Bill O'Reilly: What kind of country do you want?
October 19, 2012

By Bill O'Reilly

As T-Points has been saying for months, the presidential vote this year is about what America will become. Here are the two choices. We'll go back to traditional capitalism and self-reliance. Or we'll stay with President Obama who is using the federal government to impose so-called social justice.

The President wants to regulate the economy and the tax system to provide for those who don't have very much. Some conservatives call that a nanny state. But the truth is what the President wants is what Western Europe has, a giant government that redistributes income.

The problem is social justice costs a lot of money. And some European countries like Greece are now exploding in violence because the Greek government has run out of cash. It can no longer pay the huge entitlements. So these people are angry. And they want to destroy the establishment.

With the USA currently owing more than $16 trillion, those scenes could happen here. It's conceivable. If we keep spending a trillion dollars a year more than we take in, we'll eventually go broke. The only reason we aren't bankrupt yet is that folks overseas are still buying treasury bonds and other U.S. investments. But that could stop in a hurry.

President Obama has not addressed the issue. His theme is, if you tax wealthy Americans and corporations more, then the debt will get under control. But the figures don't back that up.

Right now the federal government spends more on welfare than on any other program. And we're not talking about Medicare or Social Security here. We're talking about payments to the folks stuff like food stamps, housing, medical care and those kinds of things.

According to a new study by the Congressional Research Service, the USA spent $746 billion last year alone giving people stuff. That's more than Medicare, more than Social Security and more than non-war defense budget.

President Obama wants to increase that spending. He wants more entitlements in play. Governor Romney says he'll reduce most domestic spending by about five percent right off the bat. He also says he'll make changes in food stamps and other entitlement programs that could save $400 billion a year.

Now, to be fair, politicians can say anything. It is not easy to cut entitlements once the folks have received them. That's what we're seeing in Greece. But the truth is that the USA is well on its way to becoming a nanny state. We are closing in on Western Europe. There is no question about it.

So, that's what we'll be voting on come November 6th; self reliance with safety nets, or social assistance for more than half of the population. You make the call.

And that's "The Memo."

- You can catch Bill O'Reilly's "Talking Points Memo" weeknights at 8 and 11 p.m. ET on the Fox News Channel and any time on foxnews.com/oreilly. Send your comments to: oreilly@foxnews.com.

Transcript Date: 
Thu, 10/18/2012
Transcript Show Name: 
O'Reilly Factor
Posted by BillOReilly.com Staff at 5:26 AM
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