Top 150 Paul Ryan Quotes (2025 Update)

1. “We need to stop spending money we don’t have.”

— Paul Ryan

2. “Life is short, you better make the most of it.”

— Paul Ryan

3. “Behind every small business, there’s a story worth knowing. All the corner shops in our towns and cities, the restaurants, cleaners, gyms, hair salons, hardware stores – these didn’t come out of nowhere.”

— Paul Ryan

4. “Every successful individual knows that his or her achievement depends on a community of persons working together.”

— Paul Ryan

5. “The work ahead will be hard. These times demand the best of us – all of us, but we can do this. Together, we can do this. We can get this country working again. We can get this economy growing again. We can make the safety net safe again. We can do this.”

— Paul Ryan

6. “If we don’t make tough decisions today our children are going to have to make much, much tougher decisions tomorrow.”

— Paul Ryan

7. “Borrowing and spending is not the way to prosperity.”

— Paul Ryan

8. “We don’t want to turn the safety net into a hammock that lulls able-bodied people into complacency and dependence.”

— Paul Ryan

9. “Only by taking responsibility for oneself, to the greatest extent possible, can one ever be free, and only a free person can make responsible choices – between right and wrong, saving and spending, giving or taking.”

— Paul Ryan

10. “The tax code is 10 times the size of the Bible with none of the good news.”

— Paul Ryan

11. “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.”

— Paul Ryan

12. “I think you can walk and chew gum at the same time. I think you can oppose the president on some issue that you fundamentally disagree with, but also work with the other party on issues you do agree with.”

— Paul Ryan

13. “I think Ayn Rand did the best job of anybody to build a moral case of capitalism, and that morality of capitalism is under assault.”

— Paul Ryan

14. “It all started off with stirring speeches, Greek columns, the thrill of something new. Now all that’s left is a presidency adrift, surviving on slogans that already seem tired, grasping at a moment that has already passed, like a ship trying to sail on yesterday’s wind.”

— Paul Ryan

15. “Our rights come from nature and God, not government.”

— Paul Ryan

16. “When government misleads the country about a terrorist attack, that erodes trust.”

— Paul Ryan

17. “We will not duck the tough issues, we will lead.”

— Paul Ryan

18. “Our debt is out of control. What was a fiscal challenge is now a fiscal crisis. We cannot deny it; instead we must, as Americans, confront it responsibly. And that is exactly what Republicans pledge to do.”

— Paul Ryan

19. “I’m as pro-life as a person gets. You’re not going to have a truce.”

— Paul Ryan

20. “Child support should do just that – support children, not the federal government.”

— Paul Ryan

21. “A free economy and strong communities honor the dignity of every person, rewarding effort with justice, promoting upward mobility, and building solidarity among citizens.”

— Paul Ryan

22. “I give out Atlas Shrugged as Christmas presents, and I make all my interns read it.”

— Paul Ryan

23. “Exploiting people’s emotions of fear, envy and anxiety is not hope, it’s not change, it’s partisanship. We don’t need partisanship. We don’t need demagoguery, we need solutions.”

— Paul Ryan

24. “Activist government overreach and ongoing economic stagnation have shown us why Washington should not try to displace what is best left to civil society.”

— Paul Ryan

25. “What’s missing is leadership in the White House. And the story that Barack Obama does tell, forever shifting blame to the last administration, is getting old. The man assumed office almost four years ago – isn’t it about time he assumed responsibility?”

— Paul Ryan

26. “And to this day, my Mom is my role model.”

— Paul Ryan

27. “We believe that the government has an important role to create the conditions that promote entrepreneurship, upward mobility, and individual responsibility.”

— Paul Ryan

28. “Ayn Rand more than anyone else did a fantastic job of explaining the morality of capitalism, the morality of individualism.”

— Paul Ryan

29. “We believe, as our founders did, that ‘the pursuit of happiness’ depends upon individual liberty; and individual liberty requires limited government.”

— Paul Ryan

30. “To my great disappointment, it appears that the politics of division are making a big comeback. Many Americans share my disappointment – especially those who were filled with great hope a few years ago, when then-Senator Obama announced his candidacy in Springfield, Illinois.”

— Paul Ryan

31. “I grew up reading Ayn Rand and it taught me quite a bit about who I am and what my value systems are, and what my beliefs are.”

— Paul Ryan

32. “Big-government economics breeds crony capitalism. It’s corrupt, anything but neutral, and a barrier to broad participation in prosperity.”

— Paul Ryan

33. “Politics has become a blood sport that goes beyond just the person whose name is on the ballot.”

— Paul Ryan

34. “Everyone who feels stuck in the Obama economy is right to focus on the here and now. And I hope you understand this too, if you’re feeling left out or passed by: You have not failed, your leaders have failed you.”

— Paul Ryan

35. “We must promote upward mobility, starting with solutions that speak to our broken education system, broken immigration policy, and broken safety-net programs that foster dependency instead of helping people get back on their feet.”

— Paul Ryan

36. “On July 4th, we renew our commitment to the American Idea-the belief that all men are created equal. We read the Declaration. We tell our kids the history. We remember those who died to protect our country. And along the way, we remind ourselves of why we love it.”

— Paul Ryan

37. “I’m very proud of my pro-life record, and I’ve always adopted the idea that, the position that the method of conception doesn’t change the definition of life.”

— Paul Ryan

38. “The stimulus was a case of political patronage, corporate welfare, and cronyism at their worst.”

— Paul Ryan

39. “When I was waiting tables, washing dishes, or mowing lawns for money, I never thought of myself as stuck in some station in life. I was on my own path, my own journey, an American journey where I could think for myself, decide for myself, define happiness for myself.”

— Paul Ryan

40. “Take a moment to imagine a world led by China or Russia. So we must lead.”

— Paul Ryan

41. “Was it a good idea to spend taxpayer dollars on electric cars in Finland, or on windmills in China? Was it a good idea to borrow all this money from countries like China and spend it on all these various different interest groups?”

— Paul Ryan

42. “Hiding spending does not reduce spending.”

— Paul Ryan

43. “I really don’t have tremendous political ambition. I have policy ambition.”

— Paul Ryan

44. “Seven hundred and sixteen billion dollars, funneled out of Medicare by President Obama. An obligation we have to our parents and grandparents is being sacrificed, all to pay for a new entitlement we didn’t even ask for. The greatest threat to Medicare is Obamacare, and we’re going to stop it.”

— Paul Ryan

45. “We are looking for bipartisan solutions not partisan rhetoric.”

— Paul Ryan

46. “We believe a renewed commitment to limited government will unshackle our economy and create millions of new jobs and opportunities for all people, of every background, to succeed and prosper. Under this approach, the spirit of initiative – not political clout – determines who succeeds.”

— Paul Ryan

47. “Class is not a fixed designation in this country. We are an upwardly mobile society with a lot of movement between income groups.”

— Paul Ryan

48. “I don’t consult polls to tell me what my principles are or what our policies should be.”

— Paul Ryan

49. “That’s the real secret to job creation – not borrowing and spending more money in Washington.”

— Paul Ryan

50. “People like me who are reform-minded ignore the people who say, ‘Just criticize and don’t do anything and let’s win by default.’ That’s ridiculous.”

— Paul Ryan