Much has been made of President Obama’s “you didn’t build that” remark.
I beg to differ Mr. President, it’s true that most people in this country didn’t physically build the roads, bridges and infrastructure.
I think you have missed the point, we didn’t build it ourselves, but we paid for it.
Government doesn’t create money out of thin air, all the money for those roads, bridges and infrastructure was paid for with our taxes!
So Mr. President, we may not have built it, but we paid for it!
Steve Lanz
Nisswa
Comments (4)
Add commentAre you arguing for or against the president?
Aren't you saying exactly what the president said, which is that we, all of us, pay the taxes that fund highways, bridges, infrastructure and so much more? Businesses don't do that themselves, we all contribute. It's what the president called "this great American system we have that allowed you to thrive," and we're all part of that system.
Our tax dollars provide loans for small businesses, research that benefits business in myriad ways and an economy that provides the customers who keep those businesses thriving. How about the farm program? Hydroelectric dams that generate electricity? Disaster assistance? Flood insurance? Aid to schools? The technology developed through the space program? Aid to states? GI loans and college loans that helped many businessmen get the training necessary to be successful? That that's to say nothing of the millions of brave men and women who sacrificed in time of war to defend our great American system. Businesses didn't do that all by themselves, the government programs that provide those and countless other services are funded by all of us through our tax dollars.
We know about tax dollars
Most people that pay taxes know where they go, which is why we get upset about waste.
All this is established knowledge and doesn't need to be pushed into the small business owners face.
In fact, reading your list, is a reminder of how many programs there are and how many government employees there are.
But there is room for improvement in the government system.
"You didn't build that" was a dumb thing to say and supposedly, it was off teleprompter or off script. You can't go back and change what was said so, we get to interpret it.
Think deeper
Most people have access to the taxpayer funded opportunties you listed. I can't say "all" but, hopefully you get the picture.
Everything being even with these opportunties you listed, how do businesses start and thrive? Who does that?
If you're going to interpret his remarks ...
...then interpret what he actually said, which is: "...somebody invested in roads and bridges; if you've got a business, you didn't built that, somebody else made that happen. The internet didn't get invented on its own..."
Taken out of context, his comments sound pretty damning, which is why it's such a bad idea to take things out of context. The president never said people didn't build their own businesses, what he said is that businessmen get a lot of help along the way from teachers and workers and, yes, from the government as part of the "great American system." What a shame that so many people no longer believe in the great American system.