New U.S. Ambassador Defends Controversial 2010 Remarks on Government Aid
New U.S. Ambassador to Belize Andre Bauer is addressing controversial remarks he made more than a decade ago about government assistance to poor people, saying his comments were about breaking the cycle of dependency rather than simply providing people with financial support.
While serving as a politician in the United States in 2010, Bauer took part in a town hall discussion about government assistance, during which he compared providing aid to poor people to feeding stray animals. The remarks drew criticism from his political opponents and sparked controversy at the time.
Bauer says the comments have been presented without the context of what he was trying to discuss. “It was about generational problem where we don’t lift people up. If you just give someone enough dollars to get by but you show them no vehicle to lift themselves up, America is about opportunity. It’s about giving people a vehicle, pathway to better themselves and their family,” he said.
He also shared that he personally qualified for free school lunches when he was younger, saying he “came from a broken home”.
Bauer mentions services such as healthcare, transportation, and childcare as examples of support that can help people access employment or education and become more independent.