Among all of the Trump appointees to the Cabinet, Ben Carson’s confirmation process was one of the quietest. After a 58-41 final vote in the U.S. Senate, the retired neurosurgeon and former presidential hopeful is now taking the helm of a multi-billion-dollar agency of over 8,000 civil servants.
Given some push back for his background in health, Dr. Carson inherits any agency that has gone off mission, like so many other executive branch agencies from the past decade. Drastic changes from an outsider are, now, inevitable.
I couldn’t be happier…
Even though Carson doesn’t have any official experience in government, a history of public service shouldn’t be a disqualifier for serving as an agency head. In fact, with Secretary Carson’s private background and his upbringing in the lower-income areas of Detroit, I feel anecdotal and first-hand experience can accommodate a newcomer’s perspective to a bloated federal bureaucracy. And, I even feel in the executive positions Carson has held, management experience is almost universal based on any work place.
Nevertheless, the stature of Carson as an individual is unquestioned, and he has a great deal of potential to effect good policy in his new position.
Many of the areas that Secretary Carson must attend to are vital to the health of the affordable housing markets and promoting reform that is pro-free market. Simply, at the fore font of it all, is the crux that is presented on the protection of private property rights for all Americans while not limiting the opportunity for Americans, also, to exercise such rights.
Policy guided by this sentiment can be seen in the genre of deregulation and the intentional limiting of power the agency holds.
In order to promote private property rights for low and middle-income Americans, the reforming of welfare and government entitlements that decapitate the ability of able-bodied adults to make a living is imperative. Because of the overwhelming presence of the welfare state, the poverty-stricken masses are not compelled or incentivized to acquire wealth in the private sector.
Carson also needs to follow through with Trump’s campaign promise to end the Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing (AFFH) program to restore poverty rights and values for middle class communities. Other areas that the new secretary needs to address is also limiting HUD grants to prevent “federal assault on local communities.” A one-size-fits-all, cookie cutter regulatory mandate on effecting control of local housing policy must be ended, as well.
In the end, though, advocating for a more federalist-based approach on dealing with issues like poverty and homelessness should also be expected under a Carson HUD. Even reaffirming the cooperation of the legislature with the executive branch to regulate properly is a high hope for the agency.
Regardless of the policy gibberish, Carson can breathe new life into an agency that needs to relearn its purpose in actually helping uphold the rights of citizens, rather than oppressing them.
Like I have said in these page many times, Trump’s Administration is the beginning of a new era of policy. Carson just so happens to be a part of it.