As he toured facilities for the poor in Ohio last week, Mr. Carson, the neurosurgeon-turned-housing secretary, joked that a relatively well-appointed apartment complex for veterans lacked “only pool tables.” He inquired at one stop whether animals were allowed. At yet another, he nodded, plainly happy, as officials explained how they had stacked dozens of bunk beds inside a homeless shelter and purposefully did not provide televisions. — The New York Times
In a recent visit to a public housing facility in Columbus, Ohio, HUD head Ben Carson reiterated his stance that anyone receiving Section 8 housing vouchers or federal assistance should not get too comfortable, as this would lead them to simply want to stay in their federally provided digs. Ironically, studies have shown that for the chronic homeless population, remaining in one place is actually much cheaper for the state than having them constantly bouncing between shelters and the street once emergency room visits and legal fees are added into the mix. Carson did make allowances for those who are mentally ill or unable to provide for themselves, but in his view there is to be no rest for who he defines as the able-bodied.
Who could have guessed a medical doctor might not be versed in the intricacies and history of public housing policy?
1- He's no different than David Clarke or Uncle Ruckus. He's slightly worse than Steve Harvey or Bill Cosby. This makes him surprising to some, but really... not so much. He's an asset for others.
2- He's a surgeon, duh. But he's going to say what he believes regardless of his skill set because it it's his "world view" that matters. This makes him a great role model for some, and a dangerous one of others.
There should be jobs available that pay a decent living wage. I'm getting pretty fucking sick of this "lazy poor" bullshit. The handouts aren't going to the downtrodden, they are going to giant corporations and the 1%. I pay a higher tax rate just for FICA than Mitt Fucking Romney does on $250,000,000 in income.
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I'm not going to say anything other than Carson can go to hell. It's not like we're putting marble countertops in these units. These are rental grade apartments for Section 8 and have amenities to other similar apartments as mandated by government agencies. To further strip quality and amenities from HUD funded buildings and other public housing would only serve to create the disaster public housing had in the 1960s and 1970s with deferred maintenance, concentration of poverty, and a lack of care by everyone - starting at the top.
Don't get me started about the $6 billion cut to HUD and 15% corporate tax rate proposals. There is already a major shortage of affordable housing supply versus demand. Both proposals intensify that and put people on the street.
The only fix for any of this is complete cashtration of those who abuse their extraordinary privileges. Carson should be required to choose between living in those bunks - not too comfortably, of course as we wouldn't want him to think it was a special privilege - and a bullet in the head.
Who could have guessed a medical doctor might not be versed in the intricacies and history of public housing policy?
Well, Ben, maybe we should could kill two poor people with one cell, you fucking clown, and build all the poor jails? That way, we can have debtor prisons, and hire all those jobless hillbillies, and fucking get the economy roaring again.
HUD
Fuck Ben Carson.
That said, he views housing (and architecture) in the same generic, map-view stereotypical simple-minded way that most left media, including the New York Times and co, does, in the absence of real specific design critique.
1- He's no different than David Clarke or Uncle Ruckus. He's slightly worse than Steve Harvey or Bill Cosby. This makes him surprising to some, but really... not so much. He's an asset for others.
2- He's a surgeon, duh. But he's going to say what he believes regardless of his skill set because it it's his "world view" that matters. This makes him a great role model for some, and a dangerous one of others.
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