He seemed to be doing a good job of saying that "you didn't build that by yourself", which I actually agree with. (see comments) Then at the end he screwed up and said "you didn't build that", which I disagree with. Since, I believe it takes a very bright, determined and hard working person in the right circumstances and society to make something very special happen. (there are some rare exceptions of people overcoming severe adversity, yet it is more unlikely)
Therefore a very bright, determined and hard working person may end up destitute or dead if the circumstances do not support their greatness. Yet even in the right circumstances and society, many will fail due to foolishness, indifference and laziness. Thus my support of "you didn't build that by yourself" and my dislike for ""you didn't build that".
Speed Gibson Bought and Paid For
YouTube You Didn't Build That
"I should probably listen to Obama's comments before commenting, however just taking a shot may be more fun.
I wonder what the life of Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Andrew Grove, Thomas Edison, the Wright Brothers, Bell, etc, etc, etc would have been like had they been born in Sierre Leone or some other back woods politically unstable third world country? Of course they probably would have had lower taxes, however they probably would have been lucky to live to 30... Let alone seeing any of theirs dreams realized.
To say these men made the "wealth and inventions" on their own is incredibly naive. The reality is that our society, wealth and stability enable people to pursue their dreams and maximize their potential.
Now when someone wins big because of the chance we provided them, what should they give to continue this society and support future dreamers?
It seems that the debate over tax rates is simply an on going negotiation over this exact thing. The GOP speaking for the winners and the DFL speaking for the enablers.
Look at Egypt, Libya, and Syria if you want to see what happens if the Winners get to keep all the rewards and the Enablers too little. I think the Rich would be happy to pay some more for the chance to keep making more.
I wonder what Paul and Bill would have discovered from a hovel in Sierre Leone with no computers in their city, let alone school and local college. Free Info Society Bill Gates
Along those lines. LA Times Who Invented the Internet"Thoughts?
6 comments:
David Frum has the most interesting pt. of view on Obama's comments.
Why "You Didn't Build That" Stings the Successful
(I need to leave now but maybe will comment more later)
Good article though this statement seemed incorrect:
"he's proposing only the restoration of the Clinton tax rates"
about "he's proposing only the restoration of the Clinton tax rates" this seems both true and unremarkable to me compared to Frum's main pt. which is summarized here:
"President Obama's stray sentences however point to a bolder conclusion. If it's not brains or work that account for success, what is it? The answer must be … luck. Not maybe entirely luck, but luck to a great degree. By definition, however, luck is amoral. Nobody can deserve luck, otherwise he wouldn't be lucky. To the extent success is due to luck, success is undeserved—and to the extend that success is undeserved, the successful have no very strong claim to the proceeds of their success."
When I first heard Obama's quote it seem odd and I think Frum is right Obama did combine 2 ideas in his comments.
Tax rates: If he did, he would let all the Bush tax cuts lapse. Not extending just the ones he likes and make him popular.
Opportunity and Performance: At work you can only get a great performance rating if you have challenging tasks assigned and you excel at them. Doing great work on relatively easy tasks doesn't get you a high rating, nor does doing ok on challenging tasks.
Like this situation, success is a combination of luck and performance. To say it is just luck is foolish. To say it is just performance is foolish.
Many lucky people have won the lottery and been broke again soon after. Some people have overcome their unlucky starting point. Many have been unable to.
I assume accepting that one owes their success to luck and effort is hard on the ego and self confidence of some. In me it generates a great feeling of gratitude.
I thought that you would be more dismissive of luck being a factor in ones success.
The pt about taxes is Obama is not sticking it to the rich to any great degree. The top tax rate was 70% when I started working (though I didn't have to pay it as I made $2.90 an hour)
How's this for a blast from the past, probably long before you knew I existed or Obama made that interesting statement... G2A Genetics, Environment or Pure Luck
Though I agree that the well to do should acknowledge their good fortunes and feel a significant amount of gratitude, however I am unsure what they "OWE" our society, government or those that do not excel in our incredible society that is full of opportunities. Our freedom and opportunities are a gift from our founders that we all benefit from, it isn't a loan that must be paid back.
And certainly we do not want to de-motivate the workers and creators by taking their rewards and giving them to the low performers and dead beats.
Imagine you are the Parent with 2 kids going to college and you are trying to help them out financially. 1 is motivated and working hard, the other not so much so.
1. Do you keep rewarding them with the same monthly stipend?
2. Do you reduce the stipend for the motivated student, and give more to the less motivated/capable?
3. Should you cut off the less motivated/capable until they start showing a willingness to change and improve?
What consequences would each have?
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