Politics on the Hudson

Buffalo businessman and Republican gubernatorial candidate Carl Paladino is out with a new video ad that clarifies his Dignity Corps proposal.

After the Associated Press reported that Paladino wanted to put welfare recipients in converted prisons and teach them hygiene, his campaign has sought to clarify the program’s goals.

In the video, Paladino, whose father was in the Civilian Conservation Corps, compares the proposal to Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal efforts to reinvigorate the workforce.

“Dignity Corps is an all out effort to use all available state resources to get New Yorkers off the welfare and unemployment rolls and back to work,” says narrator Michael Caputo, also the campaign manager.

Paladino wants to “repurpose” empty prisons and universities so that people can receive a place to stay, a hot meal and a chance to work.

“We will also stimulate job creation through tax incentives and a pro-business environment,” Paladino said.