Carl Paladino, a wealthy real estate developer and Republican candidate for New York governor, has suggested transforming former state prisons into voluntary work camps for people on welfare. Paladino said those who enrolled in his "Dignity Corps" would receive training in job hunting, "personal hygiene" and other skills typically lacking in people who "come from dysfunctional homes." Even though the Tea Party-backed candidate said the program would be voluntary, anti-poverty groups reacted to the suggestion with disgust. "Being poor is not a crime," one advocate for New York City's low-income residents told the Associated Press. Is anyone getting behind this idea? (Watch a local report about Paladino's proposal)
This is typical welfare-hating Republican bluster: What an outrage, says Karoli at Crooks and Liars. Do Republicans really want to take us back to a time when the "poor went to poorhouses" and were "treated like chattel"? Welfare gives Americans "an opportunity to survive with at least a foothold to a better life." If Paladino keeps up with this, the Democrats "might win by the biggest landslide in New York history."
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