This man is disgusting. Flat out racism and sexism. Treating poor women as animals. Ug.

And why the fuck is he not offering $1k for men to get themselves fixed?

*raises hand to volunteer*

HEY MAN, give me $1,000 to sterilize me. I fucking hate kids anyway and I don't want any. and I plan to spend $1,000 on some nice stuff. I've been dying to buy a new pair of Doc Martens, anywayyyyy.

Jessica, it's way too early in the morning to be drinking that much.

I wonder what other brilliant ideas were tossed about in the brainstorming session to end generational welfare. He doesn't really say what they were, he just echoes Kyra's suggestions about education and employment and community involvement after she brings it up.

I lost count at 15. I think I'd be dying of blood alcohol poisoning by the time the video ended.

P.s: I took shots of pomegranite juice instead of alcohol. But I thought the analogy would suffice.

This Louisiana Rep. has had me pissed off all morning. I've sent the links to the president of the feminist group at my campus so I have a feeling we might be talking about it at the next meeting.

This is ridiculous.

He seems to have no idea what he is talking about. I admire the interviewer because she is definitely nailing him with some good questions.

You know, "the media," all its faults aside, might have latched onto this because it's RETARDED. "Well, it's just one of our ideas." Yeah, and it's a rude and disrespectful one that does not bode well for the rest of your ideas. Take a hint.

I really hate that dealing with poverty is seen not as "It's a shame that people live in such a situation, which reflects badly on our society," but "Spending money on poor people is such a waste. How can we stop having to give them money?"

The bright side? The media is being mean to him, which means that everyone else sees it for what it really is.

Do idiots like this not realize that wealth is a relative thing and discriminating against poor people is equivalent to being a bigot about race (of course he is doing that too), religion, political affiliation, etc.? You can't get rid of "poor" people because even if everyone could survive you would still have some not as well off as others since we are in a capitalistic society. The bar would be raised and then suddenly not being able to afford luxury cars or a pool would be grounds for sterilization. And this moron proves that money doesn't mean you are intelligent or fit to be a parent. There are many poor women out there who are great mothers and many more who are better human beings that this twit.

Actually, I wasn't that impressed by the interviewer. What impresses me is when a dodgy politician skirts around a question, and the interviewer says straight out "you're not answering the question," and bugs him until he does. She just let him get away completely with evading her question about the statistics that dissolve his nice little theory about poverty and breeding.

Dani... ? Where were the other 12 "these people"s? I only counted 3 from him, and 1 from her. Is everyone else getting a longer clip than me?

When I first saw this guy's picture in the "white dude knows best approach" post, I thought he looked like the caricature in some 80s sitcom of the trust-fund boy who became an insulting, sleaze-talkin' politician like his father and his father's father. You know, the guy who, at the end of the episode, says something patronising to a female character, and she gives him that sassy, who you talkin' to upbraiding that includes a crack about his lame luck with women, and he sputters and looks indignant, and then the canned laughter carries us over into the montage credits? You know the guy. I wonder if his full name is John LaBruzzo, III ...?

I love the fuck that he is so fucking ignorant he doesn't even know HIS OWN STATE'S stats. Props to those asking why he isn't telling men to get a vasectomy. Maybe he should instead be asking FEMA why they withheld supplies to hurricane victims, and all the Insurance agencies why they wouldn't give home owners their hurricane insurance money because the damage from Katrina was from "flooding." Fucking racist shitbag.

PS: Did anyone else hear Phillips say "I lived in New Orleans and worked in New Orleans, and it is a sh-" and mentally hear -ithole before registering "shame"? Just sayin'.

So he basically blames poverty on poor People of Color having too many babies and illegal aliens?
Was he not paying attention to anything that's happened to Louisiana recently??

You can tell that at this point, he wishes that no one had ever mentioned the sterilization idea out loud and is now getting shit for it. But there are some things in life that you can never ever take back, and they loom over your head and end up defining you to a certain extent. These types of deems & statements are easy to spot, so when you're thinking of saying something so freaking racist, you really should decide if it's worth it or not. Because there's no positive way to interpret his theories. It's not like he's been misunderstood. He's a racist and a sexist that thinks that $1,000 is enough to buy most women's choice to conceive. The only women who'd fall for that are women that had little to no intention of ever having kids anyway.

So often throughout history, when the question of "How do we handle poverty?" has come up, so many rich White dudes have answered along the lines of "Well, if we kill, or stop the breeding of, poor people, then they'll be less of them. And then it will SEEM like we've ended poverty!"

Johnathan Swift, anybody? I wish "A Modest Proposal" would become *less* relevant over time, instead of more so.

Rosie-
YES!

As someone who lives in Louisiana, it's good to know that there is SOME publicity about the myriad socioeconomic issues we have here, which are desperately in need of reform. But this guys ideas? Yeah, I don't think you can cure racism with racism. Education, both sex ed and general education would be tremendously better wasting money on bribes that women would take because they're impoverished, and could later regret-- how is taking advantage of someone in hard times a remote consideration for "these people?"
And to touch on what Destra said-- if this idea is remotely feasible, why don't they offer it to men? A vasectomy is far less invasive than getting your tubes tied. Of course, I'm sure the male representatives were cringing to think of their willies getting snipped... far better to coerce women into major surgery instead.

I'm also a resident of Louisiana, and this guy is just embarrassing. I also cannot stand it when politicians trot out Katrina as a justification for their racist and sexist ideas. I agree that it is good to see some publicity about our many economic problems, but we need actual solutions from our leaders, not this nonsense.

I'll be visiting New Orleans next week for conference so maybe I can find this guy and give him a good kick!

I almost heard shithole too, Rosie.

On the bright side, women who have to practically beg their doctor to tie their tubes ("but you're only 30! You'll want kids someday.") can now just move to Louisiana, and get a few extra bucks for it.....

I especially get a kick out of how he refers to (mainly) blacks as "these people" and then contrasts them with "the tax-payers of America" (i.e. white, old, rich men, to help his argument). Like, really John LaBruzzo? No one on welfare has a job? Because all jobs can fully support a family, right?

He is flat out racist and sexist. Sterilizing woman is not the solution.

This reminds of a song by a lovely group of Native American women singers...

"Sterilize woman who cannot give birth,
Strip mine the womb of Mother Earth,
Remove my future leaving no trace to say,
That I am non-existent race..."
-Ulali-Museum Cases

In case you didn't know Native American woman were sterilized big time back a few decades. It is absolutely disgusting that people still think they can whip out a so called "problem" when their racist and sexist policies and way of life that contribute directly to joblessness, welfare, etc.

I always wonder if people like this guy can feel, at all?

Destra: He wanted to offer the same deal to men who got vasectomies. From the original article:

"He said his program would be voluntary. It could involve tubal ligation, encouraging other forms of birth control or, to avoid charges of gender discrimination, vasectomies for men."

Ultimately, he may be racist and classist, but I don't think he's really sexist, he doesn't want poor people to have children and he doesn't care which gender, exactly, gets sterilized as long as he doesn't have to pay for people to be on welfare and more rich people have babies to take care of him in his old age. I think he's only focusing on women because they're usually stuck as the primary caregivers, and thus are the ones who apply for welfare to care for their children; there's more money in welfare going to mothers than to fathers, after all.

this man should not be in office. what he is talking about is called eugenics, its basicaly a form of ethnic cleansing. the nazis did this stuff.

How do people like this actually get elected? That's what's puzzling about things like this. I would think the man's stench would have given him away during his campaign.

*shaking my head*

From ThinkProgress:He said his program would be voluntary. It could involve tubal ligation, encouraging other forms of birth control or, to avoid charges of gender discrimination, vasectomies for men."

It's voluntary, he offers vasectomies, but the thing is, the burden of pregnancy (and child-rearing) unfortunately falls more on women.

I am waiting for a better safety net, better access to contraception (someone tell me, are they not selling condoms in drug stores anymore? If a condom is too expensive...having a kid is cheaper?), less of a gap between wages and cost of living, and an educational system that gives people a better chance of finding a place in the labor market and making a decent living.

Yes, poverty overlaps with race in this country, but they're not interchangeable. "Black" is not simply the same as "poor." There's nothing problematic with black people (or white people, or anyone) having kids but there might be in the short term if that person can't even feed themselves and has few employable skills--even if you happen to be black. Are you not responsible for your decisions as parents if you're part of a minority with a history of de jure oppression and the legacy of that?

Why is this being presented as forced sterilization and why is it SO controversial to hold parents responsible first, before blaming society and our admittedly ass-backwards-on-family-planning government? (Do they not sell condoms in drug stores anymore?) Does that totally absolve parents (or at least, people living in blue states or with access to contraception to know how pregnancy works, and maybe even what "safe sex" refers to)?

So until this country evolves into the Netherlands, we're going to keep blaming society for generational poverty instead, with seemingly no reference to the people who bring them into the world and who those kids will spend most of their time with? (Until they're adolescents, in which case, for better or worse, peers are more important....how well do adolescents turn out in crime-ridden impoverished neighborhoods/trailer parks that their parents were hoping to escape at some point in time?)

P.S. I am aware that condoms break, BC is expensive/can fail, and someone may be in an abusive relationship. Those are exceptions.

You can see through the bullshit "marriage as panacea" for poverty solution that the GOP (or religious right) has but it doesn't change the IMMEDIATE factors of generational poverty.

Ugh, what a disgusting man.

Also, Flippy...watch your use of "retarded"...it's ableist.

Phillips is a pretty boss interviewer. Hopefully he comes away from this chastened for being such a stupid, stupid idiot.

Man, this guy's a fucking moron. He even LOOKS like the biggest d-bag ever. Part of the reason some people are on welfare is because, gee, an awful lot of American jobs don't pay living wages. You can work fricking full-time at Wal-Mart and not be able to support even two people.

"Jeez, the economy's failing because of the illegal aliens. It's the illegals' faults." Um, no. The economy's failing because d-bags like you are running this country and ignoring big problems with the economy in order to rag on other ones like welfare. There's a big problem with generational welfare, but no problem with corporate welfare. No problem with military welfare. No problem that far more of our federal money goes to blow shit up and kill people in poor countries than to help people afford health care.

Why does this idiot think that only low-income minority women can be bad parents? Does he honestly not think that there are middle class and very wealthy people who are bad parents?? Here is a perfect example of just such a parent: Kathy Hilton. Just look at the wonderful job she’s done raising her daughter Paris!! When Paris was growing up, Kathy never gave her any guidance or boundaries and mostly ignored her so that she could go shopping and attend parties. As a result, Paris has amounted to absolutely nothing except a disgrace to her family name. She lacks the basic skills to take care of herself (or a child if God forbid she ever breeds), she has no concept of right or wrong, and she is slowly destroying herself by making sex tapes, getting arrested for driving drunk, contracting Genital Herpes, and binging on alcohol and drugs. Wow, her parents must be so proud!! And Kathy certainly is no poor, minority woman…she’s a wealthy, white, upper-crust socialite!! And if that’s not enough proof, then here’s another example for you: I know of a white middle-class mother who, much like Kathy Hilton, also never gave her daughter any guidance or boundaries. Her daughter runs around wild much like Paris Hilton, made her own sex tape in college that was 10 times raunchier than Paris’, got an STD from it, got arrested and kicked out of college her freshman year for driving drunk underage, and spends most of her time drinking in bars and dancing on top of bar counters instead of finishing her education and holding down a job like a productive member of society. And if all of that wasn’t bad enough, this girl’s mother has NEVER made her face any consequences for her horrible behavior or even expressed any displeasure over it! In fact, this mother MAKES EXCUSES for her daughter’s behavior and at times even ENCOURAGES it because she wants her to “be happy.” Now her lovely daughter is PREGNANT; has no college degree, job, or money to support her baby when it’s born, doesn’t know who the father of her baby is, and has continued to party and hang out in bars while pregnant!! And since this Mother of the Year never taught her daughter any sense of responsibility, she is now going to have to support her 23 year old daughter and raise her baby for her. And once again, this mother and daughter are not low-income minority women, they are white, middle class, suburban women!! So tell me again why people like this politician think that only poor black women are bad parents??

Jordan, I appreciate your point, but I also find it irritating that the only people who get called out for being poor excuses for parents are almost invariably women/mothers, and the reason they get called out is almost invariably because their daughter was having sex. I'm sorry, I'm just not that surprised that Paris Hilton has sex. We rarely talk about "bad parenting" in the sense of raising a rapist or murderer, but rather in the sense of "not being able to control" girls. What about "controlling" boys?

I would be more interested in the parents of, say, the boys who just shot up their schools in Finland.

You're absolutely right, Allegra. I never thought of it that way before!! I was just trying to prove a point that it's not just poor people who are bad parents. And now that I think of it, I have known middle class parents who didn't provide their sons with any boundaries or consequences for bad behavior, either. And many times it was because they thought their kid could do no wrong or because they had a popular family name and thought their son had an entitlement to do as he pleased, just as they did with their daughters.

LOL! Waterfalls for eeeelegal immigrants!

I think the media probably is targeting him, if this was a liberal woman we would probably be in her corner against the media, so maybe we should do the same for him.

I love the "and we got Mexicans now!" at the end...

I'm a New Orleans public school teacher and I definitely see the effects of "generational poverty" on my students (which I'll describe as a mindset of dependency and powerlessness often present in students whose adult role models aren't employed). But to propose sterilization as a solution is so insulting, not to mention totally off base.

The solution absolutely is education. The public schools are struggling to fulfill huge mandates from the state and NCLB, and yet I buy all my own classroom supplies, we have no budget for substitutes, and my school is devoid of artistic/athletic programming. The kids can feel it. They KNOW they are not given all the resources they need to succeed because they SAW what adequate schooling looked like in Texas, Arkansas, Georgia, etc. when they evacuated for Katrina.

Last year I taught 8th grade, and several of my students from last year now attend no-tuition, public, open-enrollment charters with funding from private sources. They rave about these places because they (and their teachers) are given what they need to succeed. It is an absolute shame that the only choice for quality education for poor children in New Orleans right now comes from private interests. Public education should and must be supported if the cycle of poverty is ever to stop.

I love the "and we got Mexicans now!" at the end...

I'm a New Orleans public school teacher and I definitely see the effects of "generational poverty" on my students (which I'll describe as a mindset of dependency and powerlessness often present in students whose adult role models aren't employed). But to propose sterilization as a solution is so insulting, not to mention totally off base.

The solution absolutely is education. The public schools are struggling to fulfill huge mandates from the state and NCLB, and yet I buy all my own classroom supplies, we have no budget for substitutes, and my school is devoid of artistic/athletic programming. The kids can feel it. They KNOW they are not given all the resources they need to succeed because they SAW what adequate schooling looked like in Texas, Arkansas, Georgia, etc. when they evacuated for Katrina.

Last year I taught 8th grade, and several of my students from last year now attend no-tuition, open-enrollment charters with funding from private sources. They rave about these places because they (and their teachers) are given what they need to succeed. It is an absolute shame that the only choice for quality education for poor children in New Orleans right now comes from private interests. Public education should and must be supported if the cycle of poverty is ever to stop.

fucking smug privileged white boy - smarmy bastard makes my skin crawl - and i concur - FIX THE MEN a lot cheaper and easier!
Start with him.

Sorry, 1st post had an error--didn't intend to say the charters were public. Sorry to double post, tried to cancel it too late ;-)

Oh sweet lord, his entire justification for this horrible eugenicist idea is the culture of poverty hypothesis??? How many times do we have to disprove this before people start listening? Shall we band together and send him a copy of Flat Broke with Children?

http://www.amazon.com/Flat-Broke-Children-Welfare-Reform/dp/0195176014/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1222472139&sr=8-1

1. Someone upthread wondered how people like LaBruzzo get elected these days. Well, the original article pointed out that he's from the same district that elected David Duke. Clearly they haven't made two much progress since then.

2. Does anyone know how much tubal ligation costs? Would $1,000 even cover it, or was that supposed to be on top of the cost of the procedure?

3. Interesting how he keeps using the phrase "generational welfare," rather than talking about poverty. His whole focus is "How can we turn these people, these burdens on the system, into upright taxpayers?" rather than "How do we help people make better lives for themselves and their children?" His use of the "generational welfare" language just reinforces that.

You know what... I don't want kids, and would be perfectly happy to have my tubes tied, but good luck finding a doctor who would do it.

Here's the thing about this stupidity, Poverty doesn't have to be a life long problem. I took honors classes in an inner city high school. Most of us were poor or lower middle class, but now we have college degrees and jobs. Ending poverty isn't about preventing certin people from having kids. It's about making sure people have opportunities like family planning, education, and decent child care.

I really don't believe most poor women are thinking to themselves, "Oh, I'd like to have kids that I can't possibly afford." I do however think that many of them lack access to decent health care, family planning, and sex ed.

You know what... I don't want kids, and would be perfectly happy to have my tubes tied, but good luck finding a doctor who would do it.

Here's the thing about this stupidity, Poverty doesn't have to be a life long problem. I took honors classes in an inner city high school. Most of us were poor or lower middle class, but now we have college degrees and jobs. Ending poverty isn't about preventing certin people from having kids. It's about making sure people have opportunities like family planning, education, and decent child care.

I really don't believe most poor women are thinking to themselves, "Oh, I'd like to have kids that I can't possibly afford." I do however think that many of them lack access to decent health care, family planning, and sex ed.

I completely agree with Vio. Although the American Dream seems to be somewhat faulty right now, it is still an idea that many people hope to achieve and just because someone is poor at a certain point in their life does not mean that they cant change their life around for the better. I'm also pretty sure that sperm is needed in reproduction so why is it that men are not being offered money (surprisingly)? Maybe Mr. Labruzzo should be sterilized we dont need another one of him in this world.