Ben Carson: Public Housing Should Not Be 'Comfortable'

Ben Carson, secretary of Housing and Urban Development, emphasized the idea that public housing options should not be too comfortable for residents, lest they become dependent on the government's services, in an interview published Wednesday in the New York Times. He said that to be compassionate, officials must not provide “a comfortable setting that would make somebody want to say: ‘I’ll just stay here. They will take care of me.’”

Noting that Carson, a retired neurosurgeon, has no experience working in public policy, the Times recounts the secretary's tour through various residences his department manages. Several of the residents mentioned in the interview seem displeased with Carson, and one notes that her meeting with him felt staged. One of the women mentioned, however, she was a fan of Carson and had him sign a copy of his book, "Gifted Hands."

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Summing up his philosophy of public housing, the Times quotes Carson:

“We have some people who are mentally ill. We have some elderly and disabled people. We can’t expect in many cases those people to do a great deal to take care of themselves,” he said. But, he added, “There is another group of people who are able-bodied individuals, and I think we do those people a great disservice when we simply maintain them.”

He also comments on Trump's proposed cuts to HUD, which would slash 13 percent of the department's budget. Carson said he thinks Trump's intention is to point out problems with the some of the department's programs and that many of the programs targeted won't actually be ended.

Read the full interview at the New York Times.

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