Just because House Speaker Paul Ryan wants a work-family balance doesn’t mean he has a duty to help other Americans achieve the same goal. “I don’t think that sticking up for being a person with balance in your life, for wanting to spend your weekends in your home with your family … I don’t think that means signing up for some new unfunded mandate,” Ryan told CNN’s State of the Union.
As a condition to take over the job as speaker, Ryan insisted he didn’t want to give up his “family time.” But apparently his personal views don’t have to correlate with his opinions on public policy. So what could be the solution? More flex time, Ryan said.
CNN’s Dana Bash was hardly the only one to bring up the issue on Sunday. On Fox News, host John Roberts also pushed Ryan on the issue. “I don’t think people asked me to be speaker so that I can take more money from hardworking taxpayers to create some new federal entitlement,” Ryan shot back. “If you’re asking me, because I want to spend, I want to continue being the best dad and husband and speaker I can be, getting that work-life balance correct means I should sign up for new unfunded entitlement, that doesn’t make any sense.”
