Drew Ferguson: “I certainly understand our colleagues' desire to fight poverty. I would like to share a little bit of my experience and…”

“I certainly understand our colleagues' desire to fight poverty. I would like to share a little bit of my experience and what we have done to fight poverty at the local level. For generations now, we have continued to throw more and more money towards eliminating poverty, with fewer and fewer results. Yes, we have succeeded in alleviating the effects of poverty, but we have made very little progress in actually lifting people out of poverty. Instead of giving people a hand up, we are giving them a handout and essentially telling them life can't get any better than where they are. That is morally wrong, and I think that we can do better. The key to solving poverty isn't just simply throwing more money at the problem. It is to try something different and find innovative ways to fix our welfare entitlement system, improve our education system, and return the dignity of work to our fellow citizens. The proposed amendment does none of these things. It simply perpetuates the cycle of generational poverty that has been passed down from parent to child. I saw the same situation in my hometown of West Point, Georgia. In fact, it is what motivated me to enter public service and run for mayor. We had a community that was dying. Folks were trapped in generational poverty and had been stripped of the dignity of work. Instead of continuing the current system, we made changes.…”