For a former academic, President Obama doesn’t put much stock in his own case studies.
In his now-infamous Roanoke speech, Mr. Obama addressed the question of success. He started by making an accurate observation: There are a lot of smart people out there, and there are a lot of hard-working people out there. Yet they’re not all what we would consider successful, at least in terms of wealth. Indeed, while smarts and work ethic are often key ingredients of the successful person, they certainly are not determinative.
So what is the key to success? Mr. Obama gave us his theory: government help. His explanation for why only some intelligent, hard-working people are successful was that “someone along the line gave [them] some help.” He then proceeded to list exclusively government sources of that help — teachers, roads, bridges, and the sort.
Is his theory sound? Conveniently, it has already been tested — by Mr. Obama himself. And it has been completely debunked. The most notable case study: Solyndra.
In Solyndra, Mr. Obama found a company he wanted to succeed. It was a pioneer in the sustainable energy industry he favors. It was to create the type of jobs he envisions for the future of America — green jobs. It fit his political narrative perfectly.
So what did he do in an effort to make Solyndra successful? He gave it some help. Lots of help. Five hundred and twenty-seven million taxpayer dollars’ worth of help.
According to Mr. Obama’s Roanoke theory, Solyndra should be booming. It should be among those successful businesses that “somebody else made … happen,” and that are now indebted to the government for all the help they got.
In his now-infamous Roanoke speech, Mr. Obama addressed the question of success. He started by making an accurate observation: There are a lot of smart people out there, and there are a lot of hard-working people out there. Yet they’re not all what we would consider successful, at least in terms of wealth. Indeed, while smarts and work ethic are often key ingredients of the successful person, they certainly are not determinative.
So what is the key to success? Mr. Obama gave us his theory: government help. His explanation for why only some intelligent, hard-working people are successful was that “someone along the line gave [them] some help.” He then proceeded to list exclusively government sources of that help — teachers, roads, bridges, and the sort.
Is his theory sound? Conveniently, it has already been tested — by Mr. Obama himself. And it has been completely debunked. The most notable case study: Solyndra.
In Solyndra, Mr. Obama found a company he wanted to succeed. It was a pioneer in the sustainable energy industry he favors. It was to create the type of jobs he envisions for the future of America — green jobs. It fit his political narrative perfectly.
So what did he do in an effort to make Solyndra successful? He gave it some help. Lots of help. Five hundred and twenty-seven million taxpayer dollars’ worth of help.
According to Mr. Obama’s Roanoke theory, Solyndra should be booming. It should be among those successful businesses that “somebody else made … happen,” and that are now indebted to the government for all the help they got.
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