There has been a poorly thought out argument used by the Left for years. So ridiculous is this train of thought that only the weakest among my Socialist leaning friends would use it, and then only once. The argument is that you are successful because of someone else. In other words, you owe “the government” for your accomplishments.
Well… Our President has now trotted out this inane assertion:
“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.”
Before I go any further, read that again because it truly illustrates the deep chasm that separates my ideological camp from his.
What the President of the United States is saying is that Government helped you and you must give “them” credit.
So what’s wrong with that? He forgets that WE are the government.
We decide where those bridges go and how they are paid for.
We decide the future of the internet through our choices such as “dial-up” or “broadband” and pay accordingly.
We build the wealth the government bureaucrats feed their families on.
The “successful” pay over 80% of the taxes that pay for those bridges (Used by the 49% who pay NO taxes! I’ll start holding my breath for the Thank You cards.). I say “over” because this doesn’t calculate the additional taxes, fee’s and licenses associated with running a business like those required for trucks, equipment, manufacturing permits or the simple “luxury” of opening your doors. It doesn’t take into account the wages you pay your employees that the government then dips their fingers into in the form of income tax. It doesn’t take into account the increased efficiency that products we provide like cell phones, groceries and fast food provide us so that we have more time to create wealth that the government then takes from us to “create” the internet or undercut insurance companies with the goal of putting them all out of business!
His argument is completely backwards. It is the Socialist view of the world. It is Wrong in every way. It is sophomoric, stupid and utter nonsense.
It is “The Government” that should be thanking us, the producers of wealth, that they have the money to build bridges and “create” the internet. (The internet was a DARPA program designed to facilitate easy information flow between Academics working on Defense projects. Last time I checked my pocket Constitution “Defense” was in there. It was not a “gift”. It was paid for by individuals like us.)
“The Government” should be thanking each and every Individual who took the risk and reached for the American Dream which provides the largess for people like our President and his ilk to continue making irresponsible spending decisions.
Make no mistake… these are very different ways of looking at the world. The difference is that my view is correct and his is horribly wrong.
Socialism has proven itself to be a disastrous governing theory. The oppression, destruction and death of this collective mindset is well documented and is, unfortunately, still being demonstrated around the world. It relies on the idea that the individual is the enemy, self-interest can be defeated and government is the fountain of all things positive. Every attempt at creating the Socialist Utopia has proven the opposite… The Individual is the engine of wealth, self-interest will always be present especially in politicians and government is force. The only question my camp has is how much of these negatives are we willing to tolerate in order to maintain a civilized society. (AKA limited government.)
The fact that anyone clapped after President Obama uttered these words should make us all collectively throw up.
It’s early… but I need a drink.
An aside: There is another stupid argument out there regarding the latest forest fires… it’s the “I bet you like BIG GOVERNMENT NOW!” argument. These no-nothings spouting such mindless babble should be reminded that it is the Big Government by means of the Forest Service and our National Parks (Federally owned land) that set the stage for these catastrophes by not allowing citizen to thin the forests. This has been policy for about the last 10-20 years and when they were set in place all those in opposition were dismissed as doomsayers. The Forest Service “patiently explained” to all of those opposition groups that thinning would be handled by the government along with controlled burns via “smarter” management techniques. Whoops…
So, no. I still do not see how a government policy creating a problem which they then must fix lends credibility to the Socialist paradigm. But, this passes for reason on the Left.
makeaneffort 