Expecting the government to help create jobs for people is anti-boostraps mentality

The title kinda says it all, but this is something I have been thinking about for a couple of days. Americans, particularly conservatives, are all about the "Pull yourself up by your own bootstraps" mentality. Despite this everyone wants a president fighting for people to have an easier time getting jobs. That sort of reliance flies in the face of the bootstraps mentality where everything you do comes down to working for it and earning it by yourself.

Am I somehow wrong about this? Or is it just like red states taking more from the government in taxes that suggest republicans/conservatives simply not practicing what they preach?

"Pull up your bootstraps" only comes into effect if it's about other people, especially if they are minorities.

Your OP is probably more multi faceted than you realize. I don't think the citizenry expects the government to create jobs. We expect them to help facilitate an environment conducive to job creation.

In regards of pulling yourself up by your bootstraps...that saying cannot be equally applied to all Americans. That is the main issue I have with it.

That's what I said in the OP, but not the topic title. I don't want to make the title too long. Gotta have something to read once you open up the thread.

There is a lot of hypocrisy involved, but it's a bit more nuanced than I make it sound. The idea is if the government imposes tariffs and other protectionist measures to isolate our economic system from outside influence, then there will be more jobs for American workers making it easier to pull themselves up by their own bootstraps.

If done right it could work out well. If done wrong, any increase in jobs and wages will be completely offset by higher priced products.

But making it easier means you are still receiving outside help which in turn means some reliance on the government to improve your personal life, correct?

@Serraph105: Correct. Though many don't understand this, or won't admit it.

I'm not a conservative, but in my case, I've worked for everything I have. I suppose that means I've pulled myself up by my bootstraps.

But yes, the conservative party is very hypocritical in this sense. I juse got from visiting my sister in Mississippi ( she's stationed there) and talk about third-world garbage. It's a red state and yet everyone is poor, fat and uneducated.

To play devil's advocate though I will say government policy can....and does....kill some jobs at times.

No doubt.

Me personally would like to see policies to support small business start up and growths.

There are two ways to look at this issue:

From a personal perspective, pulling yourself up by your bootstraps is a euphemism for moving up the social/economic ladder. It is a statement saying that you improved which rung of that ladder you are on.

From a statistical/aggregate perspective, improving the economic stances of society as a whole is what fiscal and monetary policy deal with. It deals with raising the entire ladder or altering the distribution of rungs. It can also make movement between rungs easier or harder.

The first deals with individual efforts. The second deals with societal efforts.

Telling people to pull themselves up by their bootstraps could help an individual. It is not a prescription for a societal/system issue or decline.

Republicans actually acknowledge this, although many of them don't realize it. Otherwise, they would not advocate for tax cuts as an economic panacea or free trade agreements as "lifting all boats".