When America installs a minimum income, it's going to be doing it in a very different historical context than Switzerland or Sweden or Germany, or any other country might do it. And we're doing it in a context where it has the potential, I think, for much better consequences than in those other countries.

I want to keep the government out of the business of giving incentives to have or not have kids, or incentives to marry or not marry.

America's always been very good at providing help to people in need. It hasn't been perfect, but they've been very good at it.

I still want to find a way that leaves people free to live their lives without telling them what to do.

I am no longer a complete pariah in some academic quarters.

I did not want my children to grow up only knowing other upper-middle-class kids like themselves.

I love Europe, but I don't want America to become like Europe.

Whatever the Victorians did right in England, we need to resuscitate over here. In the late 19th century, the entire English population were propagandised into buying into a certain code of morals. I would be happy if we could emulate that in some way in America.

Ecumenical niceness is just pabulum.

There's a big difference between being good and being nice. Being good involves tough choices - tough love.