Mr. President: When will ’somebody else’ build my business?
There was a lot of buzz over the weekend, stretching into today, about these remarks President Obama made during a campaign stop Friday in Roanoke, Va.:
There are a lot of wealthy, successful Americans who agree with me — because they want to give something back. They know they didn’t — look, if you’ve been successful, you didn’t get there on your own. You didn’t get there on your own. I’m always struck by people who think, well, it must be because I was just so smart. There are a lot of smart people out there. It must be because I worked harder than everybody else. Let me tell you something — there are a whole bunch of hardworking people out there.
Well, that’s not so controversial, is it? I’ve had some success in my career in journalism, and I am in the habit of referring to the great teachers I had (in college and before), the great upbringing I got from my parents, and some favorable timing/circumstances along the way. Certainly, there are a lot of successful people who want to “give something back” and do so — to churches, their alma maters, to civic organizations …
Wait, what’s that? Obama wants to steer the conversation toward government? Well, I’m not exactly surprised.
If you were successful, somebody along the line gave you some help. There was a great teacher somewhere in your life. Somebody helped to create this unbelievable American system that we have that allowed you to thrive. Somebody invested in roads and bridges.
OK, I mentioned teachers, too — although Obama does not differentiate between those in public schools or, like his own daughters’ teachers and his own college professors, those in private schools. (I’m a public-schools product myself.) And it has become routine for Obama to harp on the roads and bridges as if that’s necessarily something the federal government must or should be involved in.
But that wasn’t enough for Obama. As the saying goes, he went there:
If you’ve got a business — you didn’t build that. Somebody else made that happen. The Internet didn’t get invented on its own. Government research created the Internet so that all the companies could make money off the Internet.
Now, if you’re expecting me to slam Obama for that comment — and the idea that government’s role in the creation of the Internet means every online entrepreneur should get down on his knees and thank government, or gladly hand over whatever amount of her profits government thinks she owes it — you’re going to be disappointed today.
Nope, my question is: Where’s mine?
If “somebody else” is going around building these businesses for people, when do “they” make it to me? I’d love for “somebody else” come “make that happen” for me. I mean, a business doesn’t “get [started] on its own!”
So … when should I expect “somebody” to call and make the appointment for handing off this new business, Mr. President?
– By Kyle Wingfield
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383 comments Add your comment
Tiberius - pulling the tail of the left AND right when needed
July 17th, 2012
11:22 am
Yo, Bada! Welcome to the Adult Table!
Don’t be a stranger!
Rafe Hollister, suffering through Oblamer's ineptocracy
July 17th, 2012
11:24 am
Government has nothing to give, that it doesn’t first take from someone else.
(Wordsmithing Tiberius, great post above.)
MarkV
July 17th, 2012
11:26 am
md @10:52 am
“Too funny…..now common sense makes assumptions that “Most people who start business have not paid for the roads they drive on.””
You show your lack of common sense to doubt that. Most people starting business are young people. Most of the roads they drive on have been paid by past generations. Most of their contribution occurs after their business becomes prosperous.
Many people who do not start or have business also pay for the roads, but again, the vast majority of any payment for infrastructure we use have been paid for by past generations, while we are paying mostly for what the future generations will use.
JDW
July 17th, 2012
11:26 am
@John Dewey…”Anyone who has started his own small business knows full well that government is not a partner.”
I would say that attitude is simply false. I have started, run and continue to run several businesses. All of which viewed the government(s) as a resource and in the large majority of cases a very large customer. Are there tradeoffs in regulations and procedures sure, but as a businessman that understands that this world isn’t “all about me” I choose to do my duty and not be a naysayer. Now there are occasions that I take exception to a policy and in those cases I work within the system to accomplish change.
MarkV
July 17th, 2012
11:26 am
Dusty @11:09 am
You can write as much opinion as you want, but you should not call it a reply to my posts. Statistics are not the only way to make arguments, which is what I write, unlike you.
1961_Xer
July 17th, 2012
11:33 am
If the business is a factory, has the owner brought the bricks, wood etc. and erected the buildings? Did he put together the machines – perhaps mined the ore, smelted the metals, machined them? Does he work in it by himself?
The answer is obvious: he works in it by himself. If he did not put up the money (BY HIMSELF) to build the factory and pay workers, nobody would have shown up with mined ore, smelted metals, and machined them. Obama gives credit to people who have no skin in the game. The show up, get paid a fair wage, and leave. If the factory goes bankrupt, the man who put up the money for it goes bankrupt. The people who built the factory still have their wages for doing so. They had no skin in the game (risk) and lost nothing. Thus, the man who put up the money for for the factory DID IT HIMSELF.
Rafe Hollister, suffering through Oblamer's ineptocracy
July 17th, 2012
11:34 am
MarkV
I’m used to not understanding your posts, don’t speak the same language, but what the heck are you saying at 11:26. Gibberish?
Tiberius - pulling the tail of the left AND right when needed
July 17th, 2012
11:37 am
“All of which viewed the government(s) as a resource and in the large majority of cases a very large customer.”
Always thought you were a leech on the public dole, JDW.
“I choose to do my duty and not be a naysayer.”
Strange, but when I grew up, we were taught to always QUESTION government. Being a naysayer as regards government IS the duty of being an American.
Been there
July 17th, 2012
11:39 am
I demand to see Cheesy Grits Birth Certificate- Long Form Please “I don’t know of anyone who chooses to be poor”. You see there’s the truly poor people and then there’s the so-called poor people . . you know the ones who for them it is far easier to live off the government and take free handouts (those are the first in line at every give-a-way for the poor) and yet they have big screen tvs, cell phones, etc. and get their hair and nails done. Now those are the ones who have chosen to be “poor” . . . ask liberals what is your definition of a poor person? I would like to know. They throw that word around like those who throw the word “racist” around. It has become almost meaningless. I grew up poor; I know what being poor means and because I had a desire to do better for myself, I went to work right out of high school and have worked all my life. I have a better life today becaues I made a choice to do better.
Rafe Hollister, suffering through Oblamer's ineptocracy
July 17th, 2012
11:41 am
Roads, ports, airports, schools, and government are all available in Haiti as well. You would think they would have many successful businesses building off all the “largess” provided.
md
July 17th, 2012
11:42 am
“Most all competitive firms outsource jobs, get used to it. Until we lower the corporate tax rate to become more competitive, money will remain overseas and untaxed.”
Unfortunately, it seems most of the dem contingent in congress has no idea how business works either as they refuse to pass legislation that would allow that money to come home. They want the all or nothing again, and we are getting the nothing. They can’t grasp the simple concept of bringing it home even at 0% would boost taxes by allowing that capital to circulate in OUR system.
Much like those that keep complaining about States making deals to lure corps within their borders.
Hello people, those corps don’t come in then the net effect is a big fat 0………
@@
July 17th, 2012
11:44 am
This outsourcing thing needs to be put to rest.
AMEN!
The difference between Obama’s outsourcing and Bain’s is that Obama’s was done with MY money, YOUR money.
I wasn’t looking to invest in green energy.
Rafe Hollister, suffering through Oblamer's ineptocracy
July 17th, 2012
11:47 am
@@
Good point, investing corporate money overseas is much less egregious than investing taxpayer dollars.
md
July 17th, 2012
11:50 am
“You show your lack of common sense to doubt that. Most people starting business are young people. Most of the roads they drive on have been paid by past generations. Most of their contribution occurs after their business becomes prosperous. ”
And you show your knack for assuming with even more assuming…..again, too funny.
Do you have links for all those assumptions as well?? Most starting businesses are young? That common sense you mentioned earlier dictates otherwise, as the “young” have yet to acquire the resources and needed capital to do their own thing……….
po
July 17th, 2012
11:57 am
Mr. Wingfield – John Galt is a fictional character. Outside of fiction, most business people can thank the government for the internet – which, coincidently, allows anyone to read your views. If readers see it in print, well thank goodness someone decided that public roads were a good thing. And, you know, those pesky laws that protect copyrights (not to mention patents and trademarks) – you’re aware of them – well, the court system, funded by taxpayers – allows those laws to have teeth. Now back to Fox
MarkV
July 17th, 2012
11:59 am
Rafe Hollister, @11:34 am
As I told you before, I can’t help your inability to comprehend thoughts. Perhaps you can try professional help.
md
July 17th, 2012
12:03 pm
“most business people can thank the government for the internet”
And the really bizarre fact…..ALL gov’t can thank business for it’s very existence………..
Goes back to the fact that business can exist without gov’t, but gov’t can not exist without business…..in a capitalistic system.
@@
July 17th, 2012
12:12 pm
Reminds me of that age old question—”What came first, the chicken or the egg?”
Government was born of the people, not the other way around.
Tiberius - pulling the tail of the left AND right when needed
July 17th, 2012
12:19 pm
You can tell when MarkV is losing his argument.
He starts losing his cool . . .
snoqualmiefalls
July 17th, 2012
12:21 pm
I see TBan disagrees, no surprise here, but I do have to wonder, when Newt was representing his district, why was that district the main beneficary of government largess/handouts and why didn’t anyone complain at that time about all the Federal government monies going there. If the TBan can expalin that I would be happy to hear him out, otherwise stay at the kiddie table with the Tea people.
melshop
July 17th, 2012
12:26 pm
My grandfather started two restaurants without any government loans or help. They were successful. He then helped, with advice and money, two other Greek men start businesses. My dad started his own computer business when he was laid off in the ’70s. No government help. In fact, he had to fight all kinds of regulations, but he made it work. I have had a career as a reporter. Put myself through college working three part-time jobs, taking on a full load, and working summers. Did have a small $5,000 student loan from the feds, but paid it back with interest. It was not a government favor. It was a business transaction. If that loan hadn’t been there, I would have found another way. I still would have gone to college. My husband and I started a business, again with no help from the government. In fact, if I listed all the regulations and taxes we have to pay (whether we have money coming in or not), it would make anyone wonder how we survive. We had two frivolous lawsuits our first year, a lot of government red tape and constantly changing rules and regulations. We fought through that all on our own at great expense. The government has tried to penalize us up to $2,000 for late tax filing when we owed nothing – we had no money to pay a CPA to do our taxes at the time and our extension had run out. In short, the government had done absolutely nothing to build our business. In fact, it would have destroyed it. We did find help in non-profit groups, researching mentorship programs, calling our congressmen and basically fighting like hell. We stayed up all night to finish our work for the next day. We used our savings to support our business. We are the ones who worried. We are the ones who got out there, found clients, sold them on us and worked to keep them. So, no Mr. Obama, someone else didn’t build our business. We did.
BS Aplenty
July 17th, 2012
12:26 pm
At some point in time, intelligent people acknowledge that all men are created equal under the law but not in fact. We are not all capable of getting a Ph.D. in Physics or an M.D. or a J.D. and there’s more than a few who are incapable of getting a high school diploma. Other people can’t hardly nail two boards together, rebuild an aircraft engine or grow cucumbers. And then there are those people who can sell ice to an Eskimo, persuasively speak to large crowds, pick up a musical instrument and play, write a symphony or who can perform a 360 degree slam-dunk with a basketball. You only have to be minimally observant to see these facts.
Unfortunately, when you have a President who cannot accept that people are different in their God-given talents, then it’s clear why he cannot lead this country (or a shoe store) out of the economic malaise we’re in.
Memo to the People – Time to fire the President and get the leadership we need.
necessary to create products and services and sell them and manage employees is absolutely not given to everyone,
Tiberius - pulling the tail of the left AND right when needed
July 17th, 2012
12:29 pm
snoqualmiefalls, I suggest you re-read Kyle’s new rules before posting in the manner in which you just did.
Not that I’d hate to see you banned . . .
Rules 1 and 2 (especially 2) apply to you and your last post to me.
1. Anyone who comes onto the blog with personal attacks and little to nothing of substance to say will be banned permanently.
2. Anyone who refers to another commenter by anything other than the handle the latter uses will receive a ban of at least one week.
Dusty
July 17th, 2012
12:30 pm
MarkV
I beg your pardon. I did not realize I had approached your throne unjustly. From now on, I shall refrain from illegal comments on your edicts. You shall have happiness in your kingdom of the left from this freedom loving trespasser..
I salute you as the mighty mentor of government control. But I wonder, do they let you out to wander the streets alone? . .
MarkV
July 17th, 2012
12:33 pm
Dusty @12:30 pm
You sound so cute when you are trying to be sarcastic.
jms
July 17th, 2012
12:33 pm
Hard to believe we made him president
Tiberius - pulling the tail of the left AND right when needed
July 17th, 2012
12:34 pm
I think Dusty is cute all the time.
And I’ve never met her.
Dusty
July 17th, 2012
12:41 pm
Thank you, Tiberius. I aint met you neither. But the good feeling is mutual..
jms
July 17th, 2012
12:43 pm
Everyone benefits from our public assets. The homeless guy living under the bridge had a great teacher somewhere along the way. The middle class Facebook and shop online and use the roads to drive to the beach. The poor use heavily subsidized public transit. The question is whether their responsibility to pay for all our public goodies are any less than the successful business person.
@@
July 17th, 2012
12:46 pm
Dusty:
Sometimes I’ll read your posts to my husband. He always smiles and says “That’s my Dusty!”
Tell me…have you and my husband ever met?
(IW&SH)
Lil' Barry Bailout (Revised Downward)
July 17th, 2012
12:48 pm
Those roads you libtards keep harping on weren’t built by government. They were built by Caterpillar who made the heavy equipment, by the quarries that mined and crushed the stone, and by the oil companies and refiners who made the tar for the asphalt. Obozo wants to give government the credit for something built by others.
Rafe Hollister, suffering through Oblamer's ineptocracy
July 17th, 2012
12:51 pm
Dusty
You are cute, I can tell, but tell me, do I need professional help or did you not understand MarkV @11:26 as well? If you tell me you understood what he was saying about how to reply to his post, I’ll be off to the nearest government office of professional help.
I don’t know whether to seek help or stay at home waiting on that gov guy, who promised to stop by today and build me a business.
Dusty
July 17th, 2012
12:53 pm
@@
I haven’t had the privilege of meeting your husband, you lucky girl. But I can’t help but appreciate his good taste in many things!!! Best wishes to you and you know who!
Rafe Hollister, suffering through Oblamer's ineptocracy
July 17th, 2012
12:57 pm
jms
Yes, indeed, kinda like the old Biblical parable about the talents. According to Obama, the guy who went forth and increased his talents, was no less virtuous than the guy who buried his, because he would not have a talent to begin with had it not been for God (later supplanted by Government).
Rafe Hollister, suffering through Oblamer's ineptocracy
July 17th, 2012
12:59 pm
should be no more virtuous.
Hillbilly D
July 17th, 2012
1:00 pm
Sons of Confederate Veterans.
Dusty
July 17th, 2012
1:08 pm
Dear Rafe,
Do you need professional help? Don’t we all!! But….if you can decipher far left natterings, then there is no hope! Reason has departed. You, sir, are sound by all measure!
ByteMe
July 17th, 2012
1:20 pm
If you’ve got a business — you didn’t build that. Somebody else made that happen.
So what’s the pronoun “that” referring to, Kyle? The business? Nope, that’s not what he said.
Here’s the full quote all together, so that everyone can see you made this crap up:
If you were successful, somebody along the line gave you some help. There was a great teacher somewhere in your life. Somebody helped to create this unbelievable American system that we have that allowed you to thrive. Somebody invested in roads and bridges. If you’ve got a business, you didn’t build that. Somebody else made that happen. The Internet didn’t get invented on its own. Government research created the Internet so that all the companies could make money off the Internet.
The point is, is that when we succeed, we succeed because of our individual initiative, but also because we do things together.
So “that” turns out to be roads, bridges, infrastructure. All necessary for a business to succeed. All paid for by the tax dollars provided by everyone.
#DISHONEST
JDW
July 17th, 2012
1:29 pm
@Tiberuis…”Always thought you were a leech on the public dole, JDW”
Interesting as I have never gotten a paycheck from the government…just company revenue in return for value. You can’t answer the same to the paycheck statement and I am quite sure that you have provided no value.
md
July 17th, 2012
1:32 pm
“Somebody invested in roads and bridges. If you’ve got a business, you didn’t build that”
It’s not at all clear that he was referring to “roads and bridges”, but let’s assume for a minute that he was……..if that’s the case, those businesses actually paid for those roads and bridges…..so he’s still wrong…………
Tiberius - pulling the tail of the left AND right when needed
July 17th, 2012
1:36 pm
JDW, I just find it very interesting that the amount of devotion to government increases when someone makes their living off of it, while the level of disdain increases for government when you actually work IN it.
“and I am quite sure that you have provided no value”
My medals and ribbons places your statement in the “I don’t know jack —-” column, JDW.
MarkV
July 17th, 2012
1:37 pm
ByteMe @ 1:20 pm
See my post @7:49 am. And I do not mind; even appreciate your making the point also. It should be repeated, because Kyle has not deigned to respond.
Lil' Barry Bailout (Revised Downward)
July 17th, 2012
1:41 pm
Obozo’s aim on his gaffe-filled speech was to minimize the importance of free market capitalism and maximize the importance of government. It’s as simple as that.
If you like government, welfare, handouts, and getting even with folks who’ve had it top good for too long, you’re applauding his speech. If you work for a living, you’re counting the days until you get to Vote American.
Rafe Hollister, suffering through Oblamer's ineptocracy
July 17th, 2012
1:43 pm
Most everyone in America reads what Obama said one way, and Byteme and MarkV read it differently. Surprising? Not quite.
Dusty
July 17th, 2012
1:43 pm
Awww Byte Me…before I go to lunch,
Do you know there was TRADE before there were roads, bridges and infrastructure? TRADE was the BUSINESS of acquiring the support you needed. An early example: ” I will trade you two fine clay pots for your deer skin moccasins”. It was business, a primitive instinct to survive.
Business came long before the advantages of roads, bridges, and infratructure and the mammoth world of present day exchanges. Sure, all those things are necessary now but business came long before that level arrived. Business came first and independently.
# HONEST.
MarkV
July 17th, 2012
1:44 pm
Some people are incapable of understanding that “building something,” and possibly (not necessarily) paying a miniscule amount of money for that purpose are two very different things.
Rafe Hollister, suffering through Oblamer's ineptocracy
July 17th, 2012
1:45 pm
LBB
I see where John Sununu is channeling you, he advised Obama to try the American economic way for a change.
Lil' Barry Bailout (Revised Downward)
July 17th, 2012
1:46 pm
Government didn’t build the roads. Taxpayers built the roads.
Lil' Barry Bailout (Revised Downward)
July 17th, 2012
1:47 pm
That Sununu is one smart guy. I’ll have to look for his commentary.
MarkV
July 17th, 2012
1:49 pm
“Most everyone in America reads what Obama said one way, and Byteme and MarkV read it differently. Surprising? Not quite.” (Rafe Hollister,@1:43 pm)
I suppose I might imitate md and ask Rafe for a link or how he knows how “most everyone in America” reads what Obama said.