The simple fact is that small business existed and prospered before there was roads, internet, or public school teachers. They often pushed into the frontier far ahead of civilization.

Whats more, the ones who failed (or more often that not - never even tried) had the same teachers, roads, internet, and whatever else. They sat around, drank and smoked bud, and griped while the "fortunate" ones worked 16 hours a day 7 days a week to get what they had. By any measure (taxes paid, people employed, community involvement) the small businessmen have given back more than their fair share. For Obama to try to lump them in with wall street bankers just shows how out of touch he is. The only excuse I can find for it is that Obama's entire career was spent as a middleman in a mob run town where one's success in business is determined more by who you know than what you know. In that context, his comments can be seen as downrite threatening.