My friend Bill is a successful entrepreneur in Southern California. While having lunch recently he commented that whatever happened at the upcoming elections and whoever was elected really didn’t matter to him. He went on to explain that while he was concerned about what was best for our country and that he planned to vote, ultimately no future president had the ability to dramatically affect the quality of his life. Changes in healthcare would not affect his ability to pay for and receive the quality of care he desired. Tax cuts wouldn’t change his financial independence.

Bill is a pragmatist. I thought about what he said. He’s mostly right about no future president really impacting his life. The exception would be a president who somehow plunged the world financial markets into meltdown or instigated a cataclysmic war (but of course elected officials in other countries have the potential to do that; it isn’t unique to the president of the United States). Barring those two situations, based on what I know about Bill, he is correct in his reasoning.

I like and advocate Bill’s philosophy which I call “personal political security.” The goal is simple: do not be beholden to the government to make or undo your success in life. Strive to always have enough in savings to weather storms, opt out of stupid programs and assure long-term financial stability. It is about self-sufficiency honestly achieved.

It doesn’t mean being unconcerned with the course of our nation and the quality of our leadership or disregarding our responsibility to each other and our role as a global citizen. It doesn’t mean being disinterested in the political process or neglecting to vote. It is about being part of the political process without being dependent upon it.

The benefit is not being scared of election outcomes because they portend personal disaster or eliminate your ability to prosper. Government’s role should be to create opportunity for all, not create entitlement for all. And yes–my libertarian friends will disagree–there are those government should help, but there are far fewer that truly need hlep than most candidates would have you believe.

What most don’t understand about tax cuts and the so-called “wealthy” is that smart, successful people will prosper despite tax advantage, not because of it. Government can make it harder for the successful by unfairly burdening them, but short of a repressive regime, government doesn’t control their destiny.

Bill is one of those people. He enjoyed personal political security. And that should be the goal for all of us.