Ben Carson thinks poverty is 'a state of mind'

Good news, poor people — Ben Carson is here to explain why you aren't a millionaire.

"I think poverty to a large extent is also a state of mind," the retired neurosurgeon, former presidential candidate, current Housing and Urban Development secretary, and not an economic adviser said during a SiriusXM town hall recorded Tuesday night and released Wednesday. "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 to the bottom."

Carson has been vocal about being poor growing up, and said that while he does believe the government is able to give a "helping hand" to people trying to lift themselves out of poverty, there are too many programs that are "sustaining them in a position of poverty. That's not helpful." HUD provides affordable housing and rental assistance to low-income families, and under President Trump's proposed budget released Tuesday, the department's budget would be cut by $6 billion.

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