Newt Gingrich: "Poor kids don't know how to work"

The ironic thing about this "poor kids don't know how to work" thing is: when I was growing up, the only kids I knew that didn't know how to work came from families that were "well off" and had everything handed to them.

To listen to the Newt here, you'd think - by his logic - ALL wealthy kids are hard, diligent workers.

I don't like the idea of generalizations most of the time. The fact is a rich kid can be lazy, a poor kid can kill himself to pull himself out of poverty. And vice versa.

To say poor kids don't know how to work because no one around them works is terribly over-simplified.

One other thing: I think kids should have the time to study in the afternoons and play and be creative. Expanding your mind with education and creativity is the key to developing not only new ideas but social and communication skills.

I don't think putting a poor kid to work at the age of 12 mopping floors is going to inspire the kid to grow, to reach, to dream, to succeed.

Nothing wrong with working. But everything has it's season.