John Tamny: Didn't the Rich Help Make America Great, Too?
In a recent campaign speech, Sen. Hillary Clinton said, "It is not rich people who made America great, it is hardworking Americans." If you are rich, or know someone who is rich, this statement might strike you as extremely odd.
When used in the same sentence, the terms "rich" and "hardworking" make for redundant prose. The rich are frequently driven by a relentless work ethic that causes them to toil extremely long hours in their chosen professions. Successful entrepreneurs, in fact, are rarely successful retirees, given the certain high they get from working hard. And unless they're among the small percentage of Americans who inherited their wealth, they have become successful — and rich — only because they have solved previously unmet market needs.
Indeed, contrary to the perception that the rich exploit their way to wealth, the surest path to riches involves fulfilling the desires of the vast majority of people who are not rich. For that alone, the rich are central to what has made America great. If you are in doubt about this fact, why not revisit a little business history.
That John D. Rockefeller, forever synonymous with the word "rich," named his company Standard Oil was no accident. At the time, the kerosene that Americans used to light their homes claimed an average of 6,000 deaths per year. But his consolidation of the previously inefficient and unwieldy kerosene industry made for a commodity that was increasingly accessible and safe for all Americans to use. Safe and efficient became the new standard.
And while Thomas Edison did not invent the light bulb, he created the first commercially viable incandescent bulb for the masses. In founding Edison Electric, thanks to financing from the very rich J.P. Morgan and the affluent Vanderbilt family, he made plain that "We will make electricity so cheap that only the rich will burn candles."
Edison's electricity innovations of course threatened Standard Oil's kerosene products with obsolescence, but with Henry Ford's founding of his eponymous car company in 1903, there was soon an even greater need for oil byproducts. Ford, who died a very rich man, created the Model T in 1908 with the average American in mind. And sure enough, the $825 price tag in 1908 fell every year thereafter, thus enabling more and more Americans to experience the freedom that comes with motorized transportation.
See the progression? One entrepreneurs' innovation leads to more innovation and more rich entrepreneurs. The story continues . . .
Read entire article at National Review
When used in the same sentence, the terms "rich" and "hardworking" make for redundant prose. The rich are frequently driven by a relentless work ethic that causes them to toil extremely long hours in their chosen professions. Successful entrepreneurs, in fact, are rarely successful retirees, given the certain high they get from working hard. And unless they're among the small percentage of Americans who inherited their wealth, they have become successful — and rich — only because they have solved previously unmet market needs.
Indeed, contrary to the perception that the rich exploit their way to wealth, the surest path to riches involves fulfilling the desires of the vast majority of people who are not rich. For that alone, the rich are central to what has made America great. If you are in doubt about this fact, why not revisit a little business history.
That John D. Rockefeller, forever synonymous with the word "rich," named his company Standard Oil was no accident. At the time, the kerosene that Americans used to light their homes claimed an average of 6,000 deaths per year. But his consolidation of the previously inefficient and unwieldy kerosene industry made for a commodity that was increasingly accessible and safe for all Americans to use. Safe and efficient became the new standard.
And while Thomas Edison did not invent the light bulb, he created the first commercially viable incandescent bulb for the masses. In founding Edison Electric, thanks to financing from the very rich J.P. Morgan and the affluent Vanderbilt family, he made plain that "We will make electricity so cheap that only the rich will burn candles."
Edison's electricity innovations of course threatened Standard Oil's kerosene products with obsolescence, but with Henry Ford's founding of his eponymous car company in 1903, there was soon an even greater need for oil byproducts. Ford, who died a very rich man, created the Model T in 1908 with the average American in mind. And sure enough, the $825 price tag in 1908 fell every year thereafter, thus enabling more and more Americans to experience the freedom that comes with motorized transportation.
See the progression? One entrepreneurs' innovation leads to more innovation and more rich entrepreneurs. The story continues . . .