President Obama: ‘If You’ve Got a Business — You Didn’t Build That. Somebody Else Made That

Originally posted by 1loserel2
reply to post by MidnightTide

 

I agree with the the OP and the first two posts, haven't had a chance to read everyone's opinion yet.

I think we are royally screwed, because I think even though Romney's a self-made man, I think after his passage of Romneycare in Mass. and who knows what other baggage he has connected to him that may or may not necessarily of his own making, the MSM will find it, and bring it to our attention I'm sure. so, I don't think he was the best choice either.

I always think when a certain newsation shows the caption, your voice your choice. Since when?

I don't believe in either party anymore. However, I do lean more libertarian.

I what parallel universe is Romney a self made man?? Bain was given to him with no risk at all attached. It wasn't even his money.

Things go your way when your daddy is the CEO of a car company and the Gov of Michigan.

Looking at the two men Obama is way more self made than Romney even pretends to be.

Originally posted by jude11

He does more than wash dishes.

He anticipates the needs of the bakers and knows what we need before we do sometimes.

If I finish cinnabuns and go for a smoke I come back and the mixer and hooks are cleaned, the table is washed and ready for biscuits. If I mix a batch of bread and need to wait on a customer, I come back and he's weighing the loaves for the pans.

So as a dishwasher, he's ok but as a right hand...invaluable.

And that's how we all keep our livelihoods.

Peace

So after writing this, do you still stand by your original statement?

Well I could use some help with my bakery but I don't see any politicians coming in to wash pots and pans for me.

Nope...I DO THAT.

I think it's mostly unsuccessful people who will agree with Obama

People are thinking "hey i'm smart, I work kinda hard but i'm not succesful, why are you?, Obama must be right"

Currently I am successful, did people help me out?
Yes a few individuals helped me out ONLY BECAUSE I HELP MYSELF OUT

They saw I was hard working

How bout this anyone who thinks that Obama and Romney are really that different and aren't out for just about the same policies is a moron.

Originally posted by RealSpoke
Regardless of whoever you are, society has helped you in one way or another. I have been greatly helped by highways, postal service, public schooling, community college, libraries, paved roads, public parks, and a million other things. Certain individualistic rhetoric wants you to forget this...people with common sense can see through it though.

A business would be nothing without it's customers

edit on 14-7-2012 by RealSpoke because: (no reason given)

That isn't government which he treats as a separately, a rock that exists, when its an employee hired in trust and an extension of the people.

Its People, who do it.

I've always said that, no one is an island. The scientist does not work for a corporation, he works for humanity, and there should no patents or copyrights, no elite special club of rulers, no pyramids.

There is no divine king. The one who feeds you, paves your roads, deliveries your baby and educates or minds your child is EQUAL in every way and if everyone was 1 thing, then we wouldn't have a society or civilization would we. The grass roots jobs, ie. the farmer, the child care worker even if they're MOM, and the educator and doctor are not only EQUALLY important, but they are the most important. Aside from home construction. Those ABC's, 123's are something I knew since childhood and spoke up about to all the red necks in our school.

Our system is slavery, but I don't want a single one of them anywhere near us, for their system is ALSO SLAVERY and its MURDER INCORPORATED AS WELL.

he is projecting his own experience onto everyone else, because he sure as hell isn't worthy of his fame, power or money...

reply to post by stanguilles7


Wow!!! I find it incredulous that ATS readers think the government built--supplied--helped with anything. The gov did not build the roads. Private companies did with money from free enterprise. "The government never ever produced anything-only drained from the productive. Some service provided have been useful. like defense of us as a collective etc.

Money from taxation is the only way gov.. can do anything. That originally came...awww what the heck. I see why we are now in the shape we are. Big government=great evil. small government= basic provide for defense-promote the general welfare-and leave the people who really provide for everything the government has, alone to produce.

Originally posted by ModernAcademia
I think it's mostly unsuccessful people who will agree with Obama

People are thinking "hey i'm smart, I work kinda hard but i'm not succesful, why are you?, Obama must be right"

Currently I am successful, did people help me out?
Yes a few individuals helped me out ONLY BECAUSE I HELP MYSELF OUT

They saw I was hard working

Because there are no people who work hard that aren't successful? Like say day laborers? The underclass is often a result of lack of opportunities, contacts, and just plain bad luck (whether it be genetic or environmental). There's no reason the rest of the world should help to subsidize other people's success. Especially when those who have the advantage often have all of the advantages and those who have a disadvantage have all of the disadvantages. The top 1% (i.e. multi-hectomillionaires and billionaires not most business owners) are a special interest group and a small one at that. What's fair will always be subjective. Until we come to a point where everyone agrees what's "just for all" someone will have to suffer and carry the extra load. Shouldn't those of us who have been given an advantage help do some of the heavy lifting? Or is that too much hard work?

reply to post by ModernAcademia

I think it's mostly unsuccessful people who will agree with Obama

Just more arrogance from the right.


It is hilarious that it is so foreign to some people that others don't think they are better than everyone else.


I'm pretty damn successful...but I couldn't be successful today without millions of other people before me doing what they did.

For anyone to think "I'm super successful and it's all because I am the most awesome person in the world" is just moronic and self-centered arrogance.

Maybe it was speaking in the rain that threw his cadence off, but I think it is perfectly clear what he meant by "you didn't build that". He was referring to the society and infrastructure that we all use to assure our businesses succeed.

If we all behaved like some of these billionaire tyrants gaming the system, we would have nothing but anarchy. Try and see how successful your business would be in that environment.

We used to take a stand against monopolies and robber barons. "Trust-busters", Teddy Roosevelt called it.

Teddy Roosevelt was one American who believed a revolution was coming.

He believed Wall Street financiers and powerful trust titans to be acting foolishly. While they were eating off fancy china on mahogany tables in marble dining rooms, the masses were roughing it. There seemed to be no limit to greed. If docking wages would increase profits, it was done. If higher railroad rates put more gold in their coffers, it was done. How much was enough, Roosevelt wondered?
The Sherman Anti-Trust Act

Although he himself was a man of means, he criticized the wealthy class of Americans on two counts. First, continued exploitation of the public could result in a violent uprising that could destroy the whole system. Second, the captains of industry were arrogant enough to believe themselves superior to the elected government. Now that he was President, Roosevelt went on the attack. (source)

We're right back where we were in 1890. "Wall Street financiers and powerful trust titans" are back in charge and used their monied influence to corrupt government to their will. The wealthiest 1% in this country are enjoying record breaking profits, yet here we are, all of us, worrying about how to keep them in profit and wealth, while 99% of this country slides further into poverty. The country bleeds jobs so outsourcing captains of industry can keep making bank chasing after profits and those at the top have gamed the system so they can avoid paying into the system that allows them to thrive so well.

This new breed of corporatism makes the trust titans and robber barons of the 1890's look like pikers. Both parties are corrupted by it, although the Republicans have become almost unilaterally aligned with the money (where are the old-guard Republicans?)

What Obama said was perfectly true. Read it in the context he said it in, and not the out-of-context version stripped out of the sentence.

reply to post by ModernAcademia

People are thinking "hey i'm smart, I work kinda hard but i'm not succesful, why are you?, Obama must be right"

If people are saying that I have yet to see one. Rather, if they did read Obamas speech and came away with that conclusion then they are missing his point.

Currently I am successful, did people help me out? Yes a few individuals helped me out ONLY BECAUSE I HELP MYSELF OUT

Then you and Obama are more similar than you care to admit. In fact, in that speech he pretty much says the same exact thing. Did you even read it?

Originally posted by Blackmarketeer

What Obama said was perfectly true.

No, its rather a giant lie.

In the beginning there was no Government.
The Government was created by the people, intended for the people.

The Government, then proceeded to strip the power away from the people,
and it will continue to do so until everyone has become its slave.

The government is all to willing to take credit for things built on the back of slaves!

North America's four major rail networks — Norfolk Southern, CSX, Union
Pacific and Canadian National — all own lines that were built and operated with slave labor.

Historians say nearly every rail line built east of the Mississippi River and south of the Mason-Dixonline before the Civil War was constructed or run at least partly by slaves. www.usatoday.com...

Yes, so lets talk about who created the infastructure now?

Originally posted by Blackmarketeer


If we all behaved like some of these billionaire tyrants gaming the system, we would have nothing but anarchy. Try and see how successful your business would be in that environment....

Please define success.

Thank you.

reply to post by MidnightTide


It's true that you do get help along the way. The government in this country has always been willing to help potential business owners with low interest loans. I can see what he's saying in that respect. Not everyone has always had that luxory.

It's also true that getting your foot in the right door and impressing the right people makes all the difference. A little bit of luck goes a long ways also. He's also right that there are many hard working people that for whatever reason are not wildly sucessful. I agree with him.

When those made men and women fall from grace, they have a hard time getting back up because they didn't get where they are because they were super awesome.

They leave the country or blow their brains out because if you live by the sword, you die by the sword. Meaning if you make more money than is reasonable in 5 years, you'll probably eventually lose more money than you thought possible even faster.

Originally posted by dakota1s2
reply to post by stanguilles7

 

Wow!!! I find it incredulous that ATS readers think the government built--supplied--helped with anything. The gov did not build the roads. Private companies did with money from free enterprise. "The government never ever produced anything-only drained from the productive. Some service provided have been useful. like defense of us as a collective etc.

Money from taxation is the only way gov.. can do anything. That originally came...awww what the heck. I see why we are now in the shape we are. Big government=great evil. small government= basic provide for defense-promote the general welfare-and leave the people who really provide for everything the government has, alone to produce.

really? free enterprise built the highway system that makes it free for any citizen to travel from coast to coast?
free enterprise builds ONLY when it profits from it...free enterprise constantly works to CUT LABOR, not create jobs. profits are all important, even when it harms people, this isn't speculation, or opinion, it's history.
a representative government was created to control the excesses of wealth. for centuries, the wealthy few controlled every aspect of the way the masses lived, whether it was through a king, a dictator, a monarch, a royal family, regional warlords, family dynasties,...etc.

reply to post by burntheships

Yes, so lets talk about who created the infastructure now?

Okay we can talk, I guess?

While I acknowledge that slaves did have a big role in the foundation of the infrastructure, its far too outlandish to claim that others didn't play the part as well. After all, we did have those silly Founding Fathers of ours. Technically, that is if you wish to get technical, they are the ones who started it. Slaves did snowball it though, I suppose.

That whole point about slaves is moot anyway since it falls within the scope of Obama speech. If you really think about it, you agree with Obama!

Congratulations!

Originally posted by OutKast Searcher
reply to post by ModernAcademia

 

I think it's mostly unsuccessful people who will agree with Obama

Just more arrogance from the right.


It is hilarious that it is so foreign to some people that others don't think they are better than everyone else.


I'm pretty damn successful...but I couldn't be successful today without millions of other people before me doing what they did.

For anyone to think "I'm super successful and it's all because I am the most awesome person in the world" is just moronic and self-centered arrogance.

Just more arrogance from the left.

The individual is nothing, you are unable to do anything unless the government helps you.

You talk about arrogance, but it appears that you suffer the same affliction.....and let me guess, we couldn't be successful without illegal immigrants?

reply to post by MidnightTide

The individual is nothing, you are unable to do anything unless the government helps you.

Nice straw man! Let me try.

The individual is everything, screw every other human.

I see now why you find this so fun.

reply to post by Blackmarketeer


you have a good point and i read it that way also although i must add i'm not an obama supporter i believe his message was meant for big corporations and not the thousands of small businesses across our great land.

this is why i wrote what i did because i'm curious why he is distancing himself from the very people who gave him the money to be who he is today. perhaps it's the banking scandal coming down the pipe line...

Originally posted by MidnightTide

Originally posted by OutKast Searcher
reply to post by ModernAcademia

 

I think it's mostly unsuccessful people who will agree with Obama

Just more arrogance from the right.


It is hilarious that it is so foreign to some people that others don't think they are better than everyone else.


I'm pretty damn successful...but I couldn't be successful today without millions of other people before me doing what they did.

For anyone to think "I'm super successful and it's all because I am the most awesome person in the world" is just moronic and self-centered arrogance.

Just more arrogance from the left.

The individual is nothing, you are unable to do anything unless the government helps you.

You talk about arrogance, but it appears that you suffer the same affliction.....and let me guess, we couldn't be successful without illegal immigrants?

are you unable to read the words he said in his speech? is that why you just make stuff up? do you let others interpret the meanings of word-stringed sentences or their structure? were you able to take english courses in school? what you said in the reply above, has absolutely nothing to do with what Obama said.