Let's try picking a country where those prissy little assholes don't exist. Oh, let's say, Somalia. Pleasant country, that, where no-one is confiscating or redistributing anything.

i'm rich.

i'm rich because i had rich parents who bought a house in an expensive neighborhood to attend an excellent public school to get the prep i needed to beat the competitive standards of an excellent public college and pay my tuition so i could graduate without debt.

yes i worked hard but i'm not arrogant enough to think my parents and my country didn't play a gigantic role in my success. i went to china and met my exact replica in chinese form. same education, same job, not even close to the same level of success as myself.

i'm very grateful the the country i live in and i'm happy to pay the taxes that invest in the programs and infrastructure that made the difference in my own success. i demand i certain level of accountability from my government programs but i think it is fair for my country to demand a certain level of return on their investment in me as well.

Here is the speech:

http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2012/07/13/remarks-president-campaign-event-roanoke-virginia

And here is the part being debated:

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 [road or bridge]. 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, you believe an individual who makes it and is successful didn't get any help?  They did it totally on their own?  He says individual initiative and what people do together are why people succeed.  You disagree with this?  You believe a person's success is completely and totally by what they do themselves?  So, if you were to drop your must successful person you know, financially, etc... in the middle of Somolia, the Artic, or the ocean, they would suddenly find themselves a success?

It would be one thing if it were a one-off slip up, perhaps, but it isn't. In stumping for a tax hike, Urkel has repeatedly asked crowds, "Why should I be allowed to keep hundreds of thousands of dollars that I don't need?" Of course it's a rhetorical trick to phrase it that way, because what he's really asking is, "Why should you?" That should be offensive to anyone who doesn't consider himself to be government property.

herp derp somalia. How predictable.

FYI, they do redistribute stuff there. The only difference is that the gun is more immediately visible.

It's not about givng poor people rich people's money. It is about using the government as a tool for building our economy, society, and infrastructure. It very much is a spending problem. Too much and to the wrong things. We could be getting more revenue by returning to a more progressive tax system but if it is not being used propely we shouldn't. Line cutting and starving the beast are the cowards way out and damaging to our economy. We need a revamp of government spending, really concentrate on the value of the government dollar and only set things up that the private sector won't do. I'd rather see money go into infrastructure that will benefit everyone for decades. A modern internet distribution system, public transport, an electric system capable of handeling our country that will eventually need to get off oil.

Make a ridiculous statement, get a ridiculous rebuttal. Keeps things nice and even.

And there's no "socialist" redistribution going on over there. That is a private, religious organization, al Shebab.

Your move

Tax revenue is at a historic low when workforce participation is at a historic low... no way! That's unpossible!

Since you can't close the deficit by raising revenues, it is a spending problem. No amount of pointing to irrelevant numbers will change that.

And is the case with what happened with the financial meltdown and Wall Street, the guns are far less visible than with government.

In fact, the argument for markets being so superior to government is that it is a non-violent way to get what you want.  So, there are many of ways to get money, and still harm people, and there is no visible blood you need to worry about.  Who needs guns, when you can be Madoff?

Obama is a fucking asshole who has never broken a sweat in his life, so it's no wonder he thinks very little of other people's accomplishments. That's not a ridiculous statement, that's a fact. And I know you think it's a clever tactic and all, but bellowing "SOMALIA!!!!!1111111111" right on cue doesn't address that fact and therefore it isn't a rebuttal.