Rep. Paul Ryan (WI) delivered the Republican response to President Obama’s State Of The Union, and focused on the country’s economic problems and government debt, which he said can be solved through “limited government and free enterprise” which “have helped make America the greatest nation on earth.” That’s opposed to how the current administration has “engaged in a stimulus spending spree that not only failed to deliver on its promise to create jobs, but also plunged us even deeper into debt.”
Ryan began by noting that the President “focused a lot of attention on our economy in general - and on our deficit and debt in particular. He was right to do so, and some of his words were reassuring.”
But, he said, “we face a crushing burden of debt. The debt will soon eclipse our entire economy, and grow to catastrophic levels in the years ahead.” And though the debt is not the fault of any one person, Obama “has made things worse.” For one thing, “health care spending is driving the explosive growth of our debt. And the President’s law is accelerating our country toward bankruptcy.”
“In one of our first acts in the new majority, House Republicans voted to cut Congress’s own budget. And just today, the House voted to restore the spending discipline that Washington sorely needs.”
These actions, in addition to the move to repeal health care reform, are part of the “principles that guide” the Republicans, which “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,” he said, adding that “we believe, as our founders did, that “the pursuit of happiness” depends upon individual liberty; and individual liberty requires limited government.”
Ryan continued that “our nation is approaching a tipping point,” and “speaking candidly, as one citizen to another: We still have time… but not much time. If we continue down our current path, we know what our future will be.”
He referenced European countries like Greece and Ireland, which have had to make huge cuts because of government debt. “Their day of reckoning has arrived. Ours is around the corner. That is why we must act now.”
Ryan continued: “We need to reclaim our American system of limited government, low taxes, reasonable regulations, and sound money, which has blessed us with unprecedented prosperity.”
He concluded: “And it now falls to this generation to pass on to our children a nation that is stronger, more vibrant, more decent, and better than the one we inherited.”
Here’s the full speech:
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