{"id":210,"date":"2012-07-15T06:10:36","date_gmt":"2012-07-15T13:10:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/andarian.com\/RepealTheBailouts\/?p=210"},"modified":"2023-10-06T03:22:38","modified_gmt":"2023-10-06T03:22:38","slug":"210","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/culture.andarian.net\/parallel\/politics\/210\/","title":{"rendered":"The Looters of Virtue"},"content":{"rendered":"

I’m no admirer of president Obama, but even I was surprised to hear him say something as idiotic and contemptible as this:<\/p>\n

“If you were successful, somebody along the line gave you some help.<\/em> 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\u2019ve got a business \u2014 you didn\u2019t build that. Somebody else made that happen.<\/em>“<\/p>\n

The Blaze, July 14, 2012,\u00a0President Obama: \u2018If You\u2019ve Got a Business \u2014 You Didn\u2019t Build That. Somebody Else Made That Happen\u2019<\/strong><\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Let me be absolutely clear, to anyone who may be prepared to fall for this line of so-called “thinking.” To the extent that anyone else had a part in our success, they were other individuals like ourselves, benevolently cooperating in voluntary exchange in a free economy<\/em><\/strong>. We, the world’s thinkers and entrepreneurs, created the civilization you are trying to take credit for — and for which you now insult our intelligence and our honor by trying to set yourself up as collector of unearned payments.<\/p>\n

It reminds me of this quote from Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged<\/em><\/a>:<\/p>\n

“Rearden laughed. ‘Eddie, what do we care about people like him? We’re driving an express, and they’re riding on the roof, making a lot of noise about being leaders. Why should we care? We have enough power to carry them along\u2014haven’t we?'”<\/p>\n

It is precisely such naive generosity that has allowed these parasites, like the bridge trolls of ancient folklore, to get away for so long with pointing to the accomplishments of industrial civilization and demanding tolls in it’s name. Now, to add insult to injury, they are openly presuming to demand them from the people who built the bridge in the first place<\/em> — while simultaneously dynamiting its foundations, and screaming that someone has to pay for the resulting destruction.<\/p>\n

The economic and social infrastructure of our nation is<\/em> real, and it is a tremendous value. It raises the scope of our productivity from what would be possible to a man on a desert island, all the way up to the building of skyscrapers and everything in between. But it is the creation, not of government bureaucrats and community organizers, but of America’s thinkers and entrepreneurs. It is an achievement made possible by the remnants of capitalism that still remain alive in this country, which these hangers-on of virtue ride while doing everything they can to destroy it.<\/p>\n

Their policies did not create our success or make it possible, and they certainly<\/strong> have no moral right<\/em> to demand tribute for it. If anything, they have set us back decades compared to what we could have achieved under a system of undiluted freedom. They deserve not credit for that, but condemnation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I’m no admirer of president Obama, but even I was surprised to hear him say something as idiotic and contemptible as this: “If you were successful, somebody along the line gave you some help. There was a great teacher somewhere in your life. 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