Ben Carson Is Tired of People Saying He Says Poverty Is ‘A State of Mind’ When He Says Poverty Is ‘A State of Mind’

‘Sometimes I Get a Little Bit Tired of People Ascribing to Me Things That People Have Said That I Believe’ Carson Says

Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson would like you to know that he’s tired of people saying he said “poverty is largely a state of mind” when he says, “poverty is largely a state of mind.”

Speaking Thursday before the House Financial Services Committee’s hearing on “The Future of Housing in America,” Dr. Carson was grilled by Texas Democratic Congressman Al Green, who repeatedly asked the HUD Secretary where the $13 billion in cuts he is making will come from. 

Carson repeatedly refused to answer.

“Rather than go through a quiz on all the numbers –” Carson began to respond in protest.

“It’s not a quiz, Mr. Carson, I have the time to ask you questions about things you should have some knowledge of,” Green interjected.

The two battled back and forth, with Carson refusing to tell Green the amount he is cutting from specific programs, like housing vouchers and community block grants.

“I don’t want to open the book and look at the numbers,” Carson at one point said. “I want to talk about –”

“Mr. Carson,” Green again interjected, “you don’t get to talk about what you want to talk about, you get to talk about what I want you to talk about.”

Tired of the Secretary’s outright defiance, Rep. Green moved on, blasting those who have been given opportunities other have not, and who “seem to think the rich need more, that the poor can do more with less, but the rich will have to have more to do more,” Green charged.

“Mr. Carson, if the poor could do more with less, there would be no poor people,” Green continued. “Poor people are not poor because they choose to be. I know about your ‘state of mind’ comment, but they’re not poor because they choose to be poor.”

“There are other factors involved in this country, other than a state of mind,” Green chastised.

Carson, who is among the most religious and most anti-LGBT in the Trump cabinet, lashed out.

“The positions that you ascribe to me are your opinion of what I think. They’re not what I think,” he retorted. 

After Green’s time had expired, the next Congressman allowed him to continue.

“Sometimes I get a little bit tired of people ascribing to me things that people have said that I believe,” Carson lamented. “When I say that ‘poverty is largely a state of mind,’ what I am saying is that the way that people approach things has a lot to do with what happens to them.”

Or, in other words, poverty is largely a state of mind.

“If your mindset is one that, ‘I’m a victim and that everybody else is in control of my life and I just need to sit here and wait for something,’ you’re going to approach life very differently than somebody who says, ‘I am going to take this issue into my own hands,'” Carson cried.

Again, in other words, poverty is largely a state of mind.

After refusing to allow numbers to be introduced into the equation, Secretary Carson was only too happy to introduce religion into the equation.

“We as a society would do much better if we stop sitting around trying to tear each other apart,” he told the committee. “There are those who allow themselves to be manipulated into just creating dissension.”

“Were there mistakes made? Were there problems? Absolutely. Are we a perfect society? We are not. Because we consist of human beings. That’s why we need a savior.”

Hat tip: David Edwards at Raw Story

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