Mississippi state Rep. Steve Palazzo should apologia for his offensive and demeaning comments about unemployed workers in Mississippi.
In an interview with Carl Gibson of Mississippi Public Broadcasting last week, Rep. Palazzo said Mississippi families should not receive the $56.1 million from the federal government because the state “doesn’t want people lingering at home.”
Rep. Palazzo further stated that “if you lose a job, just go out and find another job. There’s job out there; you’ve just got to be willing to work.”
With Mississippi facing the greatest recession since the Great Depression and Mississippi workers facing the highest unemployment rate in decades, I am outraged that House Republicans are so out of touch with reality that they think unemployed workers are unwilling to work.
Since the beginning of the recession, Mississippi has lost nearly 75,000 jobs. To suggest these workers are too lazy to find work is reprehensible.
Not only should Rep. Palazzo apologize, he should also support the changes necessary to accept $56 million from the federal government that would help more than 40,000 Mississippi families over four years survive this recession.
Robert Shaffer
President
Mississippi Branch of the AFL-CO
Jackson
LTE
Clarion Ledger
4/3/10
Magnolia Tribune
