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The Falsehoods Behind ‘You Didn’t Build That!’

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The Falsehoods Behind ‘You Didn’t Build That!’
Former President Barack Obama speaks to guests at the Obama Foundation Summit in Chicago, Ill., on Oct. 29, 2019. Scott Olson/Getty Images
Rob Natelson
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Commentary

During the 2012 presidential election campaign, President Barack Obama notoriously told business owners, “You didn’t build that.” He was trying to justify hiking taxes on “the rich”—meaning the productive and successful.

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Rob Natelson
Rob Natelson
Author
Robert G. Natelson, a former constitutional law professor, is Senior Fellow in Constitutional Jurisprudence at the Mountain States Policy Center and the Independence Institute. He authored “The Original Constitution” (4th ed., 2025) and is a contributor to the Heritage Foundation’s “Heritage Guide to the Constitution.”
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