HUD Secretary Ben Carson proposes tripling the rent for the poorest Americans.

Courtesy of WaPo: 

U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson on Wednesday will propose tripling the amount the poorest households are expected to pay for rent as well as encourage those receiving housing subsidies to work, according to the administration’s legislative proposal obtained by The Washington Post. 

The move to overhaul how low-income rental subsidies are calculated would affect more than 4.5 million families relying on federal housing assistance. The proposal legislation would require congressional approval. 

Currently, tenants generally pay 30 percent of their adjusted income toward rent or a public housing agency minimum rent -- which is capped at $50 a month for the poorest families. The administration’s legislative proposal sets the family monthly rent contribution at 35 percent of gross income or 35 percent of their earnings working 15 hours a week at the federal minimum wage. Under the proposal, the cap for the poorest families would rise to approximately $150 a month, three times higher than the current minimum. 

The Trump administration has long signaled through its budget proposals and leaked draft legislation that it seeks to increase the rents low-income tenants pay to live in federally subsidized housing.

Okay well I would essentially expect this kind of thing from Donald Trump, after all he made his bones by evicting poor black folk from their homes.

But Ben Carson is a self described Christian who also happens to be black.

Carson's mother also took a job as a domestic worker for a time and he was forced to share a home with his extended family when things got tough.

It boggles my mind that people like this do not seem to have the capacity to empathize with others once they become Republicans.

It is as if the price for joining the GOP is to surrender your compassion.

While touring affordable housing in Miami, HUD Secretary Ben Carson gets stuck in elevator for 15 minutes.

Courtesy of CBS Miami: 

In a situation that may be emblematic of things to come, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson got stuck in an elevator during a touring of affordable housing in Miami. 

Carson was with Heat legend Alonzo Mourning at the Courtside Family Apartments, at 1699 NW 4th Avenue, when his elevator car came to a grinding halt. The HUD secretary was stuck inside for about 15 minutes until Miami firefighters got him out.

So I guess the housing is affordable, but you have to pay extra for a working elevator? 

TO be fair this kind of thing could happen to anybody, but then again it is EXACTLY the kind of thing that keep happening to Ben Carson.

Remember during a Republican debate when Carson inexplicably just stopped before going on stage?

Or the time in the middle of an interview when he suddenly lost his luggage? 

Let's face it virtually every member of Trump's Administration has an elevator that does not quite go to the top.

But Ben Carson, well Ben Carson is in a class of his own.

New HUD Secretary, and apparent idiot savant, Ben Carson claims that slaves were really just immigrants who came here to "pursue prosperity and happiness."

Courtesy of CNN: 

Ben Carson appeared to liken slaves to immigrants who choose to come to the United States while addressing employees at the Department of Housing and Urban Development Monday.

"There were other immigrants who came in the bottom of slave ships, who worked even longer, even harder, for less, but they too had a dream that one day their sons, daughters, grandsons, granddaughters, great grandsons, great granddaughters might pursue prosperity and happiness in this land," said Carson, who is black. 

"And do you know of all the nations in the world, this one, the United States of America, is the only one big enough and great enough to allow all those people to realize their dream. And this is our opportunity to enhance that dream," he added.

Yep those silly old African immigrants all chained together for safety who came to this country to pursue their dreams of not being whipped to death or raped by their white masters.

Actor Samuel L. Jackson responded quickly on Twitter.

OK!! Ben Carson....I can't! Immigrants ? In the bottom of SLAVE SHIPS??!! MUTHAFUKKA PLEASE!!!#dickheadedtom

— Samuel L. Jackson (@SamuelLJackson) March 6, 2017

Later Carson tried to walk his remarks back:

I’m proud of the courage and perseverance of Black Americans and their incomprehensible struggle from slavery to freedom. I’m proud that our ancestors overcame the evil and repression that we know as slavery. 

The slave narrative and immigrant narrative are two entirely different experiences. Slaves were ripped from their families and their homes and forced against their will after being sold into slavery by slave traders. 

The Immigrants made the choice to come to America. They saw this country as a land of opportunity. In contrast, slaves were forced here against their will and lost all their opportunities. We continue to live with that legacy. 

The two experiences should never be intertwined, nor forgotten, as we demand the necessary progress towards an America that's inclusive and provides access to equal opportunity for all. 

We should revel in the fact that although we got here through different routes, we have many things in common now that should unite us in our mission to have a land where there is liberty and justice for all. 

Dr. Ben Carson 
Secretary of HUD 

Nice try. However this is response cobbled together for damage control, while the initial statements were just off of the top of Carson's pointy head.

Which one do we think more accurately portrays his way of thinking?

Oh yeah, and there is also this.

Ben Carson is also the guy who once compared Obamacare to slavery. I'm starting to think he may not understand the word "slavery." https://t.co/82PJcUC7Vg

— Keith Boykin (@keithboykin) March 6, 2017

Carson also famously suggested that the Egyptian pyramids were used to store grain, so his understanding of history in general seems to be suspect.

And these are the people who are now in charge of our country.

The Obama administration has quietly cut the number of homeless veterans in half.

Courtesy of HuffPo:

Veteran homelessness has dropped nearly in half since 2010, thanks to partnerships and programming, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced on Monday. 

On a given night in January, there were fewer than 40,000 homeless veterans, according to the country’s annual Point-in-Time count. That marked a 47 percent decrease since the same count was conducted six years prior. 

The success was due to the White House’s first-ever strategic plan to end veteran homelessness and a unique partnership between HUD and the Department of Veteran Affairs. Through the collaboration, HUD provides rental assistance to homeless veterans and the VA complements it with case management and clinical services. 

Since 2010, more than 360,000 veterans and their families have been permanently housed, rapidly rehoused or were spared from becoming homeless through HUD and VA programs. 

“The dramatic decline in veteran homelessness reflects the power of partnerships in solving complex national problems on behalf of those who have served our nation,” Robert A. McDonald, VA secretary, said in a statement. “The men and women who have fought for this nation should not have to fight to keep a roof over their head.”

Okay this is the kind of thing that both irritates me and impresses me about President Obama.

If Donald Trump did anything even a tenth this impressive he would be bragging about it on every network news show in the country, and having t-shirts printed that advertised his success.

On the other hand Obama mentions it in passing during a speech at the Disabled American Veterans convention, and a handful of news sites bother to share the news with the public.

You mark my words, after President Obama leaves office we are going to be amazed to learn all of the amazing things he did while in office that he did not bother to brag about in public.

In other news I think that Donald Trump managed to go pee pee in the big boy toilet all by himself.