So You Still Think Obama isn't a Socialist?

“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,” he said. “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 problem with statements like this is that you have to then ask -- OK, well what portion is more greatly responsible for success -- the individual's effort? The government's help?

Let's put it this way -- if whether a person succeeds or fails was more influenced by the government's help than by the individual's own effort, wouldn't you expect to see, on the whole, equal levels of success across society? I mean everyone has access to roads. Everyone has access to a public education. Despite that, we know that overall success is in fact not equally or even remotely equal. 

The President is probably right that everyone who is successful didn't get their wholly on their own -- by virtue of the fact that you are a citizen of the USA, you have certain things available to you like roads and a public education. That being said, to borrow a sports analogy, hard work beats talent when talent refuses to work hard. 

I do disagree with him 100% that people with successful business have it because someone else made it happen. I tend to think he probably mis-spoke when he said this and is likely regretting it now. Its a really bad quote.

“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,” he said. “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 problem with statements like this is that you have to then ask -- OK, well what portion is more greatly responsible for success -- the individual's effort? The government's help?

Let's put it this way -- if whether a person succeeds or fails was more influenced by the government's help than by the individual's own effort, wouldn't you expect to see, on the whole, equal levels of success across society? I mean everyone has access to roads. Everyone has access to a public education. Despite that, we know that overall success is in fact not equally or even remotely equal. 

The President is probably right that everyone who is successful didn't get their wholly on their own -- by virtue of the fact that you are a citizen of the USA, you have certain things available to you like roads and a public education. That being said, to borrow a sports analogy, hard work beats talent when talent refuses to work hard. 

I do disagree with him 100% that people with successful business have it because someone else made it happen. I tend to think he probably mis-spoke when he said this and is likely regretting it now. Its a really bad quote.