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IdaBriggs

(10,559 posts)
Tue Jul 17, 2012, 07:15 AM Jul 2012

Facebook Wars, July 16/17, 2012

(I expect I will have more to report as the election season dawns, I'm just going to start dating them!)

FRIEND: Obama today: “If you’ve got a business you didn’t build that. Somebody else made that happen.” Can't believe he actually said that. His point was in the context that "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.”, he used as an example. Although somewhat true, his belief that his policies are helping business when any business owner will tell you they're not is just nuts.

ME: Aren't you currently employed by a company that has been receiving substantial assistance from the government for years in an industry that has been subsidized by the taxpayer since Clinton was in office? I am more than a little appalled by the fact you appear to be forgetting that YOUR paycheck has been made possible not just by your "hard work," but also by your fellow tax payers.

FRIEND: If we never had huge amounts of corporate welfare for huge Oil Companies (which destroys competition), would we have ever needed corporate welfare for huge Alternative Energy Companies to thrive? Or, might I interject, that the Battery Industry would be miles ahead of where it is right now, if there was none at all, on both sides.

ME: Bluster. This nonsense is similar to "if we hadn't (fill in the historical blank) then (slavery/​cowboys-n-Indians/nazis/​whatever) wouldn't have happened. We aren't talking about alternate universes. We are talking about Real Life, and (in your case) the automotive industry, which employs millions of Americans. But thank you for agreeing with the point Obama made by your "IF" statement.

ME (before he can reply further): And, oh-by-the-way, I am feeling very irritated by your willingness to "vote" against your own best interests. Remember in 2009 when the opposing party was willing to let Detroit automotive die? My husband was laid off for just two months, and we are still dealing with the repercussions three years later. By Obama acting on the philosophy that "we are all in this together" you and I and millions of other people who make their living in automotive world Stayed Employed. I would appreciate it if you would quit pretending that the food in your mouth and the roof over your head would still be there if the guy you want "out" hadn't been "in" at the time.

(I won't be able to follow this thread much today, as I am lucky enough to be employed at the moment, and don't like posting while at work. Enjoy!)

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Facebook Wars, July 16/17, 2012 (Original Post) IdaBriggs Jul 2012 OP
Great work malaise Jul 2012 #1
It's a shame there weren't roads built with tax dollars hootinholler Jul 2012 #2
Why do people pull out one statement?? RockaFowler Jul 2012 #3

hootinholler

(26,449 posts)
2. It's a shame there weren't roads built with tax dollars
Tue Jul 17, 2012, 09:23 AM
Jul 2012

I'm sure if the government had only built some roads the auto industry would have taken off years ago.

RockaFowler

(7,429 posts)
3. Why do people pull out one statement??
Tue Jul 17, 2012, 09:34 AM
Jul 2012

He was talking about the roads. They didn't build the roads - the American people built the roads and infrastructure.

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