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GOP Rep Suggests Kids Clean Schools In Exchange For Lunch

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CAITLIN MACNEALDECEMBER 18, 2013, 4:34 PM EST3001

This post has been updated.
Rep. Jack Kingston (R-GA), a primary candidate in the 2014 Georgia Senate race, on Saturday suggested poor students sweep floors in order to get a free lunch, according to the Huffington Post.
Kingston opposes the federal school lunch program, which subsidizes meals for kids from low-income families, but he said that if schools do provide meals, students should learn that nothing is free.

"But one of the things I’ve talked to the secretary of agriculture about: Why don’t you have the kids pay a dime, pay a nickel to instill in them that there is, in fact, no such thing as a free lunch? Or maybe sweep the floor of the cafeteria -- and yes, I understand that that would be an administrative problem, and I understand that it would probably lose you money," he said at a Jackson County Republican Party meeting. "But think what we would gain as a society in getting people -- getting the myth out of their head that there is such a thing as a free lunch."

Read more here: GOP Rep Suggests Kids Clean Schools In Exchange For Lunch

This guy is the son of a university professor. He had a fairly privileged upbringing and thus has no idea what it is like to grow up poor as a kid. What an asshole. I mean what is he wanting to stand there at the lunch line and tell some 1st grader "Hey kid, you can have your Chilimac today, but first I need you to take this broom here and sweep the floor in front of all your friends".

Personally, I grew up poor. Very poor actually, we did not take free or reduced lunches, we just brought ours instead (the same crappy lunch every day). However, I know what its like to be a poor kid. I know what its like to boil water to take a bath in for months on end because your gas is cut off. I know what its like having no A/C in Arkansas summers living in a trailer. This guy has no idea. Despite growing up poor, I always knew the value of work, indeed growing up poor is what instilled it in me. I got my first real job when I was 15 and have worked my whole life since. Before I was married I worked 2 jobs to get ahead. We would be considered upper middle class now I suppose, but I worked hard to get here and I did not need some privileged extreme right jackass to instill that in me. How crazy and mean do these guys have to get before we all say this is ridiculous, go home, and for God sakes get the hell out of government. We don't want people like you, Jack Kingston, telling us how to run our lives or our country. I don't see this one as a right or left issue, I see it as an anti-jackass issue.
 
Kingston is further tacking to the right of Broun in Georgia's 3-way GOP Senatorial primary, if that's possible..
Three GOP House members running for the retiring Chambliss's seat..
Which is why the Democrat Nunn is given a good chance..
Read more here: GOP Rep Suggests Kids Clean Schools In Exchange For Lunch

This guy is the son of a university professor. He had a fairly privileged upbringing and thus has no idea what it is like to grow up poor as a kid. What an asshole. I mean what is he wanting to stand there at the lunch line and tell some 1st grader "Hey kid, you can have your Chilimac today, but first I need you to take this broom here and sweep the floor in front of all your friends".

Personally, I grew up poor. Very poor actually, we did not take free or reduced lunches, we just brought ours instead (the same crappy lunch every day). However, I know what its like to be a poor kid. I know what its like to boil water to take a bath in for months on end because your gas is cut off. I know what its like having no A/C in Arkansas summers living in a trailer. This guy has no idea. Despite growing up poor, I always knew the value of work, indeed growing up poor is what instilled it in me. I got my first real job when I was 15 and have worked my whole life since. Before I was married I worked 2 jobs to get ahead. We would be considered upper middle class now I suppose, but I worked hard to get here and I did not need some privileged extreme right jackass to instill that in me. How crazy and mean do these guys have to get before we all say this is ridiculous, go home, and for God sakes get the hell out of government. We don't want people like you, Jack Kingston, telling us how to run our lives or our country. I don't see this one as a right or left issue, I see it as an anti-jackass issue.
As for your OP, we currently have special needs students clean the lunch room..
These kids are not teased or bullied, but the poor would be, further humiliation..

A work-fare program after school would be more realistic..

I am a retired chem/physics teacher whose Dad was an NCO "lifer", not exactly rolling in money..
As the oldest sibling, I was fortunate to get a Federal loan which I paid back and a full-tuition scholarship .
 
Kingston is one of many people in this world who are full of crap.
 
Read more here: GOP Rep Suggests Kids Clean Schools In Exchange For Lunch

This guy is the son of a university professor. He had a fairly privileged upbringing and thus has no idea what it is like to grow up poor as a kid. What an asshole. I mean what is he wanting to stand there at the lunch line and tell some 1st grader "Hey kid, you can have your Chilimac today, but first I need you to take this broom here and sweep the floor in front of all your friends".

~snipped your personal history because...personally...I'm not interested~

I see nothing wrong with teaching a child that TANSTAAFL. Heck, I taught my own two sons that lesson at an early age.
 
Kingston is further tacking to the right of Broun in Georgia's 3-way GOP Senatorial primary, if that's possible..
Three GOP House members running for the retiring Chambliss's seat..
Which is why the Democrat Nunn is given a good chance..

As for your OP, we currently have special needs students clean the lunch room..
These kids are not teased or bullied, but the poor would be, further humiliation..

A work-fare program after school would be more realistic..

I am a retired chem/physics teacher whose Dad was an NCO "lifer", not exactly rolling in money..
As the oldest sibling, I was fortunate to get a Federal loan which I paid back and a full-tuition scholarship .

I am not against giving older kids the opportunity to earn money at school. I remember we used to get paid to clean the gym after games. I am against a guy that at minimum came out of an upper middle class childhood saying that kids should have to work for the free lunch program as if its some 2nd graders fault his parents are poor. His implication of course is that if we allow a poor kid to get a free lunch at school, it will lead to a lifetime of laziness.
 
I see nothing wrong with teaching a child that TANSTAAFL. Heck, I taught my own two sons that lesson at an early age.

There's not much wrong with teaching them the value of hard work. There is something wrong with teaching a child that because of his or her parent's financial situation, he/she gets to do manual labor for the school food essentially handed to his or her classmates by their parents without nearly as much thought.
 
OMG! Teach a can to earn something we can just take from others and hand out instead? I can see why liberals are in a dither....it goes against their principle value of taking from someone else and handing out for nothing!
 
And as you mentioned, poor kids and families are reticent to take the free lunch..
I blame that on such things as peer pressure over teasing, bullying, and plain looking-down on folks..
Whether people like it or not, we as teachers know some of our kids are hungry because their parents are illegals..
We do our best to feed them when we see things like dry-heaving in class and near passing-out due to hunger .
I am not against giving older kids the opportunity to earn money at school. I remember we used to get paid to clean the gym after games. I am against a guy that at minimum came out of an upper middle class childhood saying that kids should have to work for the free lunch program as if its some 2nd graders fault his parents are poor. His implication of course is that if we allow a poor kid to get a free lunch at school, it will lead to a lifetime of laziness.
 
OMG! Teach a can to earn something we can just take from others and hand out instead? I can see why liberals are in a dither....it goes against their principle value of taking from someone else and handing out for nothing!

I have never taken a cent in any government benefits for anything. Not even so much as an unemployment check. However, I do not believe that a little kid should be given manual labor for a 2 dollar lunch because their parents are poor. I think as a society we can afford to give these kids a lunch when they go to school. I would imagine that at least 90% of people share my view on that.
 
And as you mentioned, poor kids and families are reticent to take the free lunch..
I blame that on such things as peer pressure over teasing, bullying, and plain looking-down on folks..

You hit the nail on the head with that. When you grow up poor, the last thing you want is for your friends to know you are poor. At least with me, that is why I was always looking to make money anyway I could. Mow lawns, haul hay, anything I could do to make some money for myself before I was old enough to get an actual job. I wanted the money so I could have the things that my friends had. That said, I don't think further shaming kids like this guy is basically saying we should do is the best way to teach kids a work ethic.
 
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I have never taken a cent in any government benefits for anything. Not even so much as an unemployment check. However, I do not believe that a little kid should be given manual labor for a 2 dollar lunch because their parents are poor. I think as a society we can afford to give these kids a lunch when they go to school. I would imagine that at least 90% of people share my view on that.

Doesn't make taking from others to buy the votes of the poor in any way the right thing to do.
 
There's not much wrong with teaching them the value of hard work. There is something wrong with teaching a child that because of his or her parent's financial situation, he/she gets to do manual labor for the school food essentially handed to his or her classmates by their parents without nearly as much thought.

Okay. Maybe it would be better to require the parents to do the work.
 
Doesn't make taking from others to buy the votes of the poor in any way the right thing to do.

I can't imagine how cynical one must be to think that any attempt by the government to make sure poor kids get food is attempting to "buy the votes of the poor."
 
Okay. Maybe it would be better to require the parents to do the work.

What if the parents work but are still considered low income?
 
Ya there's no such thing as a free lunch, if the kid's parents cannot afford to buy lunch then the kid is going to eat a meal ultimately purchased by the tax payer, but you know I think in this country we can afford to give a poor kid, who's in school, a free lunch. Consider it an investment on his future along with purchasing his books, giving him meals, maybe even a bus ticket to get him to school if he needs it, ultimately the US will benefit more from someone who completes school, including high education, even if its tax payer supported than someone who has to work menial labor his entire life to eat.

You know I went to college because the Army needed people, the government paid for my entire education and gave me money for housing, food, and books while I was in college. Of course it wasn't free, the Army is still getting its years of service out of me but once I get out I'll still have my education and be a more productive citizen which will help the US for decades as I pay my higher taxes (due to my higher income), stimulate the economy by having more spending money, etc, etc, etc.

There is NOTHING that a good education does not improve, the United States needs to start treating education as the most critical investment it can make, it should be obvious to anyone who cares to look the advantages of an educated society as opposed to an uneducated one.

Give the kid his ****ing lunch and stop being upset that your tax dollars are being put to the best of uses.
 
Okay. Maybe it would be better to require the parents to do the work.

For six hours a day compulsory education? Does it feel good to know you'd be forcing legions of the poor to upkeep the facilities for the middle class, who would get the luxury of only working maybe 2 jobs at most.
 
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I can't imagine how cynical one must be to think that any attempt by the government to make sure poor kids get food is attempting to "buy the votes of the poor."

It's not like it's the only thing lefties will steel from one to buy votes from another.
 
For six hours a day compulsory education? Does it feel good to know you'd be forcing legions of the poor to upkeep the facilities for the middle class, who would get the luxury of only working maybe 2 jobs at most.

No, not for six hour a day of compulsory education. For getting the government to take on their responsibility for feeding their kids.

Maybe it's the PARENTS who need to learn about TANSTAAFL.
 
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No, not for six hour a day of compulsory education. For taking on their responsibility for feeding their kids.

Maybe it's the PARENTS who need to learn about TANSTAAFL.

Poor people do not need folks like you lecturing them about providing for their kids. They generally do what they can, and those that do not do all that they can will still have their kids fed regardless. We provide free and reduced lunches for a reason, boyo.

We don't need an Ayn Randian universe in the school system.
 
Poor people do not need folks like you lecturing them about providing for their kids. They generally do what they can, and those that do not do all that they can will still have their kids fed regardless. We provide free and reduced lunches for a reason, boyo.

We don't need an Ayn Randian universe in the school system.

Oh, I'm not lecturing the poor folks. Why would you think I am?
 
Despite being a fiscal conservative I honestly doubt the school lunch program is going to bust the budget. Philosophically I believe it is a tenth amendment issue and thus should be run at the state level. However in the meantime Republicans spend too much time talking about these rinky dink little issues. In the end if you got rid of everything except entitlements and the military we would still be deep in the gutter. That includes PBS and NPR, and while I don't think government should fund television and radio, too much of a focus is on this stuff. As for school lunches it is one of a few government programs I don't mind paying for.
 
Despite being a fiscal conservative I honestly doubt the school lunch program is going to bust the budget. Philosophically I believe it is a tenth amendment issue and thus should be run at the state level. However in the meantime Republicans spend too much time talking about these rinky dink little issues. In the end if you got rid of everything except entitlements and the military we would still be deep in the gutter. That includes PBS and NPR, and while I don't think government should fund television and radio, too much of a focus is on this stuff. As for school lunches it is one of a few government programs I don't mind paying for.

The issue here isn't whether anyone minds paying for this program...rather, whether the recipients should be required to give something of themselves to get the benefits of this program.

I think they should.
 
Oh, I'm not lecturing the poor folks. Why would you think I am?

These folks often have multiple jobs already, and have much of their day tied up as it is, and up comes along some busybody like you starts with the presumption that these folks have no conception of how to provide for their families-even though they are doing just that (just not being compensated enough to completely do so). It's a lecture without many grounds to stand on.

To me it comes off as lecturing because you seem to just spout this stuff off without really thinking about the big picture of what this would end up doing to individual families, schools, or entire school districts. When a large portion of the school population is reliant upon free and reduced lunch programs, and those folks are essentially forced to work for the state, you're only seeing the poor families, the poor schools, and the poor school districts having these labor conditions. Meanwhile in white middle class suburbia, the leisure class has no such obligations.
 
We don't have money to give poor kids lunch at school? Here's an idea: fire the janitor staff and put the least productive congress in history to work. Force those entitled parasites to do an honest days work for once in their life.
 
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