“This is not America, anymore,” Former HUD Secretary Dr. Ben Carson said, commenting on how bills like the one introduced by Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) are turning the U.S. from a “can-do” nation into one dependent on government.
On Friday, Rep. Tlaib introduced the $40 billion “Maintaining Access to Essential Services Act,” which would bribe utility companies to cease shutoffs, restore services and cancel utility (power, water, broadband) debt by providing loans the companies wouldn’t have to repay.
“It’s changing the nature of America. We go from a can-do society to a ‘What can you do for me?’ society,” Carson explained in a Fox News interview.
“Yes, why don’t we pay for everything?” Carson asked, rhetorically, about government-funded freebies. “The problem is, we run out of money,” he answered.
This “government-will-take-care-of-you-from-cradle-to-grave mentality” won’t work, and has never worked,” Carson said:
“And, that’s what happens with every society that is seduced by this government-will-take-care-of-you-from-cradle-to-grave mentality. It doesn’t work; it never has worked. Our system has worked extremely well to provide more opportunities for people anywhere.”
“I think particularly, we’ve lost our God-given sense of caring for each other, love your neighbor. Instead, we want to cancel our neighbor,” Carson said.
Americans need to “get involved” and fearlessly speak out, Carson advised when asked what can be done to counter Democrats’ policy of “progressive handouts”:
“Get involved. Go to your various meetings, school board meetings, etc., get involved. Talk about it.
“Don’t hide in a corner and hope no one calls you a nasty name.”
Rep. Tlaib provides the following details of her bill in a press release on her House office website:
- Providing a total of $13.5 billion in low-interest loans to public and private water utilities, which will be forgiven when the utility forgives household water arrears;
- Providing $13 billion in low-interest loans to power utilities, which will be forgiven when the utility forgives household arrears;
- Providing $13 billion in low-interest loans to broadband utilities, which will be forgiven when the utility forgives household arrears;
- Requiring loan recipients to suspend utility shutoffs and restore any disconnected service, suspend late fees and charges, stop the sale of household debt to debt collectors, stop placing or selling liens on households due to outstanding utility debt, and stop filing adverse reports on households due to unpaid utility bills to credit agencies; and
- Establishing reporting requirements about disconnections and arrearages.