Ben Carson Says Poverty Is A ‘State Of Mind’
By Pam Fessler
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Olivia Golden, executive director of the nonpartisan Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP), says one of the biggest obstacles to getting people off government aid is the lack of decent-paying jobs.
“Two thirds of poor children live with an adult who’s working,” she says. “So working is no guarantee of being above poverty.”
Golden says Carson’s suggestion that poor people are lazy or somehow at fault is “an idea that through American history has been an excuse for really bad policy decisions.” She cited lack of investments in education, and said the comments are especially egregious given the President’s budget proposal. It calls for steep cuts in education, health care, job training and other supports for low-income Americans.
