Did We Build it?

      In the weeks following the "you didn't build that" remarks by Barack Obama, the GOP has capitalized on these remarks as an indictment on the views of the current Democratic regime.  The full context of the remarks are somewhat convoluted but the sentiment is consistent with view of the Obama administration that the State is necessary for a business to be successful and it is a major reason that they had the opportunity to do so.  The President said,

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 actual context is more benign then most people are taking it but it is one more bit of evidence that points to an ideology that believes that the government is the first and most effective solution to any societal problem.  The fact that they think that the government can make decisions that have the best interests for each individual in mind, is misguided at best.  Yes, the government has a valuable role in our society, and yes they must fill a role such as building roads and providing police officers.  But the fact that these things warrant credit from to people to the government is wrong on three levels.



     First, the government is a extension of the people, it is not a separate entity that rules over the people.  The founding fathers created a sovereign government that was of the people, by the people, and for the people.  In essence, the government is the people.  So if you give credit to the government for doing a job the people deemed it necessary for it to do, you are saying the people deserve the credit, not the entity of the government.  This fact is easily distorted by those who want to use the government to shift political power from the people to the government entity and get the population thinking about the government as a separate entity.  The liberal progressives seek to embolden the government entity so as to consolidate this power.  They use the guise of "social justice" and providing for the "greater good" to politicize this process.  Both these terms refer to the government making a judgement of private individuals and what they deserve. 

     Second, the benefits from the government are not withheld from anyone who chooses to use them.  The government can not tell you not to use a road or receive help from a police officer.  Everyone can and does enjoy the benefits from the government.  In spite of the government benefits, some businesses succeed and some of them fail.  If government is the source of the business success, then all businesses should succeed.  This is obviously not the case, the government benefits are constant in both cases.  Additionally, in this case, if the government received credit for the successes, they must also receive credit for the failures as well.  This is because the government benefits are present in the lives of both those who succeed and those who fail.  Under this premise, the government has destroyed scores more business then have ever been created (success rate of US start-ups). 

     Third, the government is present in the lives of all small business owners rather they succeed or fail so there must be another variable that determines the final outcome.  Since the government is equal in both cases, it is the constant in this equation, the key is the variable.  Each business is different, with different models, markets, capital, owners, employees, and ideas.  These are the differences that make or break the business and it is the individual that is the steward of these variables.  The business begins with single idea from a dreamer, and becomes a reality from the initiative by that same individual to sell their idea to others.  Yes, the hand of God does come in to play but that is a variable that is equal to all businesses and uncontrollable.

      In the end, the government is a constant in order to maintain a functional society not the source of our success.  Yes, it creates a secure environment where people are free to conduct business and pursue happiness instead of preoccupying their time defending their property and person.  The foundation of our success in America is the individual initiative to seize an idea, take the risks, and put in the hard work need in order to turn a dream in to a reality.