Recently Representative Jack Kingston (R-GA 1^st. District), spoke to the Jackson County Republican Party, about the Federal School Lunch Program.

In his remarks, Kingston proposed having student recipients of the school lunch program sweep the cafeteria floors, in exchange for receiving a free or reduced lunch.

Presumably, his reasoning has to do with a 16 percent error rate in the school lunch program.

I was driving home from my son’s school, when I heard about his insane idea on the radio.

In fact, I was coming back from serving on the FBI (Fathers Being Involved), where several of us greeted and helped car riders out of their cars, as they started a new day.

I’m also proud to say that my son’s school has a mentorship program, where students must apply and receive recommendations from adult mentors in order to participate – I was proud to write a recommendation for a young man in our neighborhood.  The students help out with various mentoring tasks, in addition to the “Book Buddy” program that the school employs.

That is how we teach responsibility and mentorship to young students.

Under Kingston’s plan, students would be on display for all to see – sort of like a “scarlet letter” for enduring poverty, as if the poverty were not enough.

In many cases, a school lunch is the only good meal many children can depend on – through no fault of their own.  They are children, after all.

Nothing good can come from punitive measures against the poor.

If we want to place people on display, I have a better idea for Representative Kingston.

How about if we have all beneficiaries of “pork barrel spending” clean the roadsides each Saturday morning, adorned in bright yellow vest?

I don’t think Representative Kingston would like that idea, given is penchant for “pork.”

I admit that I have not had time to look into 2013 spending bills.  However, when did a little research on the Internet, I learned that in 2010 Kingston had 145 total earmarks, at a cost of $211 million to taxpayers.

Maybe it’s time to start measuring “pork barrel” recipients for yellow vests, if we want to truly teach lessons about responsibility, or even yet good governance.

With ideas that serve only to divide people based on social class, and “backwoods notions,” it’s no wonder that we have to endure divided and divisive government.

Even with President Obama’s scandal ridden Presidency, and poor leadership at the helm of a mean-spirited and disconnected Democratic Party – the Republicans just can’t seem to get enough traction.

With ideas proposed by Representative Kingston, the Republican Party can look forward to more of the same, as they cast themselves as the party of Dickens and Scrooge this holiday season.

Our goal at this time should be to create an economy that lifts people up and out of poverty – the best way to do this is not to stigmatize those who already have suffered enough at the hands of others.

If we truly want to help the poor, we won’t start by making their children stand out in school.