The Romney campaign has been using an Obama quote out of context to make it seem that the president doesn’t believe that small business owners built their own companies. What Obama actually said was that no one does it alone:
“If you were successful, somebody along the line gave you some help…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. Somebody else made that happen. The point is, is that when we succeed, we succeed because of our individual initiative, but also because we do things together.”
When Obama said “you didn’t build that,” he clearly meant the roads and bridges of America’s infrastructure. But here’s where it gets event better. Romney’s campaign quickly produced a commercial featuring Jack Gilchrist, second-generation owner of Gilchrist Metals, acting offended and asking:
“My father’s hands didn’t build this company? My hands didn’t build this company? My son’s hands aren’t building this company? Did somebody else take out the loan on my father’s house to finance the equipment? Did somebody else make payroll every week or figure out where it’s coming from? President Obama, you’re killing us out here. Through hard work and a little bit of luck, we built this business. Why are you demonizing us for it?”
Of course, neither Obama nor anyone else is demonizing Gilchrist, but today’s New Hampshire Union-Leader revealed that, in fact, his company has received government help — numerous times:
In 1999, Gilchrist Metal received $800,000 in tax-exempt revenue bonds issued by the New Hampshire Business Finance Authority “to set up a second manufacturing plant and purchase equipment to produce high definition television broadcasting equipment. Last year, Gilchrist Metal also received two U.S. Navy sub-contracts totaling about $83,000 and a smaller, $5,600 Coast Guard contract in 2008. He also said his company received a U.S. Small Business Administration loan totaling “somewhere south of” $500,000 in the late 1980s. He said his business has also received matching funds from the New England Trade Adjustment Assistance Center (NETAAC), which is federally-funded.
So, Jack, if you did it all by yourself and didn’t need those taxpayer dollars to make your company successful, can we have it back, please? Or maybe next time, you should ask Bain Capital for the money.
One more thing. Here’s a quote from Romney himself, addressing Olympians in 2002. To be sure there’s context, I’ll give you two full paragraphs, but note the language in the second and see if you hear an echo:
Tonight we cheer the Olympians, who only yesterday were children themselves. As we watch them over the next 16 days, we affirm that our aspirations, and those of our children and grandchildren, can become reality. We salute you Olympians, both because you dreamed and because you paid the price to make your dreams real. You guys pushed yourself, drove yourself, sacrificed, trained and competed time and again at winning and losing.
You Olympians, however, know you didn’t get here solely on your own power. For most of you, loving parents, sisters or brothers, encouraged your hopes, coaches guided, communities built venues in order to organize competitions. All Olympians stand on the shoulders of those who lifted them. We’ve already cheered the Olympians, let’s also cheer the parents, coaches, and communities. All right!