opportunities to children who would not have them otherwise. Such opportunities include mentoring, tutoring, and scholarships that are more readily available. We cannot allow our representatives in government to compare these children and their parents to animals and do nothing in response to the problems that they face.

[Brandon]

I understand that he wants people who have aid from the government to do everything they can to get off of that aid. But, he is going about it all wrong. You do not belittle people in need, you do not belittle anyone. Taking away a students free or reduce lunch does not help them at all. It only takes food out of their mouths. They are on it for a reason, their family cannot afford it. Like quicktype says, lunch at school is the only meal some kids will recieve all day and they won't each much at all on the weekends. He is also saying the kids that recieve government aid are the kids who have low test scores and their parents aren't good parents. Well I grew up recieving free lunch and I'm going to be graduating from college in a few months. He can't say the kids who recieve free lunch are the ones who need help. All the students need help. There are kids who pay for lunch that have terrible grades. I do understand that he wants the parents to get involved with their children but taking lunch away won't help. They should make more programs where students can get more time with teachers one on one either before or after school. Since Bauer is running for governor he needs to come up with ideas that will give to the people and help the people who need it, not take from them.

[JohnEvans]

While I absolutely and adamantly disagree with Bauer's language in discussing the issue and dislike his solution to the problem, I can not say there isn't a problem. I grew up in a rather poor high school on the outskirts of Atlanta. While many students benefited greatly from the free and reduced lunches which allowed them to get an education, a large minority of them skipped most of there class everyday. These students will most likely not go to college and be just as poor as there parents. I have even heard the argument from some of them that the government wont let them starve so there is no reason to work. We are just propitiating the problem to the next generation. I do not believe we should cancel the program because, from my experiences, it helps a majority of students. However in a sizable minority is does contribute to the problem. I do not have any solution to this problem, but I can sympathizes with Bauer's acknowledgment of the problem, though I hate his manner and suggestions.

[Tyler]

I completely agree with John on this issue.

The system is broken, but it still is doing more good than bad. It was put in a very distasteful manner. I also agree that people take advantage of the program and use it when others really need it. But, you cannot take away from the people who need the benefits.

I wonder if Andre Bauer could look in the eyes of the little children who couldn't afford meals without this program and ask them if they gave a darn about the people who take advantage of the system.

[cdavis17]

OMG! I really can't believe this guy!! He is really comparing kids that need free or reduced lunch to stray animals?!? WOW. This guy really makes me question who should be in the government. I think the only reason he says this or feels this way is because he's never been in this situation himself. Kids cannot help the fact that their parents can't afford lunch everyday for them, most of these kids would go hungry because in my high school lunch was sometimes the only thing they got to eat all day, even at home. I can't believe this guy. I really wish that people that are up in the government would be able to be in these "stray animals" shoes.

[quicktype89]

http://www.hulu.com/watch/123068/the-daily-show-with-jon-stewart-thank-you-south-carolina-andre-bauer#s-p2-sr-i1

Just what people think of us.