Headline: “Obama: If We Lose in 2012, Government Will Tell People ‘You’re on Your Own’”
At a million-dollar San Francisco fundraiser today, President Obama warned his recession-battered supporters that if he loses the 2012 election it could herald a new, painful era of self-reliance in America.
“The one thing that we absolutely know for sure is that if we don’t work even harder than we did in 2008, then we’re going to have a government that tells the American people, ‘you are on your own,’” Obama told a crowd of 200 donors over lunch at the W Hotel.
“If you get sick, you’re on your own. If you can’t afford college, you’re on your own. If you don’t like that some corporation is polluting your air or the air that your child breathes, then you’re on your own,” he said. “That’s not the America I believe in. It’s not the America you believe in.”
Hmmm. The America I believe in is the one founded by people trying to get away from government control and tyranny. The America I believe in is one that broke away from England and declared independence because of a distant, unresponsive government that imposed onerous taxes and regulations. The America I believe in is one that provides us all with the opportunity to succeed or fail based upon our merits. The America I believe in is one that believes that the government that governs best, governs least. (Thank you Thomas Paine and Henry David Thoreau.) The America I believe in is one where self-reliance isn’t a concern, or a problem, or a threat, or a bad thing. The America I believe in is one filled with strong, self-reliant citizens.
One of us is out-of-touch. I hope it’s not me.
Preach it, Ricky!!
That is how it should be, we ARE, better yet were, known for our incredible independence and self-reliant citizens. We mustn’t need be babysat, we’re America.
I’m there with you brother!
We need to be ON OUR OWN — big government needs to stand down. Government has done nothing but keep the poor down trodden, dependent on entitlements and perpetuated the idea that government has to jump in for them to “save them”. How has that worked? They are worse off now than ever and their dependence on government handouts is handed down from generation to generation. Let’s be the America we are supposed to be — self-reliant, hard-working, responsible people. We the people…..
I guess I will be the outsider here. I understand (and partially agree) with your sentiment. But the things President Obama listed are concerns that I do think we need the government to address. We need the government to stand in and protect our drinking water and air. Because if they don’t, who will? And I can’t imagine telling someone who is sick and without health insurance that they should figure it on their own. And if a high school graduate wants to go to school but his family can’t afford it, we should help educate him – this could be in the form of low interest loans, not just necessarily grants. I would say that something needs to be done about the exorbitant cost of tuition these days. I think that tuition is so high because we try and push everyone towards college, instead of acknowledge that other careers are important in our society, as well, and there is no shame in not going to college.
At the very least, wouldn’t you admit that it is the government’s job to ensure that there is a fair and level playing field for the people? This way, self-reliance has a much greater chance of getting you somewhere. Honestly, I just don’t think that everyone who works hard will end up well-off. Plenty of people work very hard hours and multiple jobs and still can’t pay all of their bills.
I may be an idealist, but I am glad my tax dollars go to help a young, single mother feed her kids when she can’t make ends meet. Yeah, it may be her fault that she got pregnant when she couldn’t afford it. Or, her husband could have up and left her. Either way, should her kids starve and lose a mother because of those things? What about my grandmothers, who couldn’t afford to go see the doctor without medicare? Should we tell them, “tough stuff, it’s your job to get the thousands of dollars you need for your medical bills”? We should help each other out. After all, we are all people.
On the other hand, I do acknowledge that many politicians are in the pockets of corporations. So, we really are in a mess.
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