>> well, look, subsidiarity is really a vision of the whole of society. but what it says is, in essence, the lowest level of a society that is capable, that can take care of a problem, should deal with it. so in the normal course of affairs, parents go out and earn a living, take care of their children, provide for their needs, education, et cetera. then you may have kind of-- neighborhood associations, churches, specific towns and cities. and you only kick the can, so to speak, up to the federal or even an international level, when there's no other body that can deal with the problem as it exists. now unfortunately it seems to me that we look very quickly to the federal government, because we assume it's only the federal government that can take care of these things. but there is something wrong when something like 70 percent of the taxes that get paid, get paid by the top 10 percent. so that's a pretty significant chunk from people who are so-called wealthy and not paying their fair share. and where we have half of the country that's paying no taxes at

to me, the principle of s subsidiarity, which principle of subsidiarity, which is really federalism, meaning government closest to the people governs best. having a civil society of the principal of solidarity where we, through our civic organizations, through our churches, through our charities, through our different groups where we interact with people as a community, that's how we advance the common good. by not having big government crowd out civic society, but by having enough space in our communities so that we can interact with each other, and take care of people who are down and out in our communities. those principles are very, very important, and the preferential option for the poor, which is one of the primary tenets of catholic social teaching, means don't keep people poor, don't make people dependent on government so that they stay stuck at their station in life. help people get out of poverty onto a life of independence. >> that is very close to what you think? >> well, i have qualifications about that. first of all, subsidiarity is not just about government. it's not a

paul ryan talks about the catholic principle of subsidiarity, which is not one we hear a lot in politics, but this notion that all decisions should be made at the most local level and action should be taken at the most local level possible. he uses that to justify his opposition to what he calls big government, and there are catholics who agree with that interpretation even though others say that's a misreading of catholic teachings. >> right, and what the bishops are saying and what a lot of catholics are saying is that's fine. if you want us to do it on the local level, we'll do that. we'll run the soup kitchens and we'll run the adoption clinics or whatever, but we need the government's help to do that, and don't make it worse for us by throwing people off of -- you know, making their economic conditions worse that they're going to need more services because there's only so much that we can do. so if you're going to do this, fine, but don't sacrifice the poor at the expense of the rich. >> and some church leaders have called abortion the paramount issue, and of course, joe biden, whil