Ben Carson calls poverty 'a state of mind' during interview

[DonViejo]

Source: The Washington Post



By Jose A. DelReal May 24 at 3:51 PM

In an interview released Wednesday, Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson said that a "certain mindset" contributes to people living in poverty, pointing to habits and a "state of mind" that children take from their parents at a young age.

"I think poverty to a large extent is also a state of mind. You take somebody that has the right mindset, you can take everything from them and put them on the street, and I guarantee in a little while they'll be right back up there," he said during an interview on SiriusXM Radio with Armstrong Williams, a longtime friend. "And you take somebody with the wrong mindset, you can give them everything in the world, they'll work their way right back down to the bottom," Carson said.

The retired neurosurgeon, who ran for president during the 2016 GOP primary, regularly speaks about his experience growing up in poverty and his road to the top of the medical field. Before entering the political fray, Carson was best known as a motivational speaker. His story was turned into a Lifetime movie and made him a role model for young people of color. But his conservative politics and denunciations of government assistance eroded that image as he became more popular among right-wing voters.

Carson said during the interview that "the wrong mindset" is the product of negative parenting habits and exposure.

Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2017/05/24/ben-carson-calls-poverty-a-state-of-mind-during-interview/?utm_term=.501f29a5e64f

[sakabatou]

1. He thinks it's all in peoples' heads?!

[Tommy_Carcetti]

2. People tend to say some crazy stuff in their sleep. nt

[Cha]

14. LOL

[Worktodo]

3. And now, conservative elitist Ben Carson

[hamsterjill]

11. Yes, because you know if people just believed "enough"

They wouldn't be poor. (And I'm a Christian).

I hate that prosperity gospel crap. But that's what Carson is getting at.

[haele]

4. I've known many people who grew up in poverty who didn't feel poor.

Back in the old days - post Depression families and rural families. Farmers. Rural doctors and other rural professionals. Small business owners. Musicians and Artists.

However, the primary difference between poverty now and poverty then is that if the community supported a poor family, they would still thrive as well, if not better, than families of greater wealth.

When I was growing up, the majority of rich kids were unhappy, aimless, and always "needing" something their parents just had to buy them. Quite a few poor kids who weren't going hungry, either because their families practiced home sufficiency gardening (like my family), or the community would support them always seemed happy, generous, and would generally be successful and self-sufficient.
In fact, for the most part, I've found that poorer people - especially those living in poverty - will tend to give far more generously to those in need in comparison to wealthier people. The difference is in giving the equivalent of "the shirt off their backs" when it comes to giving, rather than the wealthier person's equivalent of giving up a casual family dinner out on a Wednesday night.
Sure, you might not get hired by a poor person. But there's a greater chance that they'll make sure you're at least fed and have a safe place to hang out a few days if you need it. They stick together.

Yes, "Ben", the ability for a child to thrive is a product of parenting habits and exposure. And I've noticed that rich kids tend to have more of a negative social exposure than poor.

Haele

[furtheradu]

7. Thanks for Your observation. ❤

I agree with everything You said. & I'll take "modest means" & compassion, vs rich & heart-less, ANY day.

[ck4829]

5. I honestly thought for a second he was going to say that wealth is socially constructed

Instead of jumping into just-world hypothesis claptrap.

Maybe someday we'll have people in our government who are smart when it comes to stuff like this.

[Freethinker65]

6. Care to do a little experiment Dr. Carson?

[furtheradu]

8. Cory Booker, as a mayor in New Jersey..

moved to public housing, "the projects", to be close to constituents, & live THEIR daily reality.
He will forever be one of MY heroes. A FINE young DEM!

[Dave Starsky]

9. It certainly is the state of his mind.

How in the hell was this guy ever a doctor?

[MyOwnPeace]

10. So, Ben,

Will you perhaps have a talk with Secretary DeVos and tell her that it's PARENTS, not PUBLIC schools, that are keeping the "scores" down?

(yeah, I didn't think so.................)

[Coventina]

12. Yeah, sure. That homelessness I experienced as a child was all in my mind.

Listening to my parents try to keep their arguments quiet about our desperate situations.

Not having enough clothes to wear to school.

My proud dad finally crumbling and taking government assistance.

I guess I imagined all of it.

I cry for this new generation of poor kids who won't even have the assistance my family was fortunate enough to get.

[Doreen]

13. So, let me get this right. If I get lets say $600 a month and am on the thin line of

barely affording to survive it is all in my head? If I decide today that I am no longer poor but with the same amount of money then I will automatically not be poor? He "claims" he was poor. Well, maybe he was but I have met people who were poor at one time in their life but now they have a lot of money but somehow they forgot where they once were and the struggles that they had along with all of the pain to go along with it. If he had really been poor then he has totally forgotten the reality of it. No one talks about him much but I know he has probably been working at destroying assisted living and housing projects for the poor. Anything that has to do with renting or purchasing a home is going to become just about entirely unavailable for a higher percentage of Americans. He is doing the same thing with housing as they are doing with health care. We need to start addressing this and quit ignoring it!

[Cha]

15. ben carson is already on record

saying Idiot pronouncements.

And, this is way back in 2015..

Sh*t Ben Carson Says: The Complete Collection

Since his sharp rise in the Republican primary polls, retired neurosurgeon and self-styled worst knife-fighter in the world Ben Carson has become well-known for saying lots of crazy, unfounded, or just plain weird things. Since Carson has actually been saying stuff on video for a good quarter-century, it is becoming increasingly difficult to keep up with both the unearthed and the real-time cray. With all of this to choose from, it’s absolutely confounding that the media has chosen Carson’s fish story about West Point as their hill to die on.

more...
http://www.mediaite.com/online/sht-ben-carson-says-the-complete-collection/#0

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

16. What a horse's ass

Sure we'll just wish ourselves rich and when the bills come due we'll declare bankruptcy just like Trump.

[haele]

25. Prosperity Gospel in a nutshell. Wish yourself rich by convincing other people to believe bullshit.

It's cute when it's just a student putting in a classified ad proclaiming "send me a dollar and invest in my future as a doctor!"

It's highly toxic when it's someone pretending that they speak for God, and God tells them to tell you it's as simple as believing "hard enough and investing in a preacher and you'll get rich in return".
Desperate people will continue to justify throwing good money after bad, pretending that all it takes in magical thinking and loyalty in a "Daddy Seed-Buxs" and you could be just like that "Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous" f**er that everyone admires on TV.

Haele

[AgadorSparticus]

17. He is SUCH. A. TOOL!!! Self absorbed DOUCHEBAG!!!

[mdbl]

21. That says it all.

Thanks

[Blue Meany]

18. The power of positive thinking works really well when you are born rich or when

you live in a decent society not dominated by rapacious predators.

[TomSlick]

19. As Joy Reid says:

Jesus take the wheel!

[Rhett Cohen]

20. Here's a different mindset: Without the poor there is no rich, and of course, vice versa, so...

*All flippantly and in good fun of course

Edit Spelling

[WinkyDink]

22. I'd like for his state of mind to live on the streets from now on.

[raccoon]

23. Guy has a case of colonuranus...nt

[erpowers]

24. Paris Hilton, Donald Trump, and the Kushners

If what Ben Carson said was true Paris Hilton and Donald Trump would be broke and Jared and Ivanka Kushner would either be broke, or not as wealthy as they are now.

Paris Hilton is a high school dropout. However, she is also a mlti-millionaire and possibly a billionaire. If her last name had not been Hilton, what would have been her options and how likely would she have been to get out of poverty with those options. Lets explore Hilton's options.

As a high school drop out her immediate options would have been working fast food, or some other low wage job.
How was she going to get out of poverty working fast food. Another option would have been joining the military. After a few years in the military, if she does not get killed, she manages her money well, and she continues to get promotions, she should be able to get out of poverty. Although it seem a number of veterans have high rates of unemployment and poverty.

She could have opened a business, but where would she have gotten the money to start the business?

So, now lets look at Paris Hilton's life as a rich person. Hilton dropped out of high school and then spent years partying without having a job. Hilton, unlike most people, did not need a job in that she has rich parents and was in line to inherit an estimated $150 million. After spending years partying Hilton parlayed her fame into a reality TV gig. After the reality TV gig she then put her name on cosmetics company. Now that company is a billion dollar brand. So, what price did Hilton pay for partying and a lack of work? How many poor people could have partied their way to millions and billions of dollars?

Donald Trump also proves that rich and connected people have a hard time falling to the bottom. Donald Trump is not a smart businessman, but he still gets to use his name to make money off of hotels.

Finally, Jared and Ivanka Kushner have benefitted greatly from their parents' wealth. It is very unlikely that they would have the wealth and businesses they have if they had not been born into the families in which they were born.