Ben Carson, Donald Trump's rumored choice for secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), once called the concept of fair housing an example of "communist" government overreach, Salon reports.
"Carson is a vocal critic of HUD's 'affirmatively furthering fair housing,' an Obama-era rule aimed at strengthening a stipulation in the 1968 Fair Housing Act that requires communities 'affirmatively further' fair housing practices," Salon's Brendan Gauthier writes.
He cites a 2015 New York Times article in which Carson is quoted as ripping "government-engineered attempts to legislate racial equality create consequences that often make matters worse."
Carson added that "based on the history of failed socialist experiments in this country, entrusting the government to get it right can prove downright dangerous."
Salon also points to a 2015 Carson interview with an Iowa radio station in which he discusses an agreement between HUD and the city of Dubuque in which low-income families would relocate from Chicago to qualify for Section 8 housing.
"This is what you see in communist countries where they have so many regulations encircling every aspect of your life that if you don't agree with them, all they have to do is pull the noose," he said.
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