Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) was on the defensive Sunday when asked to respond to a line in President Obama’s second inaugural address that entitlements are not turning the United States into a nation of “takers” — a line that seemed largely targeted at rebutting Ryan.
“We don’t want a dependency culture. We want a safety net that makes sure that people don’t fall through the cracks, that gets people on their feet. Americans want the American Dream,” Ryan said on NBC’s “Meet the Press. “And so our concern in this country is with the idea that more and more able-bodied people are becoming dependent upon the government than upon themselves for their livelihoods. We want to make sure that we don’t continue that trend.”
On what programs are actually making people dependent on government, Ryan gave the example of people using food stamps who don’t need them.
