Dr. Ben Carson: 'People don't like change. They like the comfort zone'

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Dr. Ben Carson talks HUD agenda, Democratic obstruction

HUD secretary speaks out on 'Hannity'

Housing and Urban Development Secretary Dr. Ben Carson told Fox News' "Hannity" Monday that his goal was to "get people to move up the ladder of opportunity" through home ownership.

"Home ownership is the basis for wealth creation in this country," Carson told host Sean Hannity. "The average net worth of a homeowner is $200,000. The average net worth of a renter is $5,000. So, we’ve got some definite work we need to do there."

Carson, a former candidate for the 2016 presidential nomination, has kept a low profile so far at the head of HUD. However, he was the subject of controversy in recent weeks when he described poverty as a "state of mind" and compared African slaves brought to America to immigrants.

"People don’t like change. They like the comfort zone in which they sit and when somebody starts talking about changing it, they become very anxious," Carson said. "I understand that, and so I expect that there will be people who are anxious about some of the things that I say, but they won’t be anxious once they see the results."

Carson, who rose from the projects of Detroit to become a world-renowed brain surgeon, also said he hoped to show low-income kids possible paths off the streets.

"We’re going to help people. We’re not just going to say, ‘You’ve got to do it.’ [or] ‘You’ve got to pull yourself up by your bootstraps.’ We’re going to help people do this, but we’re going to give them the vision."