But many analysts look at those numbers and say that people
Housing Secretary Ben Carson Clarifies Comment That Poverty Is A ‘State Of Mind’
Canada Goose Parka Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson is standing by his controversial comment that poverty is a “state of mind,” but he says that “how a person thinks” is only one component that contributes to being poor. Canada Goose Parka
“What I said is that it is a factor. A part of poverty can be the state of mind,” he told NPR in an interview. “People tend to approach things differently, based on their frame of mind.”
uk canada goose Carson, who grew up in poverty, said in a Sirius XM radio interview last month that “poverty to a large extent is also a state of mind.” The comment drew widespread criticism from anti poverty advocates who say it implies that poor Americans are at fault for their poverty and that they’re better off without government aid. uk canada goose
Carson is scheduled to appear before a House appropriations subcommittee Thursday to defend President Trump’s 2018 budget request for his agency.
canada goose uk shop Carson will likely face tough questions about his comments on poverty as well as the administration’s proposal to cut more than $6 billion or 13 percent from HUD’s budget. Among the programs targeted: public housing, housing vouchers, community development block grants, and other aid for low income Americans. canada goose uk shop
Canada Goose online The administration canada goose clearance sale argues that much of this spending is ineffective and inefficient and that the money would be better spent elsewhere. And Carson tells NPR his agency’s approach is aimed at breaking cycles of poverty long term. Housing advocates say the cuts would be devastating for millions of Americans who can’t afford a place to live without assistance. Canada Goose online
Carson sat down with NPR’s Pam Fessler at his HUD office Canada Goose online last week to talk about some of these issues. Here are some highlights:
cheap Canada Goose Interview Highlights You made these comments about poverty largely being a state of mind. Can you explain how much you think a “state of mind” accounts for somebody being poor? cheap Canada Goose
You know Americans are industrious people. That’s how America got to be a great place. We’re not a little feeble people who have to be spoon fed.
What I said is that it is a factor. A part of poverty can be the state of mind. Poor in spirit. And people tend to approach things differently, based on their frame of mind.
uk canada goose outlet A good example would be, if you were a minor league baseball player, and you were brought up to the majors and you look up on the mound and you say, “Nolan Ryan! Oh no, he’s a legend. He’s got a 100 mile per hour fastball. I’ll probably not even see the buy canada goose jacket ball.” You’re probably not going to get a Canada Goose Outlet hit. If you come up and canada goose black friday sale say, “Nolan Ryan. He’s an old man. I’m going to knock the cover off the ball,” you are probably going to have a much better chance. uk canada goose outlet
canada goose uk outlet So one of the things I think government can do very well is to help create the right kinds of mindset, frame of mind, by providing ladders of opportunity so that people can really see what’s going on around them. A lot of times if you go to a disadvantaged neighborhood, you ask the kids, “What do you want to do when you grow up?” You canada goose deals get about canada goose clearance five different answers. But there’s a thousand. We need to show people the other 995 and how you get there. And those are the kinds of things that create that can do attitude that is so important, and that for such a long time was a part of the American mindset. And there are those now who want people to think that somebody else is in control of you and that you’re a victim. We want to find ways to make sure that people understand that the person who has the most to do with what happens to you, is you. canada goose uk outlet
I want to make sure I’m clear. You’re saying it’s only one component of people being poor, or the main component?
canada goose coats on sale Of course [state of mind is] just a component [but] it is an important component, how a person thinks. And I know there was a recent article that says, no, the state of mind is caused by poverty. I totally disagree with that. I think you can have a lot of people who are in poverty who are not adversely affected by that at all, who have a winning attitude and who will do canadagooseonsale.biz whatever they need to do to be successful. And I would encourage people to go to the Horatio Alger Society website, and read those hundreds of biographies there of Americans who rose through incredible odds and severe poverty to become leaders in our society canada goose coats on sale
canada goose store So what are you going to do at HUD to give people what you say is the right state of mind to get out of poverty? canada goose store
A number canada goose coats on sale of things, but one of the interesting concepts we’re working on are centers that will be put into neighborhoods, repurposing some of the old buildings, and exposing people to what those many opportunities are, exposing people to some basic skills that people used to get, for instance in high school, creating mentorship programs.
There are a lot of people out there who would Canada Goose Jackets be delighted to take people under their wings but they don’t have a good mechanism for doing that. (And) to provide day care for so many of the young ladies who end up getting pregnant and then their education stops. Provide them a mechanism so that they can go back and get their GED, get their associate’s degree, their bachelor’s degree, their master’s degree, take care of themselves and teach their children to take care of themselves, so that you break the cycles. The systems that we have been using for decades don’t seem to be breaking the cycles. They seem to be adding to them, so we have to start thinking a little bit differently about canadian goose jacket these things.
canada goose clearance sale But these centers aren’t included in the president’s budget. So how are they going to come about? Is this something HUD is going to do? canada goose clearance sale
Yeah, these are things that we’re working on. We’re working on concepts, on how do we break these cycles, not how do we continue them. So many people just are focused on, but if canada goose coats we change this, then it won’t go on like it always has, but maybe we don’t want it to go on like it always has. We have three to four times as many people in need of affordable housing as we can provide. The more we can move out the more others we can help. Success is not how many people we can put into public housing, it’s how many we can get out of it.
Canada Goose Outlet The president’s budget, though, calls for tremendous cuts in the HUD budget. You told the National Low Income Housing Coalition that nobody would be thrown out on the street under your watch. But many analysts look at those numbers and say that people will be thrown out on the street under this budget. Are they wrong? Canada Goose Outlet
cheap canada goose uk I think [analysts are] wrong, absolutely. We’re paying very close attention to the vulnerable population and making that a very important part of how things are executed. Bear in mind, there are a lot efficiencies that will save us a lot of money. And there’s also a new model that we’re really concentrating on. The old model was the federal government rides in on the white horse and plops down millions of dollars and says, “Build this place for all these people.” And then goes on to the next project. canada goose store bringing in those private partners, bringing in the nonprofits, bringing in the faith community. canada goose outlet cheap canada goose uk
canada goose coats And there’s a lot more money there than there ever could be in the federal government. And you also get those people vested in the project, so now their income stream is dependent upon that project being successful. And having that done at the local level is going to be so much better. canada goose coats
Canada Goose Jackets So you don’t think anybody’s going to be thrown out on the street? Canada Goose Jackets
I don’t think anybody’s going to be thrown out on the streets. We’re paying very careful attention to that.
Canada Goose Online Los Angeles County [has] reported that its homeless population went up 23 percent last year, which is an amazing number. But this budget calls for cuts in homeless assistance. Do you think we’re going to be seeing increases in homelessness in lots of other places? Canada Goose Online
I don’t think so. It’s been eradicated. We’re going to continue to make that a high priority, fully recognizing that it actually costs more to leave people homeless. That person sleeping under the bridge who’s going to wind up in the emergency room, sometimes getting admitted for a week in the hospital? That week hospital stay costs more than it costs to put them in a place for a year. But putting them in a place is not enough. That’s only Part 1. Part 2, we have to diagnose why they’re in that condition. And Part 3 is we have to treat it.
There are a number of things in the president’s budget to encourage home ownership, but we have many Canada Goose Parka millions of people in this country who aren’t even close to that point. What’s in the budget to help them?
For one thing, people are buy canada goose jacket cheap closer to it than you might think, but it’s a matter of making sure they’re educated properly. A lot of times people maybe bite off more than they can chew. And that’s one of the reasons, for instance, that we are now looking at being able to guarantee mortgages on individual condominium units. Because that can frequently be the first canada goose step. You buy that kind of home, you build up equity, you save, and then you move to the next step. In 2008, there were so many people who deceived individuals and simply said you’ve got an ever expanding price here. It’s going to be your piggy bank for the rest of your life. And you can always count on that. And look what the results of that were. So we’re working to make sure that the education of the people is such that they understand how you go about building that equity, and how you go about making your first, second, third steps to acquiring a home. Because, quite frankly, in America. the primary source of wealth is home ownership.