State of New York Archives: on Welfare & Poverty

Ben Carson: Get rid of dependency; that's true compassion

"We need to understand what true compassion is to reach out to individuals who think that being dependent is reasonable as long as they feel safe," said Carson, the first speaker to address this year's annual keynote conservative conference. "It's not compassion to pat them on the head and say, 'There, there, I'm going to take care of all your needs, your health care, your food.' That's the opposite of compassion.

"I'm not interested in getting rid of a safety net, I'm interested in getting rid of dependency," Carson said, prompting one in a series of raucous rounds of applause.