Paul Ryan touched on Mitt Romney’s comments that about half the electorate are “victim[s]” hopelessly dependent on government during town hall in New Hampshire Tuesday, stressing that the Republican ticket believes in opportunity for all Americans.
One questioner, a self-described grandmother of 22, raised the broad topic of government reliance by asking if the campaign would denounce individual families who won’t look after themselves. Romney said in a secretly taped fundraiser that he’ll never convince 47 percent of Americans that “they should take personal responsibility and care for their lives.”
“I don’t know if everybody will be clapping after I say my question,” the woman at the town hall said. “Don’t you think it begins with each family to live within their means and not just expect the government to live within their means?”
Ryan said growing the economy would encourage personal responsibility.
“We need to create nearly 150,000 jobs a month just to keep pace with population,” he said. “And so this is what Mitt and I are talking about when we’re worried about more and more people becoming net dependent on the government than upon themselves. Because by promoting more dependency, by not having jobs and economic growth, people miss their potential.”
Ryan said he favored a “safety net that is there for people who truly cannot help themselves” as well as one for “people who are down on their luck so they can get back on their feet.”
“We don’t want a safety net that encourages more dependency because there’s no economic growth behind it,” Ryan said.
While Romney’s taped remarks suggest he believes as much as 47 percent of the country is essentially a lost cause when it came to personal initiative, Ryan praised America’s tradition of “social mobility” that allows people from all walks of life to improve their lot through grit and determination.
“It never occurred to me once that I was stuck in some station in life, fixed in some class,” Ryan said.
Romney said in his secretly filmed fundraiser that “there are 47 percent who are with [Obama], who are dependent upon government, who believe that they are victims, who believe the government has a responsibility to care for them … and they will vote for this president no matter what ” He added that “I’ll never convince them they should take personal responsibility and care for their lives.”
