Risk vs. Danger

Watch this video of my favorite libtard, Melissa Harris-Perry.

Here she shows (like she does so often) that she has no idea what she is talking about.  She discounts the credit that business owners deserve for taking risks and and asks, “What is riskier than living in a poor neighborhood?”   Now, it’s clear that what they were referring to in the video is “business risk” which is defined by Investopedia: http://www.investopedia.com/

Definition of 'Business Risk'

The possibility that a company will have lower than anticipated profits, or that it will experience a loss rather than a profit. Business risk is influenced by numerous factors, including sales volume, per-unit price, input costs, competition, overall economic climate and government regulations. A company with a higher business risk should choose a capital structure that has a lower debt ratio to ensure that it can meet its financial obligations at all times.

So Melissa scores a few stupidity points right there for ignoring the context in which a term was used, and appearing like she doesn’t understand the distinction, by going off into some spiel about the risks involved in living in a poor neighborhood.

Melissa here, has confused risk with danger.  Risk and danger are two words that are often used interchangeably and have similar definitions, but most intelligent people understand the difference.  A danger is an element that may exist in a particular environment, regardless of any particular individual being there or decisions that he or she may make.  A risk is a calculated decision, made by an individual to take a specific action (usually with the objective of improving one’s situation) in spite of the danger.   

A farmer who doesn’t purchase crop insurance is taking a risk.  A person living in a poor neighborhood, may be living in danger, but not necessarily taking risks.  They’re in that situation by accident of birth, not conscious decision.   

In a war situation, where a wounded soldier is lying between enemy lines, everyone there is in danger, but the soldiers that remain cowered down in the trench are not taking a risk.  The hero that climbs out and drags his buddy back to relative safety is taking a huge risk.

One might be tempted to cut Melissa some slack and say that she was just trying to make a point, but I contend that she truly doesn’t understand the distinction.  How could she?  She lives in an entirely different world than that of a business owner, so she could not possibly understand risk.

Risk for a business owner is a part of everyday life, often with stakes higher than people like Melissa could possibly understand.  The closest thing that people like her ever did to taking a risk was choosing which job offer to take, betting on a football game, or maybe investing some of their disposable income.  

Real risk involves betting everything one has on his or her ability to make the right decision.  A farmer may choose to leave his corn standing for a longer period of time before harvesting in order save on drying costs, but bad weather may come in before harvest and make him lose much more than whatever drying costs that he were trying to save.  

A liberal cannot possibly comprehend this.  They couldn’t understand risking so much to save so little, but that is just one of the many decisions that a farmer has to make when producing a crop.  In addition, there is how much to pay for land rent and equipment, which inputs like fertilizer and pesticides to use, as well as choosing which seed variety to use, when to plant in the spring, and how and when to sell.  

The results of any of these decisions could be the difference between profit and loss, and sometimes can determine the the very existence of their operations.  Everything they have worked for, their entire lives, often depends upon them making the right call.  It’s the same way with other types of business owners.  

Now how often do people living in poor neighborhoods have to make decisions like those described above?  When I drive through poor neighborhoods, I notice that many of the residents drive nicer cars than I do, but many are still on government assistance.  I think that proves that there is not much pressure on them to make the right call.  They may live in danger, but they don’t face much risk.

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