Democrats want an apology from Alex DeCroce. The North Jersey assembly member — the Assembly Republican leader — said something that might seem impolitic, but probably sums up his and his party’s inhumane philosophy:
“I’m one of the few people here … who feel that benefits are too good for these people,” said DeCroce of Morris County. “Why go to work? If you can go for 26 weeks collecting $550 a week, and you get an extension for another 26, that’s close to $27,000 a year or $30,000 a year, and a lot of people figure, ‘Why go to work?'”
The response from the Democrats has been to ask for an apology — a disingenuous request and one that misses the point. DeCroce has no reason to apologize, not if it’s what he truly believes.
Make no mistake, though, I am not endorsing his comments. On the contrary, I find them repulsive and insensitive. Rather, seek an apology, however, the Democrats should make the case that DeCroce is just saying what he believes and then make it clear that what he believes is repulsive, that his dismissive view of the unemployed makes him an unfit protector of the public good. Let DeCroce defend his comments on the public stage, especially with the entire state Legislature on the coming year’s ballot.
- Send me an e-mail.
- Read poetry at The Subterranean.
- Certainties and Uncertainties a chapbook by Hank Kalet, will be published in November by Finishing Line Press. It can be ordered here.
- Suburban Pastoral, a chapbook by Hank Kalet, available here.
Hank Kalet 
So he's a buffoon. The R's are the Devil Incarnate; the D's are just Saints. So how do you explain that oft cited statistic that \”extending unemployment benefits results in longer stays on the unemployment insurance program\”?It's sad that this welfare program divides America. But, the problem is that the victims of this robbery are still being victimized. Even calling it \”unemployment insurance\” is deceptive. It's not \”insurance\”; it's welfare.