Ryan: U.S. Headed Toward European-like Meltdown

Rep. Paul Ryan said the United States is heading European-style
economic meltdown if it continues its current policies, ABC News
reported.

Several thousand came out to see Ryan, according to the Raleigh News
and Observer. The Republican vice presidential pick, speaking at a
sheet metal fabrication warehouse in Raleigh, N.C., said if the
country with President Barack Obama’s plans, "we will turn out just
like Europe if we stick with European policies."

Obama won North Carolina in 2008, but it is in play for Republicans
this time around. The Democrats will hold their convention in the
state next month. Ryan will attend a fundraiser in the Fayetteville
area on Wednesday night and another event on Thursday.

Urgent: Does Paul Ryan Really Help Defeat Obama? Vote in Exclusive Poll

"What's unique about this historic moment we are facing is we see it
coming," Ryan said at the event, according to ABC News. "Let me ask it
to you this way. I remember 2008, the economic crisis, that crash. Now
that we look back we can see why it all happened. You know housing
markets and Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and all the stuff that
happened. The point is, when that crisis hit us, it caught us all by
surprise. Trillions of dollars of wealth from families, from
retirements were vanished. Millions of people [were put] out of work,
which we're still suffering from.”

"Let me ask you it this way,” the Wisconsin congressman continued.
“What if your president, or your congressmen or your senator, what if
they saw it coming? What if they knew that that crash was coming, what
if they knew why it was going to happen, what if they knew
approximately when it was going to happen, and what if they knew how
to prevent it from happening and they had time to do that, but they
just decided not to because it wasn't good politics? What would you
think of them? Friends, that's exactly where we are today."

Ryan also invoked Obama’s “You didn’t build that” line, saying, “When
people are successful in America, we take pride in each other’s
success, we don’t resent it,” the News and Observer reported.