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Opinion L.A.

Opinion: Gingrich’s janitor idea conceals a serious point

By Michael McGough
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It’s easy to make fun of Newt Gingrich’s proposal that young teenagers be paid to work as janitors in their schools. Aside from the concerns about child labor, poor kids would be better using their free time to hit the books.

But Gingrich’s larger point -- that poor kids should learn a work ethic -- is not so silly. Indeed, it is a common theme in conservative prescriptions for dealing with what used to be called the underclass. Gingrich said he was proposing ‘extraordinarily radical proposals to fundamentally change the culture of poverty in America,” In connection with the kids-as-janitors program, that’s hyperbole. But...

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You don’t have to be Newt Gingrich -- or Charles Murray -- to believe that there is a culture of poverty that can’t be remedied simply by the infusion of money. That doesn’t mean kids should work as janitors, but it does mean that schools should address the culture of poverty. Newt, in other words, has a point.

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New Newt, old Newt, same Newt? [Most commented]

--Michael McGough

Opinion L.A.
Michael McGough

Michael McGough is the Los Angeles Times’ former senior editorial writer, based in Washington, D.C. He wrote editorials for The Times from 2006 to 2021. Before that, McGough worked for 30 years for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette as a reporter, editorial writer, editorial page editor and Washington correspondent. He wrote about law, national security, politics, foreign policy and religion. McGough is a graduate of Allegheny College and also attended the University of Kent at Canterbury in England and Yale Law School, where he received a master of studies in law degree.

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