Poverty is largely “a state of mind”, housing secretary Ben Carson has claimed, dismaying observers who had modest hopes for his tenure.
Carson, the neurosurgeon who heads the agency charged with helping low-income Americans gain access to affordable housing, told Sirius XM radio: “You take somebody who 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.”
— The Guardian
"And you take somebody with the wrong mindset, you can give them everything in the world, they’ll work their way back down to the bottom," Carson continued. The remarks were widely condemned by experts on poverty and homelessness.
As the Secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, Carson is in charge of providing affordable and public housing to the disenfranchised. According to almost universal consensus by experts, poverty is not a choice, but rather a condition attributable to a range of a factors, from where you were born to the color of your skin to bad luck.
Most Americans will live below the poverty line at some point in their life, research by the US government has discovered. In 2015, 13.5% (43.1 million) Americans lived in poverty. This far exceeds most other wealthy countries. And, according to the National Low Income Housing Coalition, "the United States has the greatest share of renters (28.5%) who are severely cost burdened, spending more than half of their income on their housing," compared to twelve other advanced countries.
He's not a psychopath- he's the signified success story. He's the guy that thinks it must be easy for everyone because it was easy for him- neglecting to recognize that there were a lot of stars that came together and provided him with an opportunity in contrast to others.
eg. that handful of scholarships that he beat other out for, but no worries they'll bounce back and get access to the same opportunities... how?
edit: but on a more direct note: what has he really done as the Secretary? He's toured and commented (more akin threats and condescension really), but he's done nothing.
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perplexing this dude is a neurosurgeon if that has any correlation to intelligence.
And my boot in your ass, is a suppository.
If you don't have compassion for fellow human beings you are a psychopath. Since there is no treatment or cure for this condition, euthanasia is the only remedy.
He's not a psychopath- he's the signified success story. He's the guy that thinks it must be easy for everyone because it was easy for him- neglecting to recognize that there were a lot of stars that came together and provided him with an opportunity in contrast to others.
eg. that handful of scholarships that he beat other out for, but no worries they'll bounce back and get access to the same opportunities... how?
edit: but on a more direct note: what has he really done as the Secretary? He's toured and commented (more akin threats and condescension really), but he's done nothing.
...so he gets paid tax dollars to tell the poor its their fault for their situation- wow just wow
sociopaths, most of them, if not all.
"I don't agree with this guy, he must not have empathy for people and is therefore a sociopath" Classic. You guys are all the people on the slow right side of the escalator, expecting the government to lift you up the stairs. Get walking on your own bro. And for god's sake leave the elevators for people who actually need them.
"I don't know these people so I'm going to type up a straw man in quotes to ironically suggest what I want them to be before trying to make a point using a bad analogy."
Classic.
Yeah, you good-for-nothing poor people living high on the hog on your $4.20 a day in food stamps. We should eliminate that so all you government tit-sucking lazy bastards have an incentive to work. Fucking freeloaders. Walmart is hiring part-time at minimum wage with no benefits but they have a counselor that helps you get Mediciad and public assistance for food and housing. So get off your sorry ass and pull yourself up by your bootstraps.
You again.
What you fail to acknowledge, like the surgeon, is that he too had a safety net, like the one he wants to eradicate.
That's no way to speak of your mother, Mr. Carson. Obviously with what she did for you with what she had, she had a state of mind that few can obtain. And you sir, do not see your own privilege of having that kind of endless dedication and support. "Nobody was born to be a failure." Sonya Carson, Ben's mother.
There's a good chance that is him honoring his mother, repeating many of the things she said to him. It's that sort of ethic that got him where he is today.
Are you speaking from experience?
Yes, Marc. It was her point of view that benefitted him. but if she held the attitude, why didn't she benefit herself? My point is that it is the support he received from her beliefs in him and her hard work to help him that he doesn't seem to recognize and takes all the credit for.
In our culture there is a tendency for those who benefit from either the cooperative aspects of society or wealth to regard themselves as the product of their own natural superiority.
Fundamental Attribution Error.
From The Hamptons Dictionary: False Authority Syndrome n. The tendency to assume that a person of financial wealth also has refined behavior, higher education, a sophisticated palate, social consciousness, depth of knowledge or expertise in at least one field, etc. False Authority Syndrome can take any of several forms ranging from self-delusion to mass hysteria.
1- Let's remember this is not a discussion about education. That's another problematic topic with a whole range of issues before, during, and after school.
2- I mentioned above that comments regarding poverty and failure were in some respects a form praise and remembrance of his mother (implicit acknowledgement through recitation of lessons learned). But yes, he did neglect to mention all those contributing factors that were given (awarded) to him. This is indeed one side of exceptionalism.
3. I was prepared to do more "splaining," but that's exactly what it would have been. So no.
4- The point is that he's not problem solving. "Budget cut? Oh well, it's on you." Versus, problem solving and crafting an agenda with what is available. Had an designer been in that place...
Had a designer been in that place, indeed. I'm more and more realizing that the design education we get can be applied to so many areas and systems. We look for the root causes not the quick fixes (though of course we can do those, too.).
Exactly. Carson is applying ideology to social problems. If your only tool is a hammer ....
If you're headed down the path it sounds like - don't.
And explain to how the Secretary of HUD is responsible for Education or licensure...
@Chris: define poor.
If it's "state of mind" then you have done a poor job explaining Buddhist philosophy. If it's measured by money - as *everything* in capitalist society is - then you've ignored or are completely oblivious to economic servitude (debt slavery), the realtionship between wealth and power, etc.
Those in control are in control because of their vast accumulation of wealth. This is the direct result of legislation and policy that favors wealth and delivers corporate welfare (the reason corporations like VZ and GE don't pay any taxes despite being hugely profitable), which are purchased with wealth at the expense of the entire population.
Lack of compassion is also a state of mind.
These reply boxes are silly. See my reply to your comment above.
If we had a true free market....getting rid of corporate welfare, subsidies, laws that bend favor to lobbyists, erroneous barriers to compete/enter markets, restrictive zoning laws, eminent domain, etc, then we wouldn't see such big wealth gaps. The rich are the biggest welfare recipients. Poverty is partially a state of mind, with obvious environmental causes. Its a sort of deppression that makes it hard to see the forest from the trees, but outside of that, the structures of society weigh in favor of the haves and against the have-nots. This is the main problem. Being a partial half-ass libertarian like Ben is Attempting is similar to being a half-ass war loving Christian. Either we let the big wigs fail as well as the little guy, or we support both with basic safety net programs that establish a minimum poverty level (for a lack of better term). Ben and his crop of neo-cons seem to be very one sided when it comes to this stuff. So, yeah he is an ideologue in a way like those west baptist jerk offs are Christians...
"Free market" is an oxymoron. Regulations are intended to level the playing field and prevent manipulation / monopolization / corruption / etc. The US today - with massive poverty and other economic problems - is a good example of a free market. The purpose of government is to protect us from each other, not to facilitate benefits for a few at the expense of many.
"Baltimore schools spend a staggering $16,000 per student per year- the fourth-highest rate in the nation - and still in six city schools not one student scored proficient on either the statewide tests for English and math. ..." recent (2017) newspaper article.
You can't teach children with illiterate teachers who have an Al Sharpton mentality, sorry.
It's not religion, it's black conservative (which does not perfectly mirror national conservative thinking) thought that this stems from. Religion is only one aspect of this.
It's not Hiedigger either. It's Garvey, Gregory, King, Clark, and Bates.
What's not rational about that?
And think or "readings" from the perspective Ms. Carson, that's the lens young Ben would have.
Twisting Carson how? His words or in the wind? I'm honestly not trying to do either, but rather think of the context from which his attitude com
es from.
Just say your follow up. I might... there's no history, but I might.
I'm not ignoring religion. What I'm trying to get at is that conservative black ideology is far more nuanced than just point at religion. It is what happens in the church, on the street and how people occupy those two spaces.
Volunteer, how about a link? Please share your sources.
But using Sharpton as a po? Dust of those mix tapes and update
Edit: Using Sharpton as a point of attack? Dust off those mix tapes, or just get rid of them. I'm surprised that you aren't championing Carson.
And again- this is HUD, not education...
Yeah, it can be annoying
(Giving up w replies for the moment)
Hard line- (IMO) this is a discussion about Ben Carson and his impact on HUD. This is not a discussion about "those people" and their lack of education because no one has mentioned the Secratary of Education (or ncarb/acsa).
Why is this important? Because HUD is far more than "those people" in the inner city, and this they vs them binary needs to stop.
So if we go back to the current Secretary of HUD, he's been less than inventive, and far from respectful to people in less advantageous positions. So when he says "boot straps," he's using a trope that has been proven to be inaccurate. When he says TV or digital access is too much for them, he limits their access media which is a driving force in getting a job (and ahead). As tintt was so kind to require me to explicitly address, your surrounding matter. That includes people, tools and design.
The fantasy of a self-perpetuating class of poor people is just another way to divide us. The thing they are most afraid of is people working together. Example: The poor are described as stealing from the middle class by consuming services they don't pay for. Whilee voluntary poverty is a tough road, it's probably easier than involuntary poverty.
HUD is not doing the job they were tasked with doing, hasn't done it since George Romney. Go back and listen to the podcast with Emily; HUD should be suing cities it has been giving money to create affordable housing, and that money has not been spent correctly. It's criminal.
zactly...
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