Excerpts from Rep. Paul Ryan’s remarks Tuesday, giving the official GOP response to President Obama’s State of the Union Address.
AMERICANS are skeptical of both political parties, and that skepticism is justified — especially when it comes to spending. So hold all of us accountable. In this very room, the House will produce, debate and advance a budget.
These budget debates are not just about the programs of government; they’re also about the purpose of government. So I’d like to share with you the principles that guide us.
They are anchored in the wisdom of the founders — in the spirit of the Declaration of Independence and in the words of the American Constitution. They have to do with the importance of limited government, and with the blessing of self-government.
We believe, as our founders did, that “the pursuit of happiness” depends upon individual liberty — and individual liberty requires limited government.
Limited government also means effective government. When government takes on too many tasks, it usually doesn’t do any of them very well. It’s no coincidence that trust in government is at an all-time low now that the size of government is at an all-time high.
Our nation is approaching a tipping point. If government’s growth is left unchecked and unchallenged, we will transform our social safety net into a hammock, which lulls able-bodied people into lives of complacency and dependency.
We still have time . . . but not much time. If we continue down our current path, we know what our future will be.
Just take a look at what’s happening to Greece, Ireland, the United Kingdom and other nations in Europe. They didn’t act soon enough; and now their governments have been forced to impose painful austerity measures: large benefit cuts to seniors and huge tax increases on everybody.
Their day of reckoning has arrived. Ours is around the corner. That is why we must act now. Some people will back away from
this challenge. But I see it as an oppor-
tunity to rebuild what Lincoln called the “central ideas” of the republic.
We believe a renewed commitment to limited government will unshackle our economy and create millions of new jobs and opportunities for all people, of every background, to succeed and prosper. Under this approach, the spirit of initiative — not political clout — determines who succeeds.
Millions of families have fallen on hard times not because of our ideals of free enterprise — but because our leaders failed to live up to those ideals; because of poor decisions made in Washington and Wall Street that caused a financial crisis, squandered our savings, broke our trust and crippled our economy.
Today, a similar kind of irresponsibility threatens not only our livelihoods but also our way of life.
We need to reclaim our American system of limited government, low taxes, reasonable regulations and sound money, which has blessed us with unprecedented prosperity. And it has done more to help the poor than any other economic system ever designed.
That’s the real secret to job creation — not borrowing and spending more money in Washington.