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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsWest Virginia legislator: Children should "work for their lunches"
Last edited Thu Apr 25, 2013, 04:49 PM - Edit history (1)
This remark by West Virginia state delegate Ray Canterbury (Greenbrier County) is just now making the rounds in the national blogosphere including Huffington Post and Washington Post.
The West Virginia State Journal explains the bill:
The Feed to Achieve Act, Senate Bill 663, came from the Senate's new Select Committee on Children and Poverty. It aims to encourage private donations to school board-established funds or nonprofits to pay for the meals. The bill also recognizes physical activity as part of a healthy lifestyle and allows the county school boards to use the funds for other programs such as summer lunch programs, community gardens or farm-to-school initiatives.
But although delegates agree it would be difficult to deny food to a hungry children, members of the House of Delegates debated for nearly two hours on the ins and outs of the measure.
"There's no such thing as a free lunch," Delegate Ray Canterbury, R-Greenbrier, reiterated several times while speaking to the bill. He said his parents taught him to work hard and to not expect handouts from the government or anyone else.
"I think what we're doing is undermining work ethic and teaching students they don't have to work hard," he said before adding, "I think it would be a good idea if perhaps the kids work for their lunches."
And as the Charleston Gazette reported back on Apr. 13:
The Gazette also reported that the bill passed...89-9. 89-9? Wow! The WV House has 54 Democrats and 46 Republicans, so it seems that even REPUBLICANS in this state voted for...gasp!...SOCIALISM!!! FREE STUFF!!!! (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_presidential_election_in_West_Virginia,_2012 Back in 2012 70% of WV Republican voters voted for Mr. 47% Romney, and Romney won WV with 62% of the vote and won EVERY county including the counties where Charleston and Huntington are located!)
This AP report quotes Del. Canterbury in full:
As the Gazette and AP reported, Democrats in the House spent some good time calling out Canterbury:
"I'm offended anybody in this body would dare say a child has to work for their meals," Poore said. "I can't believe someone would say a first-grader, a second-grader . . . a fifth-grader has to labor before they eat. This isn't an entitlement bill."
This Canterbury guy also introduced a bill requiring public schools to use science fiction in curriculum.
Sheesh, why the hell is a state legislator for West Virginia (which had the highest labor union membership rate in 2011) essentially advocating child labor?
CBGLuthier
(12,723 posts)southernyankeebelle
(11,304 posts)want those kids to pay one way or other. Now we already see poor kids get bullied because sometimes they don't have the right cloths to wear. Now they will be bullied because they are forced to work for a meal. Way to go republicans. People need to open their eyes. However, republicans don't give a damn.
Aristus
(66,316 posts)It's starting to look like the fucking moon anyway...
LittleBlue
(10,362 posts)With the current crop of know-nothings masquerading as politicians
freshwest
(53,661 posts)Nice way to wage the class war and make sure the poor don't have the leisure time to learn.
A big DUFU to him from me.
Rex
(65,616 posts)He wants kids to understand, 'do as I say, not as I do' early on in life.
Maeve
(42,279 posts)I assume he got no inheritance from them, they didn't pay for HIS school lunches, nor give him an allowance, or buy his clothes or school supplies....
Now to go after those lazy babies and their constant demand for diapers! And food! What do they ever do to deserve THAT????
Arkana
(24,347 posts)has at least one relative on public assistance. It's West Virginia--generally very poor, very rural. The odds are VERY good.
Auntie Bush
(17,528 posts)He can make his children clean their rooms, empty the garbage, clean the poop out of the dog yard etc. There's plenty of ways he can teach his kids...call it home schooling.
Orrex
(63,201 posts)burnodo
(2,017 posts)Doesn't accept the free health care he's given by the state. Wouldn't want anyone to think he's a hypocrite or anything.
TeamPooka
(24,221 posts)thatgemguy
(506 posts)It is a beautiful state. Too bad the idiot politicians are destroying it. I'm glad I no longer live there.
alp227
(32,016 posts)Despite having voted Romney in 2012, WV also has Democratic majorities in both the Senate and House. Are those Democrats DLC types or coal industry puppets?
mariema
(110 posts)Punish, humiliate and abuse poor, hungry children: how very Republican of him.
WI_DEM
(33,497 posts)Taverner
(55,476 posts)yellowcanine
(35,699 posts)Someone needs to document that.
aint_no_life_nowhere
(21,925 posts)you can bet that the school will either have to increase reserves for premises liability insurance where they are self-insured or take out additional private insurance coverage. And how will they handle cases where kids get injured doing this work? If the idea is that they are working in exchange for food are they then de facto employees entitled to worker's comp?