Joe Biden asserted at the third Democrat presidential debate that leaving a record player on at night was a good way to raise poor kids.
During a question on education, Biden went on at length, veering off into a discussion about how families in poor neighborhoods needed social workers to help raise their children. He said:
We bring social workers into homes with parents to help them deal with how to raise their children, it’s not that they don’t want help, they don’t know not quite what to do. Play the radio, make sure the television, excuse me, make sure you have the record player on at night, make sure the kids hear words.
He said that poor kids would hear four million fewer words as children than other children in their school.
When the moderators tried to interrupt Biden, he grew impatient.
“No, I’m going to go on like the rest of them do,” he said. “OK?”