Rand Paul: ‘Self-Esteem Can’t Be Given, it Must Be Earned ... Work Is the Reward’

RUSH TRANSCRIPT:
RAND PAUL: "The freedom we fostered in America unleashed genius and advancement like never before. Yet our great nation still needs new ideas and new answers to old problems. From an early age I worked. I taught swimming lessons and mowed lawns and did landscaping and put roofs on houses. I painted houses. I never saw work though as punishment. Work always gave me a sense of who I am. [ Applause ] Self-esteem can't be given, it must be earned. Work is not punishment, work is the reward. Two of my son work minimum wage jobs while they go to college. I'm proud of them as I see them realize the value of hard work. I can see their self-esteem grow as they cash their paychecks. I have a vision for America where everyone who wants to work will have a job. Many Americans though are being left behind, the reward of work seems beyond their grasp. Under the watch of both parties, the poor seem to get poorer and rich get richer. Trillion dollar government stimulus packages have only widened the income gap. Politically connected kroennys get taxpayer dollars by the hundreds of millions and poor families across America continue to suffer. I have a different vision and ambitious vision, a vision that will offer opportunity to all Americans, especially those who have been left behind. My plan -- my plan includes economic freedom Zones to allow I am pofrished areas like Detroit, west Louisville, eastern Kentucky, to prosper by leaving more money in the pockets of the people who live there."