Justice
Dear Ben Carson: Start Making Sense
With major budget cuts looming for HUD, it’s time for the cabinet secretary to stand up for whatever it is he believes.
It’s not what Ben Carson said that should bother people. Yes, in his first address to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, the agency he now leads, Carson said some ignorant things about slavery. His truly bone-headed comments betrayed a lack of understanding about both slavery and immigration.
Neither falls under his purview as HUD secretary, though, any more than pyramids or grain silos do. So while it’s beyond disappointing that Carson does not understand that the U.S. treated slaves like imports, not immigrants, this knowledge is not exactly germane to his work at HUD. And now that the Trump administration has signaled that enormous budget cuts are heading the department’s way, Carson has real work to do.