Paul Ryan, November 1, 2011: "The point is we are reaching a fiscal tipping point. The moral tipping point is even worse and the moral tipping point is, before too long we could become a society we were never ever intended to be. We could become a society where the net majority of Americans are takers, not makers. Another great think tank, the Tax Foundation, runs lots of good numbers. Those of you who know me know I'm kind of a numbers guy. 20 percent of Americans, according to the Tax Foundation, get 75 percent of their income from the federal government. They're dependent. Another 20 percent of Americans get 40 percent of their income from the federal government so they're reliant. Today, 70 percent of Americans get more benefits from the federal government in dollar value than they pay back in taxes. So you could argue that we're already past that tipping point. The good news is survey after survey, poll after poll, still shows that we are a center-right 70-30 country. 70 percent of Americans want the American dream. They believe in the American idea. Only 30 percent want their welfare state. What that tells us is at least half of those people who are currently in that category are there not of their wish or their will. They believe in that horizon that they're shooting for. They're down on their luck. They're out of their job. They're back at school. They want the American idea and they want their kids to be better off, but slowly but surely, if we don't watch this, if we allow all this government that is being stacked up kick in, we will reach that moral tipping point. So why don't we just quickly review what government is up to these days and I'll give you the cliff-note version because this could go on for a while."
