Ben Carson argued yesterday that Martin Luther King Jr. never would have envisioned “a cycle of expectation and dependency” on government that he said traps too many African-Americans today.

In an appearance on C-SPAN’s “Washington Journal” on the holiday celebrating the late civil rights leader, Carson urged Americans to “turn their attention to the opportunities and the talents that they have.”

Carson, a retired neurosurgeon, may join the Republican field in the 2016 race for president.