State of Mankind

Pushing Against Dependence on Government—Dr. Ben Carson on Homelessness & Poverty | Wide Angle



“One of the things that I discovered very quickly at HUD as a secretary, is that there are a lot of people on the hill who don’t agree that people should be independent,” says Dr. Ben Carson. Policies that seemed geared toward making people more dependent on government seemed to be commonplace, and difficult to change, Dr. Carson adds. Alternatively, If people on housing subsidies weren’t forced to report an increase in income straight away and have their rent go up, they’d have more incentive to find work. This is a step towards independence. Dr. Carson reflects on his time as HUD Secretary, under President Trump, and the kinds of shifts toward independence he saw in people, when government policy supported this. This includes the example of providing housing and employment for certain people with birth defects (like Down syndrome) under the public-private partnerships that HUDs opportunity zones facilitated.