Comments on Poverty from Bill Bennett’s Morning in America
Comments on Poverty from Bill Bennett’s Morning in America Lyrics
Bill Bennett: But I mean, a boy has to see a man working doesn't he?
Paul Ryan: Yeah, absolutely.
BB: Ok.
PR: And so that's... that's... that's... that's this tailspin or spiral that we're looking at in our communities. You know, your buddy Charles Murray or Bob Putnam over at Harvard, those guys have written books on this, which is... we have got this tailspin of culture in our inner cities in particular, of men not working, and just generations of men not even thinking about working, or learning to value a culture of work. So there's a real culture problem here that has to be dealt with. Everybody's gotta get involved. So this is what we talk about when we talk about civil society. If you're driving from the suburb, you know, to the sports arena downtown by these blighted neighborhoods, you can't just say 'I'm paying my taxes, government's gonna fix that.' You need to get involved. You need to get involved yourself, whether through a good mentor program or some religious charity, whatever it is to make a difference. And that's how we help resuscitate our culture.
BB: Yeah.
Paul Ryan: Yeah, absolutely.
BB: Ok.
PR: And so that's... that's... that's... that's this tailspin or spiral that we're looking at in our communities. You know, your buddy Charles Murray or Bob Putnam over at Harvard, those guys have written books on this, which is... we have got this tailspin of culture in our inner cities in particular, of men not working, and just generations of men not even thinking about working, or learning to value a culture of work. So there's a real culture problem here that has to be dealt with. Everybody's gotta get involved. So this is what we talk about when we talk about civil society. If you're driving from the suburb, you know, to the sports arena downtown by these blighted neighborhoods, you can't just say 'I'm paying my taxes, government's gonna fix that.' You need to get involved. You need to get involved yourself, whether through a good mentor program or some religious charity, whatever it is to make a difference. And that's how we help resuscitate our culture.
BB: Yeah.
About
Genius Annotation
Republican Representative Paul Ryan of Wisconsin spoke on Bill Bennett’s Morning in America program on March 12 to give a preview of his upcoming budget reforms for America’s Poverty Programs.
His comments have been criticized as inappropriate and racially motivated.
Check out the annotations for a breakdown of the problematic aspects of Ryan’s speech, and check out how “inner city” dwellers have respondeded.
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