Obama redux; on owing it all to the state

The message from Obama to the business community about not really making it on their own and how they owe it all to the state has gone down like a lead balloon only faster.
It would be charitable to suggest that it was an aberration on his part or the currently popular ‘misspeak’ on his behalf, but given his record of belief that the state is the source of all that is good in society it is reasonable to think he really believes it.

Since covering it here a couple of days ago a number of other sites have dealt with it, and are worth a look.

For a little satire to highlight the absurdity of the statement; “You Didn’t Build That,” has a couple of pages of appropriate images in the vein of that on the left.

Clifford Thies, Professor of Economics at Shenandoah University says at Libertarian Republican:

If his recent speech in Roanoke, Virginia, Obama stated yet again, the neo-Marxist progressive philosophy. We who think we are successful owe everything to the government. Hence, the government can justly take from us what rightfully belongs to it and redistribute it as it pleases. This is called "giving back," because what we think we own, we actually got from the government in the first place.

Heresy is often the over-emphasis of part of the truth. The traditional Judeo-Christian faith tells us that we are both individuals and members of communities (including society, but also including other communities such as family, business associations, and charitable and fraternal organizations). Obama in spouting the neo-Marxist, progressive nostrum that we actually are NOT individuals, is a heretic and is to be condemned along with the anarchist who argues that we are ONLY individuals. …

Left Coast Rebel states:

Collectivist president claims nobody is successful on their own. True, in our world of specialization, nobody does everything alone. For example, Bill Gates in building Microsoft, had to buy pencils - Microsoft didn't invent and create their own pencils and pens, and office furniture. But to claim that the Pilot pen company had a hand in Windows development is a stretch. Did the workers at Microsoft contribute though?

Certainly. But they were paid for their work. The vision, the drive, the true energy was from the founder. …

Amy Page from the Heritage Foundation:

That sound you hear is silence—as millions of small business owners and entrepreneurs were left speechless this weekend from President Obama’s latest insult. The slap in the face to hard-working Americans conveyed Obama’s belief that it takes a village—a heavily subsidized village—to create that venture you’re profiting from. …

Newsmax has a roundup on the issue:

And Wayne Root has presented his views on the ‘help’ he has received:

… I think it’s now safe to say Obama has come out of the closet. Either he’s a Marxist hell bent on demonizing wealthy business owners and destroying capitalism, or perhaps he’s high on that drug he enjoyed so much in his youthful days. Because the reality is that government has hurt me, every step of the way. Government has NEVER helped me. But Obama is right about one thing- government is always by our side. Unfortunately it ruins everything it touches.

Here’s a synopsis of what government has done for me.

They’ve stolen my hard-earned money that I could have used to expand my business, or start new ones, or invest in stocks and real estate. Instead it went to government in the form of taxes, fees, licenses and workers comp. Don’t forget the rules, regulations and mandates that made it difficult or near impossible to start a business in the first place. Or the accountant and tax lawyer bills that could have been put to use creating jobs.

Or the IRS audits that stole valuable dollars and hours that I can never get back- even though every one of them ended up with me owing not a dime. But the damage was already done to an innocent man.

Or the millions my public company spent on complying with ridiculous bureaucratic boondoggles like Sarbanes Oxley- thereby wasting millions of dollars that could have instead created jobs and shareholder value for my investors. Don’t forget the bills passed by government that literally wiped out multiple businesses that I owned (multiple times).

Yes, Obama has a point. Government is always there by my side- stealing my money, robbing me blind, redistributing what I earned into the hands of people not willing to work as hard or as smart as me, distracting me with thousands of pages of regulations, limiting my options, wiping out jobs, and destroying shareholder value. …