January 25, 2011 10:55 PM

Paul Ryan: U.S. at "Tipping Point" over Debt

By
Joshua Norman
Topics
Republicans

Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., delivers the GOP response to President Barack Obama's State of the Union address

Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., delivers the official GOP response to President Barack Obama's State of the Union address

(Credit: AP)
Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) hammered home the main Republican talking point of late by repeatedly calling for less government spending to reduce the deficit while delivering his party's official response to President Obama's State of the Union speech.

While the speech was light on details of which parts of the federal budget should be cut, Ryan described the current moment in time as a "tipping point" where government size and spending must be reduced or "America's best century will be considered our past century."

Ryan spoke from the House Budget Committee room, where he currently reigns as chairman. The move was largely seen as symbolic beforehand, and the federal budget and its shortfalls were themes that ran throughout his speech.

"The debt will soon eclipse our entire economy, and grow to catastrophic levels in the years ahead," Ryan said. "On this current path, when my three children - who are now 6, 7, and 8 years old - are raising their own children, the federal government will double in size, and so will the taxes they pay. The next generation will inherit a stagnant economy and a diminished country."

Leading off the GOP response, Ryan began by expressing sympathy for the victims of the Tucson tragedy, but then touted recent Republican-led House votes to reduce Congress' own budget, as well as to restore government spending levels to earlier, lower amounts.

CBSNews.com Special Coverage: State of the Union 2011
Full Text of Paul Ryan's Speech

Before long, Ryan zeroed in on Mr. Obama's calls for further "investments" to improve the economy, and derided them as tools of a "government that controls too much; taxes too much; and spends too much in order to do too much."

The economic policies of Mr. Obama and the Democrat were to blame for an unemployment rate that remains above 9 percent and a government that has added over $3 trillion to the national debt, Ryan said.

Ryan said another culprit for our current "fiscal crisis" is the Health Care Law, or "Obamacare," to critics. Ryan implied its passage is to blame for higher health care costs and lost jobs, as well as "accelerating our country toward bankruptcy."

Austerity measures being implemented throughout Europe should be warnings to America, he added, that government spending and reach must be reduced, lest we end up in the same financial position of Greece or Ireland.

"We need to reclaim our American system of limited government, low taxes, reasonable regulations, and sound money, which has blessed us with unprecedented prosperity," Ryan said. "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. Limited government and free enterprise have helped make America the greatest nation on earth."


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  • Joshua Norman

    Joshua Norman is an associate editor at CBSNews.com.

Add a Comment See all 104 Comments
by documemts January 27, 2011 4:10 PM EST
..........Yep, it's all downhill from here.....
Reply to this comment
by pmbalele January 27, 2011 1:34 PM EST
Ryan and Bachamann are people you should avoid. These two think others should die for them to live. They hate others having health insurance while themselves have government insurance. Their districts have highest unemployment and foreclosures. Business in their districts have shipped jobs abroad. These two do not see that as a problem. Why? They have 6 digits salaries from taxpayers. Let's vote them out next election. Like Ex-governor Tommy Thompson, they will learn how others live. Tommy is now looking for employment. By other way, did you see how timid Ryan and Bachamann looked during their rebuttals. Terrible.
Reply to this comment
by cbstest January 27, 2011 11:18 AM EST
Paul Ryan's speech was as spooky as Halloween. Was he trying to give us a panic attack, or put us all in a severe state of depression?
Reply to this comment
by pmbalele January 27, 2011 12:12 AM EST
Paul Ryan like Bill, Hannity, Karl Rove and the rest at FoxNews want us go back to 8 years of Bush administration? They really want government out of our lives or not to be involved in investment. So they are telling us to revisit pure capitalism? No! We did that and did not work. During 8 years of Bush administration the government had miniscule role. WallStreet, Banks, big business run the country. See what happened. The country came to a halt-bankrupt. People were cheated at WallStreet, big banks were closing doors. Some people killed themselves finding their investments had evaporated. How did you like banks charging you bogus charges? How about insurances-they denied you pre-existing conditions, if you lose your job, not pay costs if you stayed too long in hospital? Insurance premiums were going up every year. O'rielly one time during his show whined his premium had gone up by 25% in one year. None of that with Obama as president. One role of the government is to protect us as citizen from being killed or killing one other. We humans-selfish. We do everything to make the best of others. Pure capitalism is BS. FoxNews should not lie to the public. Another government role is to promote economy and innovations. Bill, was talking to a democrat congressman who informed us the Internet was discovered by the government and then private sector came in and distributed it to us all. You know government universities do research and pass their findings to private sector. The government has role to invest and then private sector takes over. Look what banks have been doing in the last year. They have been sitting tight with their money. You cannot borrow money for business if your credit score is low. Therefore poor credit business people who want to retool business cannot get money. That delays innovations. Also do you know CEOs with good credit score easily borrow your savings in your local banks to establish businesses abroad. CEO are using your own money to ship your jobs abroad. So you want government not to intervene. You have to spend money to get create more money. The government has a role in investing in innovations. Be careful what you say government. Pure capitalism is just as evil as pure socialism. Business sector is perfect if government sees that we do not cheat or kill one another. You remember in 2006 New York coast line was almost sold to Yemen business people? Our nation security was at stake. FoxNews people pretend to forget that? We have to involve government in creating jobs. FoxNews and its hosts again mentioned the fate of future generation. That is a lie. Pure capitalists and FoxNews people do not care for the future. They care to be rich now. In fact if we now improve the economy, we are creating better future for our children. Pure capitalism failed 8 years ago and we are not going back.
Reply to this comment
by Jerry9500 January 26, 2011 9:48 PM EST
Time is nearly past for salvaging the US economy. We need to reduce spending but we also need to reduce government control and government size. Reducing spending will not salvage the US economy alone, we need to increase government revenue ALSO. What if there were a way to increase government revenue without a direct burden upon the US citizen taxpayer. When I shop for everyday life, 50%+ of the items on the shelf are imported, sitting there with little or no import tax revenue for the US government. NAFTA has failed the US economy with loss of jobs and loss of import tax revenue. Step 1: repeal NAFTA step 2: levy stiff import tax on ALL imports step 3: collect the revenue to boost government income without a direct burden upon the US citizen taxpayer. I would strongly suggest that we cannot salvage the US economy when we send 50%+ of store shelf revenue to other countries to rebuild their ecomomies at the same time that we are trying to rebuild ours. Save America First ! Thank You for Free Speech, Jerry 9500
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by u-tarz January 26, 2011 8:12 PM EST
President Obama made a lot of sense. Paul Ryan said standard stuff. Michele Bachmann did comedy.
Reply to this comment
by lucilioness January 26, 2011 2:11 PM EST
When Paul Ryan gave the republican response to the president's speech, I went to the bathroom, fed my cat,and nuked some left over chili. Paul is smart. So,I know he learned last night, that it is never a good idea to be the second act after an Obama speech. Remember Bobby Jindall? Most people don't
Reply to this comment
by pmbalele January 26, 2011 7:54 PM EST
Lucillioness: Paul Ryan was duped by John Boehner and Mitchell McConnell. Nobody in GOP wanted to give the rebuttal. John was afraid he would do his cry-baby again. Mitchell chickened out. Another GOP governor said No. Now Paul is paying to allow these two to fool him. Poor Paul, all people including republicans are laughing at him.
by pmbalele January 26, 2011 2:09 PM EST
As selected to respond, Paul Ryan looked timid and afraid of what he was talking about. Maybe because Paul voted for the bail outs and therefore could not abandon his vote. He was lucky he was re-elected last year. I believe TEA Partiers and Republicans did not know Paul voted to increase the deficit. And the Congress woman from Minnesota really, as TEA Party rep, made a mess of herself. Her response just collided with that Paul Ryan. I was further surprised why she gave a rebuttal in the first place. Is she running as TEA Party person for US presidential ticket?
Reply to this comment
by Mortarman429 January 26, 2011 2:12 PM EST
Obviously, you dont understand the situation.
by u-tarz January 26, 2011 8:37 PM EST
With a few of the Tea Party elected, if they are all as bright as Ryan and Bachmann, I expect the folks who vote T P candidates will reconsider their choices next time.
by rationall7 January 26, 2011 2:03 PM EST
The next generation will inherit a stagnant economy and a diminished country.
--------------

Let's look at what the country inherit two years back from Bush like the wars that are still costing us money until who knows when and add on top of that the rebuilding cost of Iraq too bad Bush & the GOP wasn't forward thinking back then like today.

Invade a country with no WMDs' then say it was the will of Americans to set the people of Iraq free no matter what the cost is going forward and beyond what a good investment for your kids to inherit.
Reply to this comment
by Mortarman429 January 26, 2011 2:10 PM EST
But even worse, we inherited a Department of Education, Medicare, Social Security, etc. Those things even more than the wars, are killing us.
by sjc_1 January 26, 2011 2:21 PM EST
So you want to eliminate Social Security and fight more wars?
by Mortarman429 January 26, 2011 1:47 PM EST
Why do we even continue to to the SOTU show? It is pointless.
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