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Are Americans Going John Galt?
Human Events ^ | 4-30-10 | Doug Patton

Posted on 04/30/2010 1:21:29 PM PDT by smokingfrog

"We are fast approaching the stage of the ultimate inversion: the stage where the government is free to do anything it pleases, while the citizens may act only by permission; which is the stage of the darkest periods of human history, the stage of rule by brute force."— Ayn Rand

Author and objectivist philosopher Ayn Rand was born in Russia just before the Bolshevik Revolution. She literally witnessed the slaughter and the dismantling of her country from the window of her father's pharmacy—which was subsequently seized by the Leninist state. As a young woman, she fled to the United States, where she never forgot what she saw in her native country. She developed a deep distrust of government as she became one of the most celebrated writers of the mid-20th Century.

Rand was eerily prescient when she penned the crown jewel of her literary career, the 1,100-page tome she appropriately titled, Atlas Shrugged. The novel was twice as long as it needed to be, filled with long philosophical soliloquies about the evils of socialism; but it was so prophetic concerning America's future that today, in the age of Obama, Pelosi and Reid, its annual sales far outpace those of 1957, the year it became a New York Times best seller.

Deep into the story, the main protagonist, John Galt, is revealed to the reader as a brilliant young engineer who has decided to stop the engine of the world. He has invented a motor that can convert static electricity into electric power, but he refuses to share his knowledge or his invention with the world in an atmosphere of ever-intrusive government intervention into the private sector.

(Excerpt) Read more at humanevents.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Culture/Society; Editorial; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: aynrand; galt; johngalt
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To: Repeat Offender

This economy is now a game of musical chairs. But in 0bama’s version, when the music stops, everyone discovers that all of the chairs have been stolen.


21 posted on 04/30/2010 1:56:18 PM PDT by Noumenon ("Upon what meat doth this our Caesar feed, that he has grown so great?" - Julius Caesar)
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To: Neidermeyer
Galt's Gulch is really a state of mind and a plan of action. Tom Baugh says that it's time to starve the monkeys.
22 posted on 04/30/2010 1:58:12 PM PDT by Noumenon ("Upon what meat doth this our Caesar feed, that he has grown so great?" - Julius Caesar)
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To: E. Pluribus Unum

We are buying whatever we think we want or need. Why? Because we believe that either the feds will take it all or it will become worthless through hyperinflation or economic collapse.


23 posted on 04/30/2010 1:58:41 PM PDT by Scotsman will be Free (11C - Indirect fire, infantry - High angle hell - We will bring you, FIRE)
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To: E. Pluribus Unum

Nothing wrong with earning money. Just be careful how you spend it.


24 posted on 04/30/2010 1:58:52 PM PDT by smokingfrog ( - Free Men will always be armed with the Truth. - [ me ] -)
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To: Neidermeyer

Sounds like a good plan.


25 posted on 04/30/2010 2:00:28 PM PDT by smokingfrog ( - Free Men will always be armed with the Truth. - [ me ] -)
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To: smokingfrog
Nothing wrong with earning money.

The more you earn, the more you pay in taxes, the more you feed the beast.

26 posted on 04/30/2010 2:01:05 PM PDT by E. Pluribus Unum (FYBO: Islam is a religion of peace, and Muslims reserve the right to kill anyone who says otherwise.)
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To: Publius

Bookmarked


27 posted on 04/30/2010 2:02:24 PM PDT by Nea Wood (Silly liberal . . . paychecks are for workers!)
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To: smokingfrog
My only purchases for the past few months have been to stockpile needed items for protection and survival.

I have property and a home in a state and location where, if things do fall apart, the entire local and State Government apparatus will fall apart and have no more effect on my life. Local resources will go away and the State will have to concentrate on the major urban areas far away.

I have the ability and resources to plant what I need to survive and can hunt and fish on my property and nearby on my neighbor's/friends property.

I have the ability to store and transport my own gas to get my family there when needed.

28 posted on 04/30/2010 2:03:40 PM PDT by OldMissileer (Atlas, Titan, Minuteman, PK. Winners of the Cold War)
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To: smokingfrog
Certainly not by choice, having been thrown out of work because of my advanced age; but the result is the same.

I have not worked since last July. Further, no employer hires employees over 60 (much less over 62), unless it is for very menial labor.

Therefore, I am living on SS, unemployment, and any other gummint handout I can find.

If that is "John Gault", then I'm a'doin' it!

29 posted on 04/30/2010 2:03:46 PM PDT by Logic n' Reason (Don't piss down my back and tell me it's rainin'!)
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To: smokingfrog

30 posted on 04/30/2010 2:32:09 PM PDT by roofgoat
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To: E. Pluribus Unum

Last year, my income really took a hit. So far, am doing much better this year and plan to sock away as much as possible into my retirement account to help minimize any taxes.


31 posted on 04/30/2010 2:37:40 PM PDT by smokingfrog ( - Free Men will always be armed with the Truth. - [ me ] -)
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To: roofgoat

You need a few more bumper stickers.


32 posted on 04/30/2010 2:38:57 PM PDT by smokingfrog ( - Free Men will always be armed with the Truth. - [ me ] -)
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To: NEMDF

Similar situation.


33 posted on 04/30/2010 2:41:24 PM PDT by wally_bert (It's sheer elegance in its simplicity! - The Middleman)
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To: Notary Sojac

LOL


34 posted on 04/30/2010 2:42:36 PM PDT by Chi-townChief
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To: smokingfrog

I would but I don’t want to be profiled as a potential terrorist.


35 posted on 04/30/2010 2:48:08 PM PDT by roofgoat
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To: smokingfrog

I am still ‘going Galt.’ Other than absolute necessities, I buy nothing. Would love to get some new things but I just won’t do it.


36 posted on 04/30/2010 2:49:33 PM PDT by CaliforniaCon
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To: smokingfrog

We have lowered our federal tax liability by over 95%. Life is good. We’ll reconsider if and when the Socialists are out of power.


37 posted on 04/30/2010 3:07:18 PM PDT by SaxxonWoods (Gone Galt and loving it)
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To: CaliforniaCon

We will spend even less this year than last. Since with reduced spending we pay tax on fewer dollars from our 401k..so our income tax went down last year and will go lower this year. Plus..we are selling off some of our stuff..just don’t need a lot of it.


38 posted on 04/30/2010 3:09:24 PM PDT by Oldexpat
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To: manc
I’m Galt for sure and will not spend until this idiot has gone.

I'm half-Galt. Meaning, I've cut back on spending, but I can do more. I do make sure to do everything I can to avoid hiring someone else to do my work for me.

39 posted on 04/30/2010 3:20:45 PM PDT by meyer (It's time...)
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To: E. Pluribus Unum
The more you earn, the more you pay in taxes, the more you feed the beast.

That creates a bit of a delemna - earning more to save for the future is a positive thing, and putting ones' self in a higher position is potentially a positive move in the event that this communist phase becomes history quickly. But you're right - the downside is that more earnings mean more taxes for dot-gov to steal.

40 posted on 04/30/2010 3:41:39 PM PDT by meyer (It's time...)
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