HUD is a Cabinet department that was created in 1965 during President Lyndon B. Johnson's administration as part of his "Great Society" program to eliminate poverty and racial injustice. That was 51 years ago.
After half a century of spending time and treasure to fight poverty in America, one would think that we have made at least some headway. Surely poverty is not as bad as it was back then, right? Well, according to this paper published on Heritage.Org last year, the poverty rate is worse today than it was in 1965.
Ben Carson grew up poor in Detroit and, after being abandoned by his father, was raised by a single mother who worked multiple jobs. When he was young he had a temper which almost caused him to seriously hurt another person, and could easily have led him to fall into a life of violence. But he was able to find ways to tame his anger. He could have been a statistic, but with the help of a dedicated mother and his own talents, he escaped poverty and became one of the world's leading pioneers in pediatric neurosurgery.
Not only is Dr. Carson an inspiring example to youth everywhere, he's also someone who can change the sytem. He knows from his own life the challenges that the urban poor, specially the youth, face. He's lived that. He knows that throwing money at failed government programs doesn't help, and in fact, hurts. It's been 51 years of doing the same thing over and over at the HUD and just making the problems mroe entrenched. Time for a change.
If you want to read about Dr. Carsons life, his book Gifted Hands is a good place to start. He's also written many other books, and his book One Nation, co-written with his wife Candy, will give you a good sense of how he approaches the political arena.
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