Tuesday, December 6, 2011

Newt Gingrich: 'Kids shouldn't work in coal mines'


Newt Gingrich does not want to send your children into the coal mines.
So he said on WNYM this morning, telling radio host Curtis Sliwa that when he suggested putting kids to work in their schools, he wasn't thinking of the Dickensian child-labor force his critics imagine.
"They could be the person who greets you when you walk in the door," Gingrich said, per POLITICO's Ginger Gibson. "They could help in the school library. They can help in the kitchen. They can help clean up after lunch."
"Kids shouldn't work in coal mines, kids shouldn't work in heavy industry," said Gingrich, who suggested that hiring eight or 10 children could eliminate the need for two janitorial jobs per school.
This is the kind of statement that probably falls into the "if you have to say it ..." category. Gingrich has not backed away one inch from his suggestion that public school children be paid to do some work around their schools. He has now spent well over a week trying to clarify what he meant, however, and that kind of time isn't a luxury he'd have in a general election.
But then, doing a radio interview with Curtis Sliwa is also not typically the kind of thing a presidential candidate spends time on, less than a month before Iowa.


Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1211/69852.html#ixzz1fn0luRhW

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