Obamacare in Full Context

Full context is everything.

Aphorism

August 4, 2012 – Obama supporters claim his statement,"You didn't built that",  made on July 13, at a Roanoke, Virginia political rally, is being taken out of context for partisan purposes.

Here is the full text of  Obama statement in full context:

“There are a lot of wealthy, successful Americans who agree with me — because they want to give something back. They know they didn’t — look, if you’ve been successful, you didn’t get there on your own. You didn’t get there on your own. I’m always struck by people who think, well, it must be because I was just so smart. There are a lot of smart people out there. It must be because I worked harder than everybody else. Let me tell you something — there are a whole bunch of hardworking people out there.

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 is, is that when we succeed, we succeed because of our individual initiative, but also because we do things together. 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.

So we say to ourselves, ever since the founding of this country, you know what, there are some things we do better together. That’s how we funded the GI Bill. That’s how we created the middle class. That’s how we built the Golden Gate Bridge or the Hoover Dam. That’s how we invented the Internet. That’s how we sent a man to the moon. We rise or fall together as one nation and as one people, and that’s the reason I’m running for President — because I still believe in that idea. You’re not on your own, we’re in this together.”

To which an a friend of Peggy Noonan ("The Life of the Party,"WSJ, August 4-5),  watching the Olympics said,

“How about that Michael Phelps? But let’s remember he didn’t win all those medals, someone else did. After all, he and I swam in public pools, built by state employees using tax dollars He got training from the USOC, and he ate food grown by the Department of Agriculture, He should play fair and share his medals with people like me, who can barely keep my head above water, let alone swim."

To which a primary care physician friend of mine  responded.

“How about me as a doctor?  I didn’t help myself  succeed, someone else did. After all, I went to a public university, built by state employees. I got part of my training at the VA. The NIH paid for grants at my medical school, which helped the medical  school didn't seem to lessen my $50,000 yearly tuition. Still, I spent 15 years getting where I am at a personal expense of $500,000 with a debt of $200,000 at graduation  followed by compounded interest payments without government help. Now as a small business person  with revenues of over $250,000, Obama wants to raise my taxes from  an effective rate of 36% to about 45% when all taxes related to Obamacare are included.   Government didn't supply any of that momey.  There is no there there or that that.  And that is that.   Obama should play fair with people like me, who can barely keep my head above water with lower and lower Medicare and Medicaid reimbursements  which do not meet my rising practice expenses and government regulations that take up 1/3 of my time spent away from my patients. But he won't.  So  I am going to close my practice and go to work for the hospital.  That closing will cause me to lay off my 8 employees and the $1 million in taxable -revenues I bring to the govenrment. Never mind.  I didn't build that.  Even I did, you took that away."

As I said in the foreword to my book The Health Reform Maze; A Blueprint for Physician Practices,

Government may think it knoweth

What is best for most of us,

But the market often bestoweth.

What is good for the rest of us.

Tweet: Even in full context, "You didn't build that," Obama’s putdown of  free enterprise, will live in infamy in the annals and minds of  critics of his politics and policies.