Donald Trump: Main roles of federal government are security, education and healthcare

[Spike]

DOOMED!


Trump up big in New York

Donald Trump tops Texas Sen. Ted Cruz 56% to 20%

http://www.cnn.com/2016/03/31/politics/hillary-clinton-donald-trump-new-york-poll/index.html

 

[Tim Steelersfan]

I don't have time to go searching the internet at the moment for all of the pro- big government things he's said, but they're out there if you look, so if you want to criticize me for not "doing my research" maybe take a look in the mirror.. And if you are going to quote him, please quote HIM...not things other people have written for him. I don't doubt he's got people who know what they're doing writing his public relations materials for him. I've just never heard HIM talk about any of this stuff. He rarely talks about anything specific at all. When asked a specific question he generally changes the subject, starts spewing meaningless platitudes or just steps right in it i.e. his recent comments on abortion and the role of government.

Read the transcripts of his recent interviews. He doesn't really say much of anything.

I'm criticizing your claims that can be refuted, not you. Nor am I saying he has not said things that are big government oriented. It's not an either or. I tried to show in my post that he's said he prefers limited government. Yes he's also said big govt things. That doesn't make him any different than any other politician out there (per the other article I referenced).

Also, I did quote him, in the article in the previous reply - his words - as reported: Trump himself has said, “Common sense tell us that the two basic principles of governing should work anywhere they are applied. First: Get government out of activities it can’t do well. (A list of thing government doesn’t do well is a very long list.) Second: Get government back in the business of providing for public convenience (transportation, public works) and safety (police and firefighters), and make sure it does so efficiently. Then judge its efforts by visible, definable results and fine-tune, as needed.”

 

[Troglodyte]

I didn't read anything into it or take anything out of context. I quoted exactly what you said - that opportunity means more than hard work or smarts. I vehemently disagree with this.

Wow, Trump had more than "one" opportunity. Again, odds say he should have failed miserably. He didn't. He succeeded wildly.

No where did I, or do I think is anyone saying, that if you are smarter you earn more money. You're trying to say that.

You ask 'does opportunity' have more to do with it. I'll answer. Nope. Honestly, I believe hard work is the most important. All three, a good combination, are needed - hard work, intelligence, some luck.

Case example: I worked in the early 90s at a company that was competing with Cisco when the internet was being built. I worked head to head against Cisco reps. We were making a really good living. Along came a guy to our company, a great guy. He'd gotten a degree from a small college. He was working, before this job as a landscaper (his own small time landscaping business) no joke. But he was friends with one of us. That friend got him hired on a flyer as an inside sales rep. That was this man's 'opportunity' - a chance.

My degree meant more than his. I am and was smarter than him. I could sell circles around him. I was a better presenter and an orator. I technically knew more about ethernet and token ring and ATM switching than he did.

I wasn't as committed nor did I work as hard as him. This guy had a work ethic that would make the average man crumble. He pounded the phones, he ate at his desk so he could read and research. He was the first one in, the last one out.

We all did well, trust me. But John? He made us look like paupers in the end. John got woo'd away to go work for Cisco, in the early days, when you could still make a killing there. John went on to have 7 digit earning years. I've visited his McMansion. He "won" so to speak.

It's just one anecdote, but it's my perspective. Being lucky gets you nothing by itself. Being smart gets you nothing, by itself. Being hard working gets you nothing by itself. The right combination of the above "can" make you enviably successful when put together.

C'mon, John didn't work that hard, he's nowhere near as wealthy as Trump.

Trump, Gates, Buffet - THOSE are hard workers. THOSE are the smart people! Right? Or is there some other difference?

I never said hard work never pays off, but you're not going to hard work yourself into a billionaire. It's going to take an opportunity you may or may not get.

 

[Tim Steelersfan]

C'mon, John didn't work that hard, he's nowhere near as wealthy as Trump.

Trump, Gates, Buffet - THOSE are hard workers. THOSE are the smart people! Right? Or is there some other difference?

I never said hard work never pays off, but you're not going to hard work yourself into a billionaire. It's going to take an opportunity you may or may not get.

\

John had opportunities, and he was smart enough and he worked damned hard and took himself from a landscaper to a multi-millionaire. It took all three things - opportunity, hard work, some level of intelligence..

We don't all get to a Trump level. Nor should we.

Nor is Trump at the level he's at simply because of opportunity. He well could be homeless and bankrupt for having taken on such great risk, as many are who take on such incredible loans. He worked hard and leveraged his intelligence. It wasn't just opportunity.