New Jersey governor Chris Christie addressed the Bush Institute Conference on Taxes and Economic Growth in New York on Tuesday, and had some tough words for the couch potatoes littering our “paternalistic entitlement society.” A little video, courtesy of Politico:
“I’ve never seen a less optimistic time in my lifetime in this country, and people wonder why,” Christie said. “I think it’s really simple: It’s because government’s now telling them ‘stop dreaming, stop striving, we’ll take care of you.’ We’re turning into a paternalistic entitlement society.”
Christie warned this would bankrupt us both financially and morally, “because when the American people no longer believe that this is a place where only their willingness to work hard, and to act with honor and integrity and ingenuity determines their success in life, then we’ll have a bunch of people sitting on a couch waiting for their next government check.” Strangely, Politico chose to omit the “honor and integrity and ingenuity” part from their quotation of Christie’s remarks, but took pains to render “sitting” without the “g,” precisely the way the Governor said it.
It’s considered extremely rude for politicians to address Couch Potato Nation in such blunt terms, and Christie knows it. “I’m not looking to be loved,” he said. “You see, I think politicians get themselves into the biggest trouble when they care more about being loved than being respected. That’s why we run up these deficits we run up. That’s why we can’t say ‘no’ to anything. Because we care too much about being loved.” He went on to assure the audience that he gets all the love he needs at home, “on occasion.”
More @ Human Events
