A GOP lawmaker suggests that students should earn their meals at school rather than receive them without charge. Georgia Representative Rich McCormick viewed President Donald Trump’s unexpected directive to suspend federal funding for grants and loans as a chance to perform a “top-down” assessment of expenditure, including the free school meals programme.
The legislator during a show on CNN, twice attempted to avoid answering queries regarding his stance on eliminating initiatives like Head Start, which serves free meals to numerous underprivileged children across the country.
“We are in such a deficit spiral right now that if we don’t do something significant, we will become insolvent as a nation,” said McCormick.
“When I was in high school, I worked my entire way through. You’re telling me that kids who stay at home instead of going to work at Burger King, McDonald’s during the summer should stay at home and get their free lunch instead of going to work?,” he added.
When presenter Brown questioned McCormick about whether children in his constituency dependent on free meals were merely idle at home, he responded that this presented an opportunity to analyse expenditure patterns, before elaborating on his position regarding fast-food employment.
He questioned the development of valuable work experience, stating, “Who can actually go and produce their own income, who can actually go out there and do something that makes them have value and work skills for the future?” He further enquired about the number of people who began their careers in fast-food establishments during their youth.
McCormick advocated for providing children opportunities to escape poverty rather than fostering reliance on government assistance.
When Brown highlighted that numerous students receiving free school meals were below working age, McCormick acknowledged his views weren’t universally applicable.
Research has consistently demonstrated that free school meals contribute to enhanced health outcomes and academic performance, without adverse effects on students’ weight.
