Poverty really is the result of a state of mind — among rich people
“Recently, Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson said that poverty is a state of mind, and having the right mind-set will let people escape poverty. He was both right and wrong. There is a poverty mind-set we should discuss, but it’s not the one Carson lamented. The problem is not that people living in poverty need to have a better attitude to escape poverty. It’s that all of us should have a better attitude when it comes to poor people. Other researchers have detailed the compelling evidence that Carson conflates cause and effect; to the extent poor people feel hopeless and helpless, it’s the poverty they confront that causes these feelings, and not the other way around.”