Star Parker appears on Varney and Company (August 2011) explaining how the entitlement mentality has destroyed the black family.
Stuart Varney: It is entitlement week on Fox Business network. Star Parker, admitted former welfare cheat and president of CURE is live with us now. Star, welcome to the program.
Star Parker: Well, thank you, it's good to be back with you.
Varney: Indeed it is. We've been running clips earlier in the program of your interview with John Stossel where you're saying how easy it was to get a couple of checks a month to pay for your food and all the rest of it. Here's my question, though. When you were on welfare, when you were cheating and doing it, did you feel you were cheating or did you feel, 'hey look, it's out there, I'm entitled to it.' Give it to me. How did you feel when you were doing it?
Star: I didn't have any feelings. I was also on drugs. It didn't matter because I had bought the lie that poor people are poor because rich people are rich so I didn't have any problem with going on welfare to pay for my life. But now remember, you didn't have to use your check to pay for food because you also get food stamps.
Varney: So when you were on welfare, you got cash welfare, you certainly got food stamps, your rent was paid for, medical treatment was paid for...was everything paid for by the government?
Star: Yes, everything was paid for by the government, but keep in mind that Uncle Sam is cruel to the poor. These programs don't work for them. We have over 4,000 housing projects in this country. It's not working for the people -- you just get addicted to it like any other drug and you start depending on that life and it spirals you into a little dark hole.
Varney: So, I've been making a point this week that the recipients of this extensive entitlement program, that the recipients are actually destroyed by it. Now that's a very strong thing of me to say. Would you agree with it?
Star: I absolutely agree. The recipient is not only destroyed, but their personal dignity, and then they become much more addicted for all of their lives, but whole communities are destroyed. Let's look at what happened, for instance in the black community -- the impact of this entitlement mentality and welfare -- government dependency.
After the war on poverty in the 60s, we began to see the unraveling of the entire black community because the family collapsed. During the 60s, the black family was pretty healthy. Seventy-eight percent of husbands were in their homes with their wives raising their children. But after this lure to government that said "you don't have to work, you don't have to save, you don't have to get married," over time marriage stopped occurring to where now 7 out of 10 black children are born outside of marriage and what happens when you don't have that intact family is your values change. So your culture changes. So your community changes.
Varney: You're out there now very publicly saying the entitlement mentality is a very bad thing, it destroys communities. What's the reaction to you now saying what you're saying?
Star: Well, depends on who I'm saying it to. Some give me death threats and others say 'tell us more.' How did you get out? And that's one of the reasons I wrote my book "Uncle Sam's Plantation" because I want people to understand that they don't have to live at the hand of the government.
You know, I'm spending my life, as you said, I'm running an organization here in Washington, DC, spending my life, I suppose, to pay back society to get everybody off of welfare. I just feel there are some contributions that everybody can make without Uncle Sam telling them 'don't worry about your life, just live off our hand from womb to tomb.'
Varney: I just want to know, real briefly, get a lot of hostility?
Star: Do I get hostility? Well, of course I do. Hey, being a black conservative in this society is social suicide: you live alone, you have a lonely life.
Varney: Well, welcome to the program, it's very good to have you. It's Star Parker.
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