Do you agree with Dr. Ben Carson that poverty is just a state of mind? a myth?

H

helenbacque

Senior Member
Location
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Dr. Ben Carson, a prominent neurosurgeon once considered for the Republican Presidential ticket and now Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, said as much in a radio interview last month. He further stated that people with the 'right mind set' can pull themselves out of poverty if they have enough incentives. Do you think that is so and will Dr. Carson's beliefs influence his decisions as HUD Secretary?
 

No, I don't. I have lived on the street, as a minor, scrounging dumpsters for my next meal. That was a bitter reality, not a state of mind. If I had not been rescued, I would have died, or worse. Clearly, this man lacks empathy which does not bode well for those affected by his portfolio.
 
helenbacque said:
Dr. Ben Carson, a prominent neurosurgeon once considered for the Republican Presidential ticket and now Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, said as much in a radio interview last month. He further stated that people with the 'right mind set' can pull themselves out of poverty if they have enough incentives. Do you think that is so and will Dr. Carson's beliefs influence his decisions as HUD Secretary?
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Seriously, he said that? I don't know much about the guy, but if he's now in a powerful position he could make things very difficult for poor people.
On one side of it, I've seen individuals who take advantage of 'the system,' don't work or do anything when they could and should; but on the other side, 'sink or swim' (which might be his idea) is a dangerous approach.
 
tnthomas said:
Sounds like the words of a complete moron, as well as someone totally out-of-touch with reality.
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Did you even read the part where Carson was only speaking of those individuals WITH the right mindset and IF they have enough incentives"?? Before passing judgement, I would want to know exactly what are the incentives are being offere. Free college would be an incentive that could work. We've all certainly seen success stories of rags to riches for those who are either lucky(rare) or have "the right mindset and enough incentives". Sounds like you're over anxious to slam republicans no matter what they have to say.
 
I have never seen a poor Doctor.

Someone should tell him high paying jobs are hard to come by.

What if you are disabled and can't work? We have been fighting 'the war on poverty' for decades. We lost but havent surrendered yet.
 
Lara said:
Did you even read the part where Carson was only speaking of those individuals WITH the right mindset and IF they have enough incentives"?? Before passing judgement, I would want to know exactly what are the incentives being offered? Free college would be an incentive that could work. We've all certainly seen success stories of rags to riches for those who are either lucky or have the right mindset and enough incentives. Sounds like you're over anxious to slam republicans no matter what they have to say.
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'
By the same token, it sounds like you're overly anxious to slam me, no matter what I have to say.

I hope that it is O.K. with you if I have a personal viewpoint that differs from yours. "Somewhere" in the founding of this country, the founding fathers thought that freedom of speech was a good idea.
 
Lara said:
I don't call this freedom of speech. I call it slander against Ben Carson and inappropriate speech. You must be really something to call a neurosurgeon a complete moron.
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You don't call "this" freedom of speech, since it is critical of a far right personality. Call it slander if pleases you. If I said that Hillary or Obama sounded like a complete moron, I believe that you would have no problem with that.

Carson doesn't get a "pass" for making moronic statements just because of his education and professional achievements.

Bill Cosby gets no such "pass" either, despite his educational achievements(Master's + PHD), or his 50+ years in the entertainment industry.

Edit: just for the record, if you're going to choose to nitpick a statement of mine, at least try a little honesty, and be accurate, rather than putting a negative spin on it. I said that Carson sounded like a complete moron, I did not "call a neurosurgeon a complete moron", as you so incorrectly insisted.

...you missed criticizing the last half of that post, where I said "as well as someone totally out-of-touch with reality." I consider that to be a valid statement,

of course, you may disagree.
 
Shalimar said:
No, I don't. I have lived on the street, as a minor, scrounging dumpsters for my next meal. That was a bitter reality, not a state of mind. If I had not been rescued, I would have died, or worse. Clearly, this man lacks empathy which does not bode well for those affected by his portfolio.
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Agreed with Shal and everyone else that poverty is not a state of mind; it's a state of lack.
 
helenbacque said:
Dr. Ben Carson, a prominent neurosurgeon once considered for the Republican Presidential ticket and now Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, said as much in a radio interview last month. He further stated that people with the 'right mind set' can pull themselves out of poverty if they have enough incentives. Do you think that is so and will Dr. Carson's beliefs influence his decisions as HUD Secretary?
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I think that is controversial and needs a few qualifiers, like some type of opportunity exists in the economy in which that particular individual exists. I can see it as a positive message to get people out of a funk where they have given up and lack the motivation to try and improve their financial situation and that's important. Obviously that doesn't work that way for those that for whatever reason are truly in a dire situation beyond their ability to overcome... that's where qualifiers/common sense come into play.
 
I've always wondered HOW this man could possibly be a "brilliant neurosurgeon"..... If he is.. he should go back to it.. Politics and public speaking are certainly not his calling.
 
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Lolly said:
I've always wondered HOW this man could possibly be a "brilliant neurosurgeon"..... If he is.. he should go back to it.. Politics and public speaking are certainly not his calling.
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Yes,God love him for his brilliance at being a neurosurgeon. His political stance is a mess, ideology is a wonderful thing, but you can't eat or spend ideology.
 
It's like the old joke:

"What's the difference between a neurosurgeon and God?"

Answer: "God doesn't think he's a neurosurgeon...."

I had to work with doctors professionally for years. I can assure you that a neurosurgeon can be a complete moron and still be a good neurosurgeon. Very few of them have "people skills".
 
helenbacque said:
Dr. Ben Carson, a prominent neurosurgeon once considered for the Republican Presidential ticket and now Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, said as much in a radio interview last month. He further stated that people with the 'right mind set' can pull themselves out of poverty if they have enough incentives. Do you think that is so and will Dr. Carson's beliefs influence his decisions as HUD Secretary?
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"Do you agree with Dr. Ben Carson that poverty is just a state of mind? a myth?"


Now there's a headline worthy of the National Enquirer. Or a good push poll question. Why don't we just go ahead and make it "Do you agree that Dr. Ben Carson should stop beating his wife"? I mean it's character assassination we're after here, right?

Maybe I missed it but it appears to me that there is a conspicuous absence of any documentation that Carson said anything of the sort that is indicated by the headline.

But if you can direct me to some source that will verify that Carson actually said that poverty is just a state of mind and a myth then my answer will be no, I don't agree with him. Obviously poverty is real.

However in the absence of said documentation I'm going to go with my gut and say that someone took something Carson said and twisted it like a Coney Island Pretzel to come up with that headline in order to fit their own personal political agenda.

As for this other statement that is attributed to him, again with no documentation that he actually said it, "He further stated that people with the 'right mind set' can pull themselves out of poverty if they have enough incentives." My reply is: No kidding Captain Obvious. Human beings with the right amount of determination and incentives can accomplish amazing things. Duh! Í agree with that statement and I'm a flaming liberal. However I suspect my ideas about what kind of incentives need to be in place would be much more "Socialistic" than what Mr. Carson might propose.
 
Trade said:
"Do you agree with Dr. Ben Carson that poverty is just a state of mind? a myth?"


Now there's a headline worthy of the National Enquirer. Or a good push poll question. Why don't we just go ahead and make it "Do you agree that Dr. Ben Carson should stop beating his wife"? I mean it's character assassination we're after here, right?

Maybe I missed it but it appears to me that there is a conspicuous absence of any documentation that Carson said anything of the sort that is indicated by the headline.

But if you can direct me to some source that will verify that Carson actually said that poverty is just a state of mind and a myth then my answer will be no, I don't agree with him. Obviously poverty is real.

However in the absence of said documentation I'm going to go with my gut and say that someone took something Carson said and twisted it like a Coney Island Pretzel to come up with that headline in order to fit their own personal political agenda.

As for this other statement that is attributed to him, again with no documentation that he actually said it, "He further stated that people with the 'right mind set' can pull themselves out of poverty if they have enough incentives." My reply is: No kidding Captain Obvious. Human beings with the right amount of determination and incentives can accomplish amazing things. Duh! Í agree with that statement and I'm a flaming liberal. However I suspect my ideas about what kind of incentives need to be in place would be much more "Socialistic" than what Mr. Carson might propose.
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Only one of the posts: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/ben-carson-expands-on-comment-about-poverty-and-state-of-mind/
 
JaniceM said:
Only one of the posts: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/ben-carson-expands-on-comment-about-poverty-and-state-of-mind/
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Cool, thanks, lets see what he actually said.


"I think poverty to a large extent is also a state of mind," Carson said in a SiriusXM radio interview with Armstrong Williams, a top adviser to Carson's 2016 presidential campaign. "You take somebody that has the right mindset, you can take everything from them and put them on the street, and I guarantee in a little while they'll be right back up there."

"And you take somebody with the wrong mindset, you can give them everything in the world, they'll work their way right back down to the bottom," the neurosurgeon continued.
The former GOP contender also referred to a "poverty of the spirit" and a "wrong mindset" that can develop from inadequate parenting and a negative environment.
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OK, I have to agree that he is overemphasizing the individuals personal drive and downplaying the impact of the hand that they are delt by fate.

He's obviously a very intelligent man. He's a neurosurgeon. So I'll go with mean and compassionless instead. Looks like I just dissed him worse than the people that called him a moron.
 
"Poverty" and "wealth" have both been part of the human experience forever. Some people are born with two strikes against them, while others seem to be blessed with luck. If a person doesn't avail themselves of the opportunities presented to them, they will probably Never achieve much in life. Good jobs, with decent wages, will continue to be increasingly hard to find, as technology and automation continue to take over tasks which once made the Middle Class the mainstay of society. That, coupled with runaway population growth, means that there will be more and more people competing for fewer available jobs....which is going to also suppress wages.

On the other hand....there are millions of jobs available Today, that are going unfulfilled....primarily because there is a shortage of people with the needed skills to fill those jobs. Many are in the areas of manufacturing and the "trades", which pay good wages, but there are not enough people will the skills to fill these jobs. This continues to be one of the reasons why so much of our manufacturing keeps going overseas. Some of the blame can be placed upon our education system which no longer prepares the students for any kind of manual labor....it seems that everyone Must have a college degree, even though half those degrees are in studies that are of little practical value. Then, too, our schools have been forced to become "politically correct", and the teachers must teach to the lowest level in the classroom, which leaves the brighter students with little to challenge their intellect.

Sooo...Ben Carson is only partially correct. Poverty is often due to a "state of mind" that creates an unwillingness to work hard and achieve something....but, poverty is going to become an increasing problem as fewer opportunities are presented for people to achieve success.
 

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