Ben Carson recently made a statement saying that “Poverty is a State of Mind.” https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/25/us/politics/ben-carson-poverty-hud-state-of-mind.html This statement comes a few months after he made another statement referring to African Slaves as Immigrants looking for a better life in America. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/06/us/politics/ben-carson-refers-to-slaves-as-immigrants-in-first-remarks-to-hud-staff.html?_r=0
How could Ben be so callous in regards to his description of real issues and real people? For example, in India you have a Caste System which dictates what level of society you fit in. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caste_system_in_India
Poverty being a State of Mind is far from the truth. Think about all of the poor people across the United States doing their best to survive one day at a time. Hundreds of thousands of poor people succumb to several impediments such as drug addiction, mass incarceration, under funded schools, poor nutrition, mental illness, and many more challenges than most people. http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/poverty-mental-illness-putting-people-behind-bars/ How about the poor people in some war torn countries like Syria, Iraq, Africa, and Afghanistan? Do the people have a choice to be poor or not? Being poor is a sad reality for most people.
It is good to think beyond your circumstances but in many cases the issues associated with being poor are insurmountable. Additionally, being poor in the United States is much different than being poor in a third world country because there are many stories of poor people making good for themselves in the United States but the numbers are staggering for poor people worldwide. Ben Carson should actually research the issues before making statements such as Poverty Being a State of Mind. Look at some of the numbers associated with poverty. https://www.dosomething.org/us/facts/11-facts-about-global-poverty
Even in the United States poverty is a major issue. Especially for children growing up in extreme poverty. http://www.worldhunger.org/hunger-in-america-2016-united-states-hunger-poverty-facts/ Time for our so called leaders to show some type of understanding or knowledge of a particular subject before making a blanket statement about something as serious as poverty. Hopefully, there will come a time when poverty will be eliminated and all people can enjoy some of the same luxuries that wealthy people enjoy everyday. Ben should visit some places in Africa where the sewers and water systems are so bad that women still have to carry big jugs of fresh water on their heads back to the village so their kids can have drinking water. http://www.onewater.org/stories/story/walking_for_water_an_exhausting_job_that_never_ends Poverty is not a joking matter.
The Trump Administration should censor people like Ben Carson for insulting people on a regular basis. However, this could be wishful thinking because Donald Trump insults people almost everyday. Just like President Trump is cutting after school programs. http://www.cnn.com/2017/05/24/us/chicago-after-school-program-cuts/ When will the attack on the poor end?