2011 State of the Union address: on Government Reform

Paul Ryan: FactCheck: all-time high government was 1943, not 2009

Ryan's spokesman said that the congressman was measuring size of government by spending as a percentage of gross domestic product. Federal spending as a percent of GDP was 24% in 2009--not even close to the real "all-time high" figure of 44% in 1943.

Ryan was closer with his claim about public skepticism of government, but still not quite right. Only 22% of those surveyed said they trusted the federal government "almost always or most of the time," according to the source poll for Ryan's claim. But other poll conducted over the years showed slightly lower percentages. In 1994, just 17% of respondents said they trusted the government most or all of the time.

The poll also found that the level of government trust and size of government are not connected.

Paul Ryan: Individual liberty requires limited government

We believe that the government has an important role to create the conditions that promote entrepreneurship, upward mobility, and individual responsibility. We believe, as our founders did, that "the pursuit of happiness" depends upon individual liberty; and individual liberty requires limited government.

Limited government also means effective government. When government takes on too many tasks, it usually doesn't do any of them very well. It's no coincidence that trust in government is at an all-time low now that the size of government is at an all-time high. The President and the Democratic Leadership have shown, by their actions, that they believe government needs to increase its size and its reach, its price tag and its power.

Our nation is approaching a tipping point. We need to chart a new course.

Sarah Palin: Cut funding for "fluffery" like the NPR and NEA