Gov. Chris Christie today warned an audience of national Republicans that the country is in danger of becoming a “paternalistic entitlement society” where people sit on the couch, “waiting for the next government check.”
Christie spoke at a day-long conference on tax policy in New York hosted by former President George W. Bush, who nominated Christie to be U.S. Attorney in 2001.
Christie spent most of his 30-minute speech on New Jersey budget issues, but brought up national policy toward the end. He said it is the least optimistic period he’s ever seen for the nation.
“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. That will not just bankrupt us financially, it will bankrupt us morally,” Christie told Bush, Henry Kissinger and an assortment of Republican governors in a theater at the New York Historical Society.
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