Obama Explains Capitalism

The Community Organizier-in-Chief channels his inner Cherokee to explain his organizing principle:

If you’ve got a business -- you didn’t build that.

Uh huh. And if you've written a book, well you haven't really written it. Unless you invented the language, and the printing press, and Gutenberg luck with that.

Still, I have no doubt of Obama's sincerity. Let's bring in two ideas in response.

First, by way of counterexample, the WSJ looks at fracking in the United States and Europe:

What has given the U.S. its edge is that the early development risks were largely borne by small-time entrepreneurs, drilling a lot of dry holes on private land. These "wildcat" developers were gradually able to buy up oil, gas and mineral leases from private owners while gathering enough geological data to bring in commercial producers.

Take Texas's Barnett Shale, a particularly tight rock formation that had been eluding speculators for years. Houston-based Mitchell Energy & Development Corp. spent the 1980s refining horizontal drilling techniques, and by 1996 it was producing Barnett shale gas.

Jason Dvorin, a partner in the Dallas-based oil and gas leasing and exploration firm Dvorin LLC, recounts that when his father Sanford heard of Mitchell's success, he decided to go all-in, having also spent years chasing Barnett shale. In 1997, father and son began buying individual leaseholds for mineral, oil and gas rights at $25-$50 an acre. By the time they sold their productive leases at the end of 2007, Mr. Dvorin recalls, they were going for as much as $30,000 per acre. "Even today, in a depressed market, operators are still paying $1,500 an acre."

Now in ObamaWorld, these guys didn't invent oil, or cars, or the modern economy that uses oil in so many ways, so their tiny, tiny contribution to the general welfare should be ignored.

And the Times had an interesting piece on Penny Pritzker and the perils of being rich and an Obama backer:

Ms. Pritzker’s commitment [to Obama 2012] has become a matter of mystery and consternation among some Obama supporters struggling to recreate the success of the 2008 finance team that she led as chairwoman. Though she is assisting with the re-election campaign in a number of ways, Ms. Pritzker — whose family owns the Hyatt hotel chain and is active in charitable and Jewish causes — is less visible, has cut back on fund-raising and has told friends that she is intentionally doing less.

Why?

For Ms. Pritzker, her high-profile backing of Mr. Obama came at an unexpectedly bitter cost. Their relationship made her a punching bag for the labor movement, which targeted her for what union officials call exploitative practices toward housekeepers by the Hyatt hotels.

She had drawn business and Jewish leaders to support Mr. Obama, but when many of them turned hostile toward the president because of his policies, some directed their ire toward her, even though she had her own criticisms, too.

The anger amounted to a “triple assault” on Ms. Pritzker, said William M. Daley, who succeeded Mr. Emanuel as chief of staff. “She’s borne the brunt of a lot of the attacks,” he said.

“Often the big picture is not understood on where the president wants to go,” Ms. Pritzker said in a telephone interview. “That’s frustrating.”

For Mr. Obama, Ms. Pritzker’s wealth and business experience are huge assets but also potential liabilities. He considered nominating her for commerce secretary but did not, because her fortune risked making her radioactive. She does plan to join him on the campaign trail this month, but that could prove awkward, given that the president is pounding Mr. Romney for some of the same practices of which Ms. Pritzker or her family business is accused — housing significant wealth in offshore trusts and treating workers poorly.

Basically, Team Obama values her money but not her presence, since bashing the rich is the only message thay have left.  Ooops.

Let me dive into the comments and channel my inner James D in response:

Romney - or his surrogates - need to counter garbage like Zero's speech yesterday with something like "successful business are successful because they DO give back. They give back by producing things that people want and need and that make their lives better. They give back by employing workers who can then support their own families and their communities. And they give back by already paying hundreds upon hundreds of taxes and fees and registrations. The businesses pay corporate taxes. Their owners and their employees pay income taxes. The owners and the employees pay social security taxes and medicare taxes. They pay state income taxes. They pay fuel taxes when their trucks deliver products out into the world. They pay sales taxes when they buy the materials to produce their products, and customers pay sales taxes when they buy those products. All these successful people are already giving back in ways that the President, who's never worked for a business, or directly employed anyone, or produced anything that any consumer could concievably want, never has and never will."

Indeed.

 

Comments

[narciso]

There's all the Superior Bank deal, which was the first subprime bustout.

[Charlie (Colorado)]

It's gonna be a long campaign.

[NK]

Love this post TomM-- so much sarcasm -- and rightfully so-- on so many levels. I especially like calling 'Bam on his projection on others about not doing anything on their own, I'm sure he believes that since he never wrote or did anything himself. BTW-- fracking wildcatters? the big boy cronies want to put them out of business-- see John Browne former BP pres, now a fracking CEO-- he says bring on the regulation-- that'll squash the small indie competitors.

[narciso]

I mean no one edits the Times, because it's like cutting through Tauntaun innards.

http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20120608/NEWS01/120609854/pritzkers-rid-themselves-of-remaining-superior-bank-debt

[Threadkiller]

From the same guy that doesn't understand liability insurance?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vmo1rATDE00

Moron.

[GMAX]

I am going to listen to an explanation of capitalism from a community organizer, about as much as I would listen to Josh Hamilton expound on the quantum dynamics.

[narciso]

'fake but accurate, is the watchword'

http://americanpowerblog.blogspot.com/2012/07/new-york-times-confession-no-evidence.html

[Clarice]

Excellent rejoinder by James D. Glad TM quoted it.OT but any news on which dopes hired Patrick Fitzgerald?

[Jim Ryan]

Healthy bacteria in your colon deserve a cut of your profits, you capitalist pigs. If those bacteria weren't there, you'd drop dead and your company wouldn't make diddly squat. They make an enormous contribution to our economy.

$$ FOR BIFIDUS AND ACIDOPHILUS BACTERIA NOW!!

[Thomas Collins]

Obama, Warren and the rest of the progs apparently don't understand that providing a framework of infrastructure, police and military and fire and disaster personnel, and a rule of law protecting freedom of contract, is a far cry from bailing out GE, investing in Solyndra type projects, nationalizing health care and expanding the nanny/welfare state for Julia types. The thinking of the progs seems to be that if one operates a business within a body politic that provides essential governmental functions, the business operator must pay all taxes and be subject to all regulations conducive to the realization by the progs of their fantasy world.

[Thomas Collins]

The frackers have been so successful because they did do it on their own, and avoided governmental programs.

[Thomas Collins]

The frackers have been so successful because they did do it on their own, and avoided governmental programs.

[NK]

TC-- you're being too fair to the modern progs. The modern prog is like the Gambino crews selling fire insurance in East New York Bklyn the 1950s-60s-- everything is theirs, and they decide what to let you keep. It's feudalism, but with Government insiders replacing the Lords of the Manor.

[Jim Ryan]

To prove: "Capitalism" requires no moral defense.

Liberty is a natural right. This is self-evident. Take this as given.

"Capitalism" is an unavoidable result of freedom. If "capitalism" needs to be defended morally, then so does liberty. But ex hypothesi liberty does not need to be defended. Therefore, there is no need to defend capitalism. QED.

Any argument against capitalism is an argument against people's doing whatever they want with their property. It's a non-starter.

[Danube of Thought]

"...providing a framework of infrastructure, police and military and fire and disaster personnel, and a rule of law protecting freedom of contract,"

All of these are public goods and services, and it is right that they are publicly funded in even the freest of market economies. But that's about where it stops.

Obama understands none of this; neither does E. Warren. You would try in vain to converse with them on the subject.

[Medieval Baron]

Methinks Obama doth sound like that dastardly King John. Time for the barons to meet him at Runnymede and get the predator off our backs. I'm writing the Magna Carta right now. Will saddle up my charger, put on my armor and meet that arrogant churl in November.

[GMAX]

Print a common currency, form a standing army and get the hell out of the way. That is great motto for the Federal govt going forward. At local level we need s fire and police but that is no concern of the Feds.

[matt]

well, the Rissuan version of socialism broke down. The Chinese version broke down. It ain't looking too good in North Korea or in Cuba.

And the European model looks to be breaking down. In the meantime, we have allowed crooks and hijackers to commandeer the capitalist system into a form of oligarchy. It's time for another revolution.

Too big to fail is bullshit. London, Wall Street, Basel, and most of the rest are casinos rigged in every way. Hong Kong seems a bit straighter, but not much. More of an entrepot. Dubai is where all the drug money in Asia transacts.

Corruption is the single greatest threat to our modern economy, whether it's ploma o plombo in South America, Corzine, Madoff et al, or the whole rapine of the Congo.

[Melinda Romanoff]

Use Navy to protect trade routes.

[MarkO]

Obama was and is such a fraud. The more pressure Romney puts on him, the worse he will perform. He's never had pressure; never had serious opposition. He will have a hard time making progress with the race card or the hope and change idea.

That said, there are many Americans who prefer full security to liberty. Maybe too many.

[NK]

Matt@11:22 agree completely-- add Warren Buffett to you list-- buying a healthcare bill that transfer his employee healthcare costs to taxpayers, and Warren pockets the vig,

[Extraneus]

Obama understands none of this; neither does E. Warren.

I think they understand it fine. It's just that since it's unfair for some people to have more wealth than others, successful people must be taken down in order for their wealth to be distributed to the masses - after a nominal fee is skimmed off by the exempted leftist overseers, of course.

They know that corporate cronyism isn't "investment." It's just convenient to say it is. So is making believe that there's a multiplier effect to government spending.

They don't believe this b.s. any more than we do. It just furthers their goals to say they do.

[rse]

Anybody read VDH's post today at PJ?

He makes the point the more MO campaigns, the more her Chicago way personality emerges. And it is not what anyone wants to see in a First Lady.

[Rick Ballard]

"That said, there are many Americans who prefer full security to liberty."

MarkO,

We're very fortunate only 56% of the adult population bother to vote. If all the parasites were ever mobilized, we'd be cooked.

[James D.]

Jim Ryan, the problem is that there's a significant chunk of the electorate that DOESN'T take "liberty is a natural right" as a given.

That's what's so frustrating - that we have to defend, and, even worse, sometimes we have to explain in the first place to people who have been "educated" to the contrary, the value of liberty and the fact that it IS a natural right, and then move on to the things that flow from that fact.

[Jim Ryan]

Shlaes' Coolidge book delayed. Amazon giving up on it.

[Clarice]

Exactly, Rick.

[Extraneus]

The Obama Department of Agriculture has pulled the radio”novelas” that urged Spanish-speakers to wise up and get on the dole. (“In one of these, an individual tries to convince a friend to enroll in food stamps even though that friend declares: ‘I don’t need anyone’s help. My husband earns enough to take care of us,” says GOP Sen. Jeff Sessions, describing the novelas. “The first individual replies back: ‘When are you going to learn?’”)

[Melinda Romanoff]

Ex-

Is there a chance anyone might notice, or even bring up, the right hand/left hand activities of the Administration?

Just checking....

[bgates]

Obama has been attacking Romney because at some point Bain supposedly moved jobs offshore to China, but Bain couldn't exist if the Chinese had started a nuclear war with us, so don't we kind of owe them?

[Jim Ryan]

Sounds to me like the Chinese did their part, bgates.

[pagar]

"Ms. Pritzker’s wealth and business experience are huge assets but also potential liabilities."

http://www.lessthansuperior.org/

Own a failed bank. Negotiate an interest-free, long-term settlement. Get a prepayment discount. And, invest in a failed bank with FDIC assistance. What's wrong with this picture?

In other words, they ripped everyone off but it's OK because they are friends of the Obamas and their regime.

[NK]

Pagar@12:01-- what's your point? it's all the Chicago Way.

[Jim Ryan]

Shlaes lecturing on Coolidge. Takeaways: Coolidge penny-pincher's penny-pincher, Shlaes cute.

[Jim Eagle]

This is what you get when you start to needle, one pin prick at a time, the thin, thin skin of a no-nothing narcissist - more utter stupidity and bullying. But then think of the audience in Roanoke, mostly moochers at the federal teat in a small community college where they get more people to show up for the adult education badminton tournament.

If Bain and anti-capitalist, anti-entrepreneurial is all they got - well then they got nothing.

[rse]

Well speaking of anti-capitalist, anti-entrepreneurial, here's today's post that once again joins the education, economic, and climate change visions.

http://www.invisibleserfscollar.com/real-change-will-require-new-values-and-new-ways-of-thinking-or-social-engineering-is-hard/

I think henry in particular will like this one because this propaganda is being launched on decision makers who have no basis usually for recognizing it is nonsense.

And let's remember Obama wants climate change to be the focus of his 2nd term.

[narciso]

'Unexpectedly' I'm reminded of this'

http://hotair.com/archives/2008/02/20/messiahs-wife-barack-will-never-allow-you-to-go-back-to-your-lives-as-usual-uninvolved-uninformed/

[Chubby]

((They don't believe this b.s. any more than we do.))

I think a lot of lefties are that stupid that they do believe it.

[jimmyk]

If Bain and anti-capitalist, anti-entrepreneurial is all they got - well then they got nothing.

I guess they think since it worked when Romney ran against a Kennedy in Massachusetts, it's a winning formula. Now what is wrong with that picture?

[Neo]

Just imagine if someone had said:

“If Barack Obama has a Harvard law degree, he didn’t earn that. Somebody else made that happen.”

Or imagine if someone had said:

“If J.K. Rowling is cited as the author of the Harry Potter books, she didn’t write them. Somebody else made that happen.”

Or imagine if someone had said:

“If the Beatles are credited for writing and performing Rubber Soul, they didn’t do that. Someone else made that happen.”

[Gus]

This is even more simple.
LIBTARDS have spent us into oblivion by buying groups and group votes.
We've run out of money. LIBTARDS have 2 choices. ADMIT they are commies and were wrong. or..GO THE FULL COMMIE.

Liberals are dead enders.

[Frau Bazillus]

Jim Ryan @ 10:49
Thank you for your support. BIFIDUS AND ACIDOPHILUS BACTERIA are organizing and are presently in talks with the UMWA and SEIU. Bacteria toil tirelessly for "the man" without adequate compensation and under unimaginable conditions. Most are natural born and are entitled to all the rights of American citizenship.

[Frau Bazillus]

'...rights and *entitlements* "

[Neo]

You see this cat Shaft is a bad mother — (Shut your mouth)
But I’m talkin’ about Shaft (Then we can dig it)

Or imagine if someone had said:

“If Isaac Hayes is credited for writing and performing Shaft, he didn’t do that. Someone else made that happen.”

You see this cat Obama is a bad mother — we can dig it

[Gus]

Did Obama share the proceeds of DREAMS OF A LYING SONOFBITCHERS COMMIE FATHER-

With Bill Ayers?

[narciso]

I believe that was the 'Chewbacca defense' that they used to cheat Chef out of royalties.

[pagar]

"what's your point? it's all the Chicago Way.

My point is we should not have to live under the Chicago Way. The owners should have gone to jail over that Superior bank mess.

[Sara]

Romney - or his surrogates - need to counter garbage like Zero's speech yesterday with something like "successful business are successful because they DO give back ... blah, blah, blah

Romney should do a belly laugh and say, as he is laughing his ass off, "He said what? He really said that? I guess it is true what they say ... he's just not that smart, and he's a liar."

[NK]

Sara@2:55-- that's the way to respond to the lies, mock Obama. He hates that.

[jimmyk]

Another kind of response is to say, "Yes, business success does depend on government--a government that enforces laws, provides security, and builds roads and other infrastructure.

"And guess what? Government is funded disproportionately by the very people the president is demeaning, particularly those in the '1 percent.' Not only that, under President Obama, government has undermined the very rule of law that it is supposed to uphold, while asking for still more from those who already pay the most."

[Joan]

Obama's sincerity is that his core is socialism, and, at times I'd rather call it communism. This country was built by pioneers, people who journeyed in covered wagons, risking starvation, unbelievably hard physical labor, fear and pain, floods, drought sickness, fatal attacks from marauders, and there sure as hell weren't roads, bridges, manned rest stops, and government grants.

If I didn't hate to take the Lord's name in vain (in a public forum) I'd say "Goddamn I despise this man and his way of thinking."

To me, these statements in Virginia reveal him at his most despicable, ignorant, anti-American worst.

[AmPowerBlog]

Take the Mitts Off, Mitt!

http://americanpowerblog.blogspot.com/2012/07/take-mitts-off-mitt.html

[crazy]

Then why do we need Obama to rebuild America?

[bgates]

There are some things, just like fighting fires, we don’t do on our own. I mean, imagine if everybody had their own fire service. That would be a hard way to organize fighting fires.

That's why local communities have fire departments. I mean, imagine if we federalized all fire departments. Imagine if Alaska and North Dakota got to vote on how many fire trucks New Mexico needed. Imagine, Obama-style, the ludicrous straw man of routing every emergency call for firemen or police or paralegals through a centralized federal office in Washington DC staffed by unionized government employees who worked only 10-3 Eastern time. That would be a hard way to fight fires too, wouldn't it?

[Sara]

This country was built by pioneers, people who journeyed in covered wagons, risking starvation, unbelievably hard physical labor, fear and pain, floods, drought sickness, fatal attacks from marauders, and there sure as hell weren't roads, bridges, manned rest stops, and government grants.

Mormon Hand Cart:


Winter Quarters:

Mormon handcart sculpture called "Written Upon the Heart" by Kenneth Wm. Packer at Mormon Museum. Salt Lake City, UT.

[Dale Gribble]

Hey Sara, thanks for the pics of the handcarts and winter quarters.All you need is a current pic of Salt Lake to show what my ancestors(much better people than myself) built in the desert. My great-great-great grandfather, Jefferson Hunt(founded SanBernardino,Ca and Huntsville,Ut)arrived in Salt Lake on Xmas or New years eve, went to dinner at Brigham's house and left to rescue the handcarts the next morning.

[Dale Gribble]

My great-great-great grandmother Celia Mounts Hunt lost half of her teeth at Winter Quarters due to scurvey.

[sbwaters]

Why are people dwelling on Mormonism. It's as irrelevant today as Kennedy’s Catholicism was in 1960. Certain people thought it was a political issue and -- surprise -- they were wrong.

[mockmook]

sbw,

The big attacks (by Dems) on Mormonism haven't started yet.

[Sara]

No one is dwelling on Mormonism, the pics were part of illustrating that there were lots of people who sacrificed greatly and did it without all those roads and bridges Obama was whining about and as an illustration of this statement:

This country was built by pioneers, people who journeyed in covered wagons, risking starvation, unbelievably hard physical labor, fear and pain, floods, drought sickness, fatal attacks from marauders, and there sure as hell weren't roads, bridges, manned rest stops, and government grants.

Not a word about religion, just hard driving pioneers and in the case of early Mormons, trying to escape the stranglehold of government.

[East Bay Jay]

Hyatt is notorious in the hotel industry for being skinflints. It's also closely held - just a handful of rich people that own it. And this woman supports Obama? Figures.

[Sara]

Dale: My family didn't become LDS until the mid 1970s, but in doing genealogy, I've had both the pleasure and the sadness to the point of tears in reading some of the Journal entries for those who made the Trek to the Desert. The hardships were unbelievable. We learned about it in school, but it was always taught along with tales of the Oregon Trail and the Santa Fe Trail, so I never even knew that being a Mormon was a religion and not just a name for a group of early pioneers. I always liked the handcart sculpture I posted because it shows a woman. From the Journals, it is really a shock to learn how many of the men died and the women picked up the slack and pulled those carts themselves. I know I'm very proud of some of my female ancestors where the record shows they held off contingents of British soldiers or fought off Indian attacks while the men were away. If I had a pioneer female ancestor who made that Trek pulling a handcart, I would be so proud to have those genes in me.

[sbwaters]

What my ancestors did, they did. Not me.

[Sara]

What my ancestors did, they did. Not me.

SBW: One should never try to ride on the shoulders of ancestors. I have strong feelings about that and it is one reason I'm never impressed by DAR/SAR membership or any of the other organizations where membership is conditional on what some ancestor did.

But that said, I love knowing that my genes include those who were strong and feisty and not willing to take carp off anyone. I am proud of those who risked everything or gave up everything to make a better life and were willing to fight for the right.

[dual diagnosis]

Two bottle diagnosis exists when an individual also has mental and importance abuse problems.
Figures reveal that do 53% of individuals suffer from mental illness, while 50% of alcoholics usually have mental problem as well.