President Obama's Statement on Small Businesses
I recently saw a television ad in which President Obama said, "Those ads taking my words about small business out of context, they're flat out wrong." He was referring to the Republican ad that slammed the President for comments he made about small businesses while on the campaign trail in Roanoke, VA. While speaking at a Roanoke fire station on July 13, 2012, the President made his pitch for why wealthy Americans should pay more in taxes. In part of his speech, he 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 internet didn't get invented on its own. Government research created the internet so that all the companies could make money off the internet."
The point of contention is the President's statement, "If you've got a business - you didn't build that." The question is what was the President referring to when he used the word that? He wants us to believe he was referring to the roads and bridges and other things that helped a person build his or her business. The word that is used to refer to a singular object. Therefore, the President cannot be referring to the roads and bridges. If he was, he would have said, "You didn't build those." He used the word that because he was referring to a person's business. Remember, people mean exactly what they say; "If you got a business - you didn't build that."
I find it interesting he gives the example of the internet and then mentions the government. This is another sign that big goverment is what President Obama is all about.