"If you’ve got a business -- you didn’t build that. Somebody else made that happen."However, he also said this shortly before he made the above statement.
"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."I think in many respects that this remark was the more interesting and enlightening of the two. Why? I couldn't help but notice how much it downplayed personal accountability and achievement compared to luck in the success of an individual. I think these few sentences tell us a lot about the way Barack Obama and many other liberals see the world. It also provides insight as why we see such a philosophical divide between the two parties today.
There is no doubt that good fortune, luck or blessings plays a role in everyone's life. Everyone that is born in the United States has that going for them. In terms of the birth lottery, if you were born in the United States rather than North Korea, Cuba or Afghanistan, you won big! If you were born to parents who cared about you, nurtured you and supported you, you won again.
Nassim Nicholas Taleb wrote an excellent book a few years ago entitled "Fooled By Randomness". As you might guess from the title, the book is about luck. More precisely, how we perceive luck in our personal and professional experiences. However, the real focus of Taleb in the book is on the forum where luck is most often mistaken for skill-Wall Street. If you want to read a book that will provide you with some interesting insights that challenge the bona fides of many in the investment profession this is the book for you.
For example, one of those insights is comparing the skills of a trained dentist with that of trained investment manager. Taleb observes that practicing dentistry requires real skill. A tooth needs to be fixed a certain way and the results can be measured accurately afterwards on whether the dentist was skilled or not. Luck does not play a role. However, can the same be said of a commodity trader or hedge fund manager? Pure chance can explain why someone could even have a string of years of success in the markets. The same can be said for Wall Street analysts. Did skill really explain their calls or was it mere chance? Markets move and can anyone really be said to have the skill to call those movements accurately? Were they just lucky? Were they really smarter than the average bear? It is hard to tell if it is skill or luck.
Another area where it is hard to discern skill from luck is success in the entertainment business. Sure, we see the big stars on the screen and on stage and they are talented. However, I have seen great acting in college playhouses and heard fantastic voices in church equal of anything in Hollywood. Why do some make it and others not? Is it really the talent that is the differentiator or did someone just get a break that another did not. One actor makes millions and the other actor is still waiting tables. One wins American Idol and the other did not get by the producers in the try-outs in Dallas because the screener had a headache at the time.
Compare these areas with a small business owner. Sure, luck can play a role in the success or failure of a business. However, I would argue it is a much smaller factor compared to the personal initiative and hard work required to make that business a success. I am not demeaning the hard work and long hours put in by entertainers or those on Wall Street. They clearly deserve everything they get from their efforts. However, there is a different dynamic in what ultimately makes one successful.
I heard an interesting comment about Democrats from a prominent Republican Senator recently that adds additional insights to President Obama's comments. He stated that most Democrats simply never come in close contact with business people from Main Street. They simply have no appreciation for the risks, hard work and commitment these people make. They just are not in the circle of people they come in contact with which generally just includes Wall Street hedge fund managers, union bosses, Hollywood celebrities and trial lawyers-the people who fund their campaigns.
To many liberal Democrats the fact that someone has money and is successful is seen more as good fortune than hard work. This is their life experience. In fact, my personal opinion of why so many Hollywood types are liberals is the fact that in their heart they know it was principally luck that put them where they are. Sure, they worked hard to earn success. However, there are a whole lot of other hardworking actors and singers that never got "the break." As they worked their way into the business they knew many other talented people that did not make it while they did. They have to know better than anyone that they could have just as easily been the one still waiting tables. That has to affect you and how you look at the world. It is perfectly logical that they support Democrats the way they do from a political perspective considering their life experience.
On the other hand, I think there are far fewer entrepreneurs thinking the same thing. They acknowledge the blessings they got along the way but they also know that without taking that individual risk, without the long hours, and without the hard work, they would not have succeeded. It is also perfectly understandable why a lot of entrepreneurs support Republicans based on their life experience.
What is most troubling to me about President Obama's statement is that it seems to be another way of attempting to foment class warfare. In effect, he is saying that it is not your fault if you have not succeeded. You are as smart and hardworking as anyone. These rich people were just lucky and now they don't want to share the wealth with you. Forget the American Dream. All we want now is for the American Green to be spread around more evenly and it will solve all our problems. After all, it is only fair!
If you have any question as to why President Obama holds the views he does I recommend you look at this short 6 minute video by Bill Whittle entitled "It's A Miracle".
There is little doubt that the President has considerable ability and has achieved a lot during his life. However, he has also been one of the luckiest, most fortunate people that I have ever seen. I have no doubt that he really does realize this in his heart of hearts. He just needs to use his mind to see that many others did it the hard way and these are the people who create most of the jobs and taxes that makes this country work.
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