Housing chief Carson calls poverty a ‘state of mind,’ igniting backlash

Ben Carson, head of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, faced a backlash this week for calling poverty “a state of mind.”

Carson, who oversees a department that handles housing for millions of low-income Americans, made the comments during a radio interview Tuesday with Armstrong Williams, a friend and conservative media personality.

Carson, a retired neurosurgeon, said he thought some people were poor because of their outlook on life.

“I think poverty to a large extent is also a state of mind,” he said, according to an interview transcript. He added that helping people may not better their lives.