Trump campaign vs. Trump administration: on Welfare & Poverty
Ben Carson:
War on poverty perpetuates generational dependence
Fifty years ago, this nation began a war on poverty that we have not come close to winning. This is due to the fact that rather than creating a system that lifts people out of a meager financial situation, we have developed a system that perpetuates
generational dependence and an inability to escape hardship. The programs have not worked because the implementation does not match the rhetoric heard in press conferences and announcements. Some have attempted to win the war on poverty and improve the
lives of our community by holding boycotts and assembling demonstrations. This method has made some lives wealthy (the organizers), but not the lives of the people it claims to help. It is crucial that, through various policies and self-reflection,
we get more people from a state of dependence to one of independence. In the African-American community, we do not need to wait for others to help us. We need to use our God-given talents to achieve greatness and raise others up.
Source: WorldNetDaily OpEd by Carson, for 2016 Trump transition
Apr 14, 2015
Ben Carson:
Housing integration is ok, but why must residents solve it?
Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown (D) asked Carson to elaborate on his views on HUD's role in implementing the Fair Housing Act. Carson responded, "That act says that we want people who are receiving HUD grants to look around and see if they find anything
that looks like discrimination, and then we want them to come up with a solution on how to find the problem. They're not responding to people saying there's a problem, they're saying go and look for a problem and give us a solution.
We have people sitting around a desk in Washington, D.C., and deciding how things should be done.
I don't have any kind of problem with affirmative action or at least integration, but I do have a problem with people on high dictating it when they don't know anything about what's going on in the area."
Source: Ballotpedia.org: 2017 Trump transition confirmation hearings
Jan 13, 2017
Ben Carson:
Ideal is every person in a home; but we don't have the funds
Asked about limits to public assistance programs for low-income Americans, Carson responded, "We have to be cognizant of our fiscal responsibilities as well as our social responsibilities. Would we love to put every single person in a beautiful unit
forever? Absolutely, that would be ideal. But don't have the necessary funding. But the other thing that I emphasize is that safety net programs are important, and I would never advocate abolishing them without an alternative."
Source: Ballotpedia.org: 2017 Trump transition confirmation hearings
Jan 13, 2017
Jeff Merkley:
Protect entitlements from GOP budget cuts
Asked if the Trump administration would address "entitlement reform," chief economic advisor Larry Kudlow said it will "probably" look at "larger entitlements" next year. Entitlement reform generally refers to changes or cuts to large government social
programs such as Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid or food stamps. "I don't want to be specific, but we'll get there," Kudlow said. "But I agree, we have to be tougher on spending."Democrats jumped on the comments, with calls to protect
health-care coverage and social safety-net programs while Republicans trim spending on those programs in order to make up for budget deficits of $1 trillion from last year's GOP tax cuts. Jeff Merkley (D-OR) tweeted that "Social Security and Medicare
are on the line" in November's midterms.
Kudlow downplayed the effect of tax cuts on budget deficits and instead pointed to a longer-term spending problem. "People are quick to blame deficits on tax cuts," he said. "Well, I don't buy that."
Source: CNBC's Jacob Pramuk on 2018 Trump Administration
Sep 18, 2018
Page last updated: Nov 02, 2024