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  • motie2motie2 Master
    edited October 2021
    @opipeman

    so, what is your question?
  • @opipeman

    Out of context quotes under well made caricatures does not make a valid arguement. I only checked the last quote and "that" referred to infrastructure in the preceeding sentance that was left out. You can check the rest to see if they support your position.
  • @PappyJoe

    I only researched one quote. If @opipeman wishes to share the source I will be happy to classify any reporting from them as suspect. In rhetoric using misleading out of context quotes raises a red flag. Most people don't care about accuracy which fuels the divide in an already polarized country.
  • @Balisong, @PappyJoe;
    My intent was not to change anyone's political persuasion (which can't be done). They were sent to me by an acquaintance that received them from someone else. As far as fact checking, with the exception of Elizabeth Warren, I remember each of these statements being uttered by the people quoted. Mainstream Media was not where I heard them. There may be equally dumb ass quotes made by Republicans, Nobody has sent me any as yet.
  • But this shouldn’t be confused with rhetoric (nor should anything in the news media). 
  • vtgrad2003vtgrad2003 Master
    edited October 2021
    @Balisong

    Respectfully, I personally don't think that quote is out of context. The concept that the government constructs anything at all is a narrative that simply rubs people the wrong way...except democrats, whether it be infrastructure or someone's small business. The government doesn't build infrastructure, they simply provide the funds to build infrastructure (those funds provided by the American taxpayer)...it's the private contractors that do the building. That said, at the time it was certainly obvious by the large number of "We Built This!" signs and billboards up all around the country, many on relatively large businesses such as the EPES freight line company down the road from me, that whatever the context, it was certainly an affront to business owners across the country. 

    The only type of system(s) where the government "constructs" things is socialism/communism. The concept that "it takes a village" is not embraced by many Americans for that very reason. 

    Just my two cents on the topic...and no, I'm not back from fishing  :D , this freaking low pressure system off the coast here is being a pain in the ass! 
  • In the quote:
    "You have a business, you didn't build that. Someone else did!"
    What does "that" grammatically refer to to? Taken by itself the only noun preceeding "that" is "business" and it's quoted out of context to mislead the reader into falsely believing that Obama is saying that the owners of a business didn't build their business. You understand "that" refers to infrastructure, the passive reader doesn't, hence the out of context quote is misleading. Infrastructure and the Military-Industrial Complex is a different discussion. 
  • vtgrad2003vtgrad2003 Master
    edited October 2021
    Umm, so, assume you are a small business owner that has worked all your life to build your company, you would be perfectly fine with a politician saying that you didn't build your business and that it was in fact government sponsored infrastructure that built it instead? (And please remember, as I mentioned above, it's really taxpayer dollars and private sector contractors that build all of our infrastructure...including military hardware.) Because that is exactly the "that" he is referring to...

  • vtgrad2003vtgrad2003 Master
    edited October 2021
    Let me follow up my previous comment. It was clear back then that Obama was saying that without infrastructure, "your" business wouldn't be successful...and to a great extent, he's correct. Without roads, railroads, highways, canals, etc., goods couldn't move as freely. I agree with that. But to say that it was Government (big G) that built this infrastructure (which is exactly what he was implying) and that this somehow "built" your business is offensive to many...and again, those railroads, highways, etc., weren't built by government, they were built and funded by the private sector and taxpayer dollars. So, in proper context, yes, taxpayer funded and privately constructed infrastructure did help your private business to prosper, without a doubt. 
  • @vtgrad2003
    Once again I find myself somewhat agreeing with you. To give the government all the credit for "building" the infrastructure would be incorrect in my opinion. 
    There were roads in existence before there was a government. The railroads were not built by the government but by business tycoons who knew that if they built the railroads they would become richer. 

    My premise is that business owners would have seen to building the infrastructure if they couldn't buy off the politicians to pay for it. Let's also remember that the government didn't build shipyards back in the 17th & 18th century either. That was private money being spent to fill a need. 
  • @PappyJoe

    A few notable examples:

    Carnagie (railroads/steel)
    Boeing (military/defense)
    Rockefellers (petroleum)
    Bechtel (Hoover Dam)
    Federal Express/UPS (rapid goods transportation)

    I think it's obvious to everyone that even though infrastructure doesn't drive America's growth, it is certainly the foundation of it. The question is, and the question that divides this country so acutely, is exactly who is responsible for it. To me, the government is a middle man that collects private sector money then pays that money out to private contractors--i.e., they are simply the bookkeepers of these funds...accounts receivable/accounts payable. To others, however, Government is the provider of all things economic.


  • @vtgrad2003

    IN MY OPINION....

    There are too many people in this country who don't understand that nothing the government does is FREE. The politicians have created a society where too many people expect the government to provide free money and goods to them. They consider it free because it's just given to them with no work on their part. They don't understand that no matter what, they are also paying for the FREE stuff with higher prices due to higher taxes. 
  • BalisongBalisong Master
    edited October 2021
    @vtgrad2003

    "Because that is exactly the "that" he is referring to..." so we agree the quote as edited is misleading and out of context.

    As a business owner I took advantage of the infrastructure that was built through governmental direction at the expense of the taxpayers to make mine any every other business possible. Infrastructure provides possibilities the point that Obama was making in the context of the speech.

    All of the innovators you listed needed both the public and private sectors to varying degrees to become successful. 
  • Londy3Londy3 Master
    edited October 2021
    Let me keep this really simple for all of you because you forgot the talking heads are a ALL lawyers. 

    The government doesn't build, produce or manufacture anything.
  • By your own reasoning, the government appears to be producing MAGA and QAnon advocates, no?
  • Londy3Londy3 Master
    edited October 2021
    Government is the servant to the people. But they seemed to have forgotten that. 

    People on the other hand are crazy.
  • vtgrad2003vtgrad2003 Master
    edited October 2021
    @Balisong I'm agreeing that the quote is out of context, but it is not misleading as I have already implied. As for you "taking advantage" of infrastructure, excellent, that's what it's there for...it's what's known as a "public good" in economics.

    I think this discussion exemplifies exactly the dichotomy among us today--is the "government of the people, by the people, and for the people", or are they viewed as having morphed into some higher being that holds both the necessary and sufficient conditions for someone to succeed in life...I'm obviously in the former camp, others obviously aren't. 
  • Uh......obviously......
  • “The Republican Party, the president, they thought they were so immune they thought they could say anything they wanted,” Powell said. "And even more troubling—the Congress will just sit there and not in any way resist what the president is doing. And the one word I have to use with respect to what he’s been doing the last several years is a word I would have never used before, with any of the four presidents I’ve worked for: he lies.

    “He lies about things and he gets away with it because people will not hold him accountable,” Powell continued. “And so while we’re watching him we need to watch our Congress … Most of all we have the people of the United States, the ones who vote. The ones who vote him in, the ones who vote him out.”

    https://www.newsweek.com/republican-general-colin-powell-says-trump-lies-congress-does-nothing-american-people-must-1509222


  • Londy3Londy3 Master
    edited October 2021
    Voting makes zero difference with no integrity (that's not to debate, it's fact. Been going on for years too)
    The government is deeply corrupt, all involved. Both parties are self-serving career politicians not worth a damn to The People. The justice system is deeply corrupt and protect the evildoers on the inside. It's far worse than most people can believe. 
    I'm not debating anyone on this so don't ask me too. 
  • @PappyJoe

    Sure, but I don’t want to pick a source to offer. What with bias and all. 

    Please put TRUMP COLIN POWELL into Google and pick the one you favor. 
    The remarks are widely covered.
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