You Didn't Build That? He's Said It Before
One of the main defenses that have been offered up for Obama's "You didn't build that" speech is that he was talking about roads and bridges. Well, here's what he said at a fundraiser on Oct 12, 2011:
“What’s great about this country is you’ve got a good idea, you’ve got a service that nobody else has thought of, you know what, go out there, start a business. Make money. I want everybody out there to be rich. That’s great. Anybody in America should be able to make it if they try. But none of us make it on our own. Somebody — an outstanding entrepreneur like a Steve Jobs — somewhere along the line he had a teacher who helped inspire him. All those great Internet businesses wouldn’t have succeeded unless somebody had invested in the government research that helped to create the Internet. We don’t succeed on our own. We succeed because this country has, in previous generations, made investments that allow all of us to succeed."
Not a road or bridge in sight. This is how he thinks. He believes the prime mover in a society is the government, not the individual citizen. I write more about this, and have video of the speech, here.
- Comment (22)
- · Quote
- · UnfollowFollow (7)
- Pages:
- 1
- 2
Comments:
Jun '12
Re: You Didn't Build That? He's Said It Before
Great catch, David!
I may have to blog it myself (with appropriate credit given, of course).
Jul '11
Re: You Didn't Build That? He's Said It Before
Not to repeat the Wanderer, but excellent catch! I always find myself indecently amused by the Obama apologists when they try to walk these kind of remarks back. I can never quite tell if they are simply stupid or willfully walking around with their fingers in their ears.
On a related note, am I the only one who has noticed that Obama always uses HS and College dropouts as his example when saying that "...somewhere along the line he had a teacher..."?
Jun '12
Re: You Didn't Build That? He's Said It Before
All of the above.
Jun '10
Re: You Didn't Build That? He's Said It Before
“He didn’t invent iron ore and blast furnaces, did he?”
“Who?”
“Rearden. He didn’t invent smelting and chemistry and air compression. He couldn’t have invented his Metal but for thousands and thousands of other people. His Metal! Why does he think it’s his? Why does he think it’s his invention? Everybody uses the work of everybody else. Nobody ever invents anything.”
She said, puzzled, “But the iron ore and all those other things were there all the time. Why didn’t anybody else make that Metal, but Mr. Rearden did?”
- Atlas Shrugged, P1C9
Jul '10
Re: You Didn't Build That? He's Said It Before
It would be dangerous to propose that society and culture have no effect on the creation of success. However, to claim that such success therefore belongs to that culture or society would basically destroy the characteristics necessary in initially producing these successes.
Nov '10
Re: You Didn't Build That? He's Said It Before
Claiming that conservative types don't care about roads and bridges is a classic Obama straw-man. No one is for anarchy. The question is, what is the driving force that makes societies work? Bottom up, citizen directed effort, or top down, government direction? A private company can build a road, a government without private taxpayers can't.
Jun '10
Re: You Didn't Build That? He's Said It Before
The essence of the issue is not what we all share (roads/bridges/internet) but the difference in our individual choices GIVEN the givens. It is the differences that make the difference.
Aug '10
Re: You Didn't Build That? He's Said It Before
I am so sick of the "somewhere along the line he had a teacher who helped inspire him" cliché.
I cannot remember a single teacher that "inspired" me. Heck, I cannot remember most of my teachers' names.
I can think of a few teachers that infuriated me so much that I worked harder out of spite. That hardly counts as inspiration.
I did have a guidance counselor who advised me that it was foolish to struggle through courses that I had almost no chance of passing, when I could be taking courses that I was actually good at. I really appreciated that advice, but does advising a student to drop difficult courses really count under the president's definition of "inspiration"?
Ok, I'm no Steve Jobs.
Still, where's the evidence that all the top innovators owe their success to an "inspiring teacher". I find it equally plausible that they became independent-minded innovators because they were sick of the pablum being forced down their throats by clockwatchers with tenure.
How would this mythical "inspiring teacher" feel knowing that Steve Jobs dropped out of college to bum around India, drop acid, and fool around in Steve Wozniak's garage?
Aug '10
Re: You Didn't Build That? He's Said It Before
Furthermore, roads and bridges are the result of strong economies, not the cause.
North Korea's got some nice roads:
Jun '12
Re: You Didn't Build That? He's Said It Before
Ben Franklin seemed to become reasonably prosperous. Where was the interstate system to help him?
How about the famous pewtersmith and silversmith Paul Revere? Did the federal government build the roads that let him build a successful business?
Apr '11
Re: You Didn't Build That? He's Said It Before
Misthiocracy: I am so sick of the "somewhere along the line he had a teacher who helped inspire him" cliché.
I cannot remember a single teacher that "inspired" me. Heck, I cannot remember most of my teachers' names.
I can think of a few teachers that infuriated me so much that I worked harder out of spite. That hardly counts as inspiration.
I did have a guidance counselor who advised me that it was foolish to struggle through courses that I had almost no chance of passing, when I could be taking courses that I was actually good at. I really appreciated that advice, but does advising a student to drop difficult courses really count under the president's definition of "inspiration"? 42 minutes ago
It's much more basic than that. Let's assume that Obama is right and that every single succesful person was inspired by some teacher. So what? What does that have to do with that person having to fork over more of his or her personal property 20-30-40 years later? His or her parents paid for that inspiring teacher at the time the now successful entrepeneur was in school years ago.
Nov '11
Re: You Didn't Build That? He's Said It Before
Lovely post that would be even lovelier if various noses could be rubbed into it. Not holding breath.
I could agree with the President if he'd said we are all dependent on the Constitution and Declaration, and that without adherence to the principles of our basic documents we are lost. I could agree if he'd said we are all dependent upon the content of our own and our neighbors' characters. And I could agree if he'd said we are dependent upon our Creator, and that we should be thankful.
He does think he's smarter and better. But he didn't say any of that.
Mar '11
Re: You Didn't Build That? He's Said It Before
ctruppi and Misthio are exactly right: who paid for the roads? Who paid for the teachers?
And as this debate continues--this is the type of gaffe that is going to get played and replayed this fall as the candidates present there visions--there's something else our side needs to keep in mind. As we draw these important contrasts with the Left, Conservatives arguing this out in the media must be on their guard against falling into the caricature-trap that will be set for them by the other side.
While celebrating the extraordinary efforts of individuals who have greatly benefitted us, we need to remember that we're not arguing that entrepreneurs came out of nowhere.
We recognize the crucial role that intermediary institutions play in society! We celebrate them, we defend them: family, faith, friendship, civic associations, volunteer groups, et al. It is the Left that wants to smother these institutions under the oppressive weight of the all controlling State.
Aug '10
Re: You Didn't Build That? He's Said It Before
What surprises me is that people on the left are trying to walk his remarks back, because it seems to me that Obama's argument is the very essence of liberalism - it's what they all believe. "It takes a village" is a mantra with them. My daughter has heard that phrase so many times from her teachers she's sick of it.
When I asked my liberal friend what he thought about it, he instantly replied that it was all exactly true - we're social creatures, we rely on each other, no one gets ahead without a lot of help, and therefore we all have a responsibility to 'give back' and that responsibility grows as you become wealthier and by definition have 'taken more out of the system'.
Obama's statement was therefore a gaffe in the cynical sense of the word - he accidentally said what he really believed.
As for teachers 'inspiring' students... In my experience with modern education, teachers are doing the exact opposite. They denigrate capitalism, tell the kids they are all equal, disparage industry, teach that science is dangerous and that growth needs to be 'sustainable' and that the environment is our paramount concern.
Aug '10
Re: You Didn't Build That? He's Said It Before
A quick anecdote about 'inspiring' teachers:
My son had to take a class in 'community and life management' for high school last semester. One of the things they do in that class is evaluate student's career aspirations and give them 'guidance'. My son is a straight-A student who excels in math and science.
The teacher asked him what he wanted to do for a career, and he said "I'd like to be an aerospace engineer, or perhaps an astrophysicist."
In response, the teacher sniffed and scowled and said, "With your gifts, wouldn't you rather choose a career more socially redeeming?"
The next child opined that she would like to have a career that would help save the environment. The teacher then lit up and praised her and said, "Now THAT is a career!"
And you wonder why the STEM fields are dwindling while the university classes in environmental science, communications, gender studies, and other squishy fields are exploding with students.
Aug '10
Re: You Didn't Build That? He's Said It Before
Dan Hanson:
... we're social creatures, we rely on each other, no one gets ahead without a lot of help ...
That should not be a controversial idea for conservatives to agree with. After all, it's the very lesson taught by the fable of the pencil, and it's precisely the reason why we don't want the government mucking up the process by imposing top-down management and control.
Nov '10
Re: You Didn't Build That? He's Said It Before
Just found another Obama quote. This one from a campaign event in Ann Arbor, Michigan, Jan 27, 2012:
Here's a link for the video. I'm beginning to think the RNC should hire me, lol!
Apr '12
Re: You Didn't Build That? He's Said It Before
This is the crux of the argument. I just watched CNN with 2 talking heads commenting that Chick-Fil-A family owners are all billionaires and they were compared to the Koch brothers and it was commented they do not give as much as Warren Buffet to charity but compare Warren's once in a life time donation vs a yearly donation. There is a socialist ground swell and CNN is fueling it with a mish mash of facts. They are ripping apart good entrepreneurs.
Apr '12
Re: You Didn't Build That? He's Said It Before
Dan Hanson:
As for teachers 'inspiring' students... In my experience with modern education, teachers are doing the exact opposite. They denigrate capitalism, tell the kids they are all equal, disparage industry, teach that science is dangerous and that growth needs to be 'sustainable' and that the environment is our paramount concern. · 1 hour ago
Yet, here in Canada, the Teachers' Union has the largest private pension fund and has been doing the biggest private equity deals. So they hate business but invest in business for their retirement. Our teachers make more than the US teachers.
Jun '12
Re: You Didn't Build That? He's Said It Before
Tell that teacher about Homer Hickam in the movie "October Sky." He wanted to be an aerospace engineer even though he was from the West Virginia coal country. He learned math to pursue his dream. And the teacher in the movie was also a hero - someone your son's "indoctrinator" should emulate.
Edited on August 1, 2012 at 4:05pm