We Don't Succeed All on Our Own
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When I graduated from college 50 years ago and left North Carolina, I knew I would come back someday. Fortunately, the opportunity for work here did allow me to return. Now I’m retired after graduate school, service in the Army, and an over-40-year career in industry.
It is painful to read letters to the editor and columns in The Pilot. Each of us is responsible for what we do with our lives and how we deal with hardships and opportunities, but none of us succeeds on our own. Businesses are dependent on employees, suppliers and customers, not solely the work of the owner.
In addition to God, our parents and medical personnel brought us into this world. Teachers, parents and others educated and trained us at public and endowed private schools. Even siblings, classmates and teammates challenged us to improve.
Civic, church and youth leaders taught us ethics, religion and citizenship. In the military, others watched our backs, just as we served together to defend those at home. I could go on, but the list is long.
Then there is all the infrastructure that others have built and paid for, yet we benefit from. Sure, you could walk to work and swim across the rivers, but highways and bridges are more convenient. The Internet was developed by DARPA and other government funds, then commercialized by millions of workers making the equipment, writing the software, and keeping the system running for our use. No one person could have done this, nor is anyone expected to.
Our generation seems to have become very self-centered, greedy, unappreciative and some would even say unpatriotic or un-Christian.
Perhaps it is time to go back to the Bible, especially for Christians, to read the New Testament.
Louis Burton
Pinehurst
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Comments
skylinefirepest 9 months, 3 weeks ago
Louis, what you say is true...but we do succeed or fail with little or no help from government which is what Obama was hawking. Infrastructure was here before any major government, put in place by the people. We would do that today if needed. The government, in it's regulations and so forth actually holds back the expansion of business, both big and small. And, when all is said and done, WE THE PEOPLE pay for every inch of roadway, railroad, runway, etc. The "government" pays for NONE of it since the government has NO money but ours, taken at the point of a gun. Obama was not taken out of context...in his ideal state the government would take all our money and spend it as it saw fit, because after all, government is smarter than we our and can spend our money on necessities ( such as Obama playing golf and taking vacations ) where WE would waste OUR money on frivolous items, such as maybe food and shelter??
Guy_Forks 9 months, 3 weeks ago
Once again, no one can survive without aid. Humans are urbanized apes.
I would like to point out that the roads, bridges, etc, etc, were built by our hands, American hands, like the hands of my own father. The weren't built by government. If you really think about it, it wasn't even paid for by government. It was paid for by taxes, and a disproportionate amount was collected from the business you now claim should pay more.
By suggesting that because some people who are more successful, should have even more confiscated from them, due solely to the fact that they use services to which all have equal access, is a fascist idea through and through. These are the same arguments used by Mussolini and many many tyrants before him.
And since you what to invoke the Christian god as your sole authority, and that we should return to it's teachings, I offer you one of the ten commandments. DO NOT COVET THY NEIGHBOR
DaveyNC 9 months, 3 weeks ago
Anybody can build a road. http://www.flickr.com/photos/mytripsm...
It's what happens next that counts.
JimRussell44 9 months, 3 weeks ago
Thanks for your letter, Mr. Burton. You are correct despite what skylinefirepest has to say in his comments. The government prints, supplies and backs up the value of our currency. You don't see The Koch Brothers issuing their own Koch Industries twenty dollar bills. The government issues regulations to prevent industry from fouling our environment and taking advantage of workers, to name just two things. If private industry was responsible for all the infrastructure in this country, I suspect most of us could not afford to use it. What do you think it would cost to drive from New York to Los Angeles if a corporation with shareholders was responsible for funding and maintaining it? There are some folks who are so wrapped up in their hatred for our current president that they say some very irrational things. Obama is not perfect and has done things I don't agree with. But he was not elected president to cater to just my wishes, he must do what is best for the entire country. When Romney starts telling us how he intends to actually solve problems, I'll listen to what he has to say. Just saying that he is going to undo everything that the Obama administration has tried to accomplish will not get my vote.
Guy_Forks 9 months, 3 weeks ago
JimRussell44, so I understand your thinking:
Because government prints and issues currency, it has unequaled moral claim to any amount of it, from any human that would hold claim to it?
If this be your idea, it is absurd sir. Money is a tool, an invention, an idea that this object can be traded, saved, and spent on desires more efficiently than commodities alone. Before currency there was only slavery and barter. Money sir, simply represents desire, and that's why we have the saying the desire for money for it's own sake is the root of all evil. That is the desire for desire, to which Jesus and Budda warn.
This is where the the idea of government claim to all moneys, due to issuance, is reprehensible.
MikeNC 9 months, 3 weeks ago
Louis: I must be having a deja vu moment ! Diane
fugitiveguy 9 months, 3 weeks ago
Since we all have equal access to the "help" we recieve from our benevolent government then why are some wildly successful, some fairly successful, some who just barely get by and some who are miserable failures? Of course this is a rhetorical question. It is partly intelligence, partly ambition and partly opportunity. The government has done about as much as it can to even the playing field from an opportunity standpoint but being only a third of the equation the outcome will most often be driven by the first two. We get into trouble as a nation when a major faction (liberal democrats) think equal opportunity is synonomys with equal result. It can never happen because so much ultimately depends on the individual. They are unable to grasp or accept that concept.
skylinefirepest 9 months, 3 weeks ago
Jim, Part of what you say is true, though not totally correct. I happen to have collected coins many years back and North Carolina currency was one of my interests. All the states had their own currency. I don't remember when the federal government took over the money supply. So what that the government prints money. You read every now and then where Louie the printer prints some money and the government just gets bent all out of shape. I don't know if you were including me in the vast group that hates our lying president but you may if you wish. Not personally, because I don't know the dude and have no interest in meeting him, but as president he is a liar, a loser, inept, etc. Romney may not be telling you what you want to hear but I would think that Obama has done so much wrong, even without his moral and personal failings, that you would want a change. A very successful business oriented person sounds much superior to our current, never so much as sold a hotdog on a street corner liar in chief!! You are right when you say he was elected to do what was right for the country, Not the unions, Not the democrat party, Not the special interests that he loves so much, but EVERYBODY. Can't really say that he's done that, now can you??
Sherwood 9 months, 3 weeks ago
"Before currency there was only slavery and barter."
Anthropological evidence suggests that credit preceded money, and money preceded barter.
See Michael Hudson's 'The Lost Tradition of Biblical Debt Cancellations' : http://michael-hudson.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/HudsonLostTradition.pdf
Guy_Forks 9 months, 3 weeks ago
Sherwood, correct you might be, but my point remains.
Does governments issuance of currency justify total dominion over it?
bufordsplay 9 months, 3 weeks ago
Wealth is generated by the labor of individuals, not the goverment. People do succeed on their talents. Olympic champions travel to practice over the public roads and bridges but not everyone has world class speed. Not everyone has world class talent in the buisness world. You could give the responsability of stocking the bathrooms with toilet paper at the Olympic village and most people could not handle it.
dlb 9 months, 3 weeks ago
This conversation is SILLY.
Sherwood 9 months, 3 weeks ago
"Does governments issuance of currency justify total dominion over it?"
I'm not sure what you mean by "total dominion." Issuance of currency is within the sole domain of the U.S. government. The U.S. government also has taxing authority. To what extent the government spends, or taxes, is determined by congress, a democratically elected body.
Nobody in congress, and nobody here, is arguing that the government should "claim any amount of [currency], from any human that would hold claim to it" just because the government also happens to be the monopoly issuer of currency.
nothingspecial 9 months, 3 weeks ago
This whole back and forth comes down to whether you're inclined to rationalize about everything the President you voted for says and does or whether you see his words a few weeks ago as completely in line with, and a culmination of so many things he had said and done to that point.
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/2012/08/02/the_most_famous_words_of_obama039s_presidency_286431.html
Sherwood 9 months, 3 weeks ago
"Wealth is generated by the labor of individuals, not the goverment."
Real wealth (material wealth) is generated by mobilizing real resources (capital equipment, materials, labor, etc.) in the private sector.
Mobilizing real resources requires financial resources (currency, money). You must first pay for capital equipment, materials and labor before you can produce anything. The government, whether we like it or not, is the monopoly issuer of currency and can therefore create financial resources out of thin air in order to mobilize real resources to generate material wealth.
Wealth can be generated by both the private and public sector. How the private sector and public sector should work together in order to generate real wealth is debatable and a matter of preference. Most will agree that real wealth is most efficiently generated by the private sector. But you cannot deny government's role in the creation of the wealth of its nation.
Guy_Forks 9 months, 3 weeks ago
Sherwood, I was referencing JimRussell44's justification, to whom the point is directed.
Bentpan 9 months, 3 weeks ago
Mr. Burton, would it be safe to say you never owned a business? GNP is the true currancy of any country and in this country while the government contracts for some of it, they in fact produce none of it. It is the the byproduct of the private sector. The private sector is made up of business owners who at some point, no matter how successfull risked much if not all they had and unless you were one of those risk takers, you have no idea what you're talking about. Lesson over.
fugitiveguy 9 months, 3 weeks ago
The line seems endless of those who take a clear Obama gaffe and try to spin it, as if Obama is some kind of genius and is just so smart that the common folk need someone to interpret it so as we all can understand and benefit from his astounding intellect.
The_AnonymusProfit 9 months, 3 weeks ago
We have had this conversastion like 15 times
MikeNC 9 months, 3 weeks ago
Louis: I may get called out for going this far, but... The more I read into your letter, and the more I reflect back on Obama's Va. speech, that had a vague smiliarity to your letter, the tone seems to reflect an embracement of Communistic values, rather than Socialistic ones. Diane
TOYTIME 9 months, 3 weeks ago
Do we not have a progressive tax system already? The bridges and roads and public education are byproducts of that system that is disproportionally paid by higher income earners. The businesses that people create with their own ingenuity and risked money that they have left over after the tax bills are paid.
WFB 9 months, 3 weeks ago
MikeNC, the more you comment, the more ignorant you sound.
There is nothing vaguely communist or socialist about the letter. Its just a recognition that no man is an island. I see nothing here about workers rising up and seizing the factors of production.
Toda 9 months, 3 weeks ago
Agree WFB ... it's a wonder no one has brought up Hitler into the discussion. No one happened to mention the technological advancements from NASA that was instrumental in providing "tools" for businesses around the world to communicate, disseminate, and open business opportunities around the globe. Even in our own back yard. Remember, Al Gore invented the internet .... lol
MikeNC 9 months, 3 weeks ago
My bad, should of said Marxist values. Thanks Louis, for reminding "our generation" that we are selfish, self centered, greedy, unpatriotic and unchristian. And thanks Obama for reminding us, we didn't build it, on our own, The Government and the masses helped us. Diane
Toda 9 months, 3 weeks ago
Diane ~ where did all that twaddle come from? You must be and obviously are a fan of the talking heads at Fox News or mesmerized by Russ Limbaugh? When I started my business, I borrowed money n the form of loans to build speculative properties ... "we didn't build it, on our own". Most businesses don't unless they have Mitt's deductions and off shore accounts!
TOYTIME 9 months, 3 weeks ago
Toda youre a fan of the fair tax; me too. Meenwhile, are offshore accounts illegal/immoral? Is it wrong for someone of his means accountants not to claim every deduction they can for their client? Does his charitable giving to his church count much with you and others criticizing him for doing nothing illegal/immoral?
skylinefirepest 9 months, 3 weeks ago
Tommy, I hate to be the bearer of bad news for you but I built my business pretty much on my own...the government didn't knock on doors, put out flyers, cloverleaf for leads, send someone to keep me company when I worked from eight in the morning until eight or nine at night!! Hate to tell you, but the government put more obstacles in my way than aids...roads and bridges being the exception. And government, I'll remind you, did NOT BUILD the roads and bridges. They were responsible for farming it out, as any person or company could have done, to private contractors and paid them with THE PEOPLE'S MONEY!!
marathonman 9 months, 3 weeks ago
Of course we count on others to start and keep a business alive, but Obama means that gomint should be given greater credit for it. We all know that businesses survive on product and if the gomint stays out of the way. This Obama admin has done more to destroy small business than ever in our history. By the way, I now know why Dusty Rhodes is so mean and nasty. I saw a pix of him in a recent Pilot talking to folks about how to write. He looks and acts like a bully since he takes little pains to stay fit or dress with respect for his audience.
Toda 9 months, 3 weeks ago
skylinefirepest => I agree and disagree. My dad and I built our business through hard work form daylite to dark. Many nights during the winter I would go to houses with drywall drying and refuel a space heater or propane heater. I know all that way to well.
Toda 9 months, 3 weeks ago
TOYTIME => it's more about tax loopholes and creating shelters in off shore accounts. If you have a child you can take a $1,000.00 deduction; Romney on the other hand, takes a $17,000.00 deduction for his horse.
TOYTIME 9 months, 3 weeks ago
the business he has set up around his wife's dresage horse you mean? The one that employs real people to take care of it. Why the disdain for wealthy people following the rules? Change the rules but don't smack talk someone for following the rules. Also I don't need someone to empathize with me I don't need someone as President to relate to... I know who I am and I expect the leader of the free world to be better than me or you or whomever. Did FDR not relate to the poor "masses" because he was so wealthy? How about the JFK, waaaay more wealth than Romney did he have a problem with relating, Its time to quit "relating" and fix the damn country something that someone who is very "relatable" has proven he doesn't have the capacity to do.
MikeNC 9 months, 3 weeks ago
Ah, I will, Toda ! Obama: spends his adolescent years, smokin dope and dabbling in drugs. Parties hardy. Barely can keep his grades in college. Hangs out with Marxist friends and professors. Gets out of college and becomes an Acorn community organizer. Hooks up with Reverend Wright for about 20 years. Kicks his political career off with Bernadine and Billy next to him. Smears his opponents when he was running for office. Gets into the U S Senate. Votes Present on almost every bill laid before him. Writes a couple of books, that are questionable as to who even wrote the first one, with many claims, that are now known to be false about his youth. And somehow Mr. Wonderful here, has got the answers for the middle class? Diane
Thatcher 9 months, 3 weeks ago
Now that the Mars Curiosity has landed, let's hope that the roads and bridges there enable it to have a measure of success. Cheers!
cantstandya 9 months, 3 weeks ago
This race is about the Party, Democrats will do anything to not have a one term President from their party, it is not due to his qualification but more of a mission of not failing. This crisis would more than likely happened anyway, made no difference who is to blame since that would be a combination of both parties. When Obama campaigned he promised he had the answer, this turned out to be one of his many shortcomings, failure to produce. He has had sufficient time to make some positive progress but instead all we have are more government employees, more on our welfare rolls, and an open gate to the illegals who come here now almost at a protected level. Other than the fact Romney is well off and tax smart, and financially savy on distribution of his funds, he is a pretty sharp busines man who deserves a shot, what have we to lose.
skylinefirepest 9 months, 3 weeks ago
Tommy... Toytime and Diane nailed it. Obama's speech was of the "I love government and I hate business" variety and he'll hopefully pay for it at the voting booth. I have a problem with him and his inept administration, the bowing to foreign leaders, the lowering of our credit rating, the trillions in new spending, the clunker buy back, THE FOREIGN AID to CHINA for Pete's sake, the refusal to work with the Republicans on any issue, the "back of the bus" comment, the insults to our friends and the kudos to our enemies. I'll close gitmo, I'll do this, that, and the other damn thing that he has failed to do. He is a liar and I fail to see why the Demo's kiss the heinie of a liar...when is it enough to embarass even the staunchest liberal?? Kevin can think that Obamacare is a good thing but it cost's trillions that we don't have, will put our health care in extreme jeopardy, will still not cover thirty million people. ( are you listening, liberal Kevin??? ) Romney is a successful businessman and Obama never worked for his own paycheck as I and millions of others have done. Add to the list the killing of NASA, the failure to support Europeans with the missile shield, etc. OBAMA IS A FREAKING DISASTER!! I love America more than I love the Democrat Party and will vote accordingly!!
Courseaire 9 months, 2 weeks ago
When do we get to go back to the days of yore and feed the Christians to the lions in the Coliseum? Those were the good old days.
MikeNC 9 months, 2 weeks ago
good one courseaire ! Thanks Skyline: Add one more to the list: Leaking sensitive classified material that puts our Country at risk. Just yesterday it was announced, the NY Times said their "sources' are drying up. Why? because the Freaking Disaster's White House is under probe by supposedly, two independent counsels. And the Hits, keep coming !!! Diane