Going Galt

I'm seeing lots and lots of references to the book Atlas Shrugged on the columns I visit daily and on radio stations I listen to. I probably wouldn't recognize all the references if I hadn't just finished reading it. It's one of those over 1000-page paperback novels, from the 50s, which means it's a little slower moving than most modern novels. But the beauty of this book isn't its pacing, its language, or its characterization. The greatness of this book is the plot -- how author Ayn Rand describes a government in process of socializing the economy.

And now that we have a government beginning the process (or rather, furthering the process) of socializing our economy, the parallels are uncanny. That's why anyone who has read Atlas Shrugged picks up on it. In her book, Rand divides the American people into three groups: the looters, the moochers, and the producers. The looters are the members of the government and big businesses that get all cozy with government so they can receive special treatment. In our day, that's Obama's White House, the Democrat majority Senate and House, GE, ACORN, labor unions, etc.

The moochers are the little people who voted for Obama hoping to receive something for nothing (kicks for free.) They are the ones who say, "I don't have to worry about paying my mortgage or putting gas in my car, 'cause he's gonna help me." They are the ones that hate the "rich." They want all the goodies Obama has promised. And they don't care where that money comes from.

The producers do decent work and reap the benefits of their work. In the book, they are the responsible owners of steel factories, railroads, and gold mines. As they find, though, that they are being punished for being rich and that their money is taken (looted) to give to the moochers, they begin to drop out of the system. They stop producing and allow the whole thing to fall apart. (After all, the looters and moochers are riding the backs of the producers. Without the producers, nothing gets done or made or earned. People end up starving; products become very scarce.)

Jimmy Quinn, a radio talk show host from Pittsburgh (the Quinn and Rose show), often refers to "the cast of Atlas Shrugged" when talking about Barney Frank, Tim Geithner, Barack Obama, Nancy Pelosi, or Harry Reid. And he's right. They are collectively lazy, greedy, and stupid, just like in the book.

One column today was titled, "When will Atlas Shrug?" "Atlas Raged," was another from a day or so ago. Then there's "John Galt Calls on Atlas to Strike!" Michelle Malkin titled one of her columns, "Going Galt." She described the "tea parties" that sprang up in response to Rick Santelli's rant. (If you haven't seen that, you're missing a treat. Google "Santelli rant" and watch it on Youtube.) I like the title. I think I'm going to use it as a title on my newsletter for the Albuquerque area 9.12 group. John Galt was the protagonist, the producer who persuaded the others to drop out.

And then I got chills down my back when I heard on the news about Obama signing the crap sandwich stimulus in Colorado. My reaction wasn't about his signing (that made me sick to my stomach) but about the company he was there to highlight. It's a solar-panel installation company. Apparently, a part of the stimulus requires that THIS company be used whenever any of the projects in the area requires installation of solar panels. So the government is subsidizing it. This company is one of the looters, currying and receiving special treatment. But why? What's special about this company? It isn't a huge company. In fact, it is modestly sized.

Here's the deal. This company is being run like a communist business system. Everyone receives the exact same salary, no matter what job they have in the company. They make decisions as a group. They get a six-week vacation every year, no matter how they are doing financially. It's no surprise that they are going under. They NEED the government to bail them out. And the government chose them because they are trying to carry out a socialist agenda. Oh, and because they are "green." (I can tell them now their system won't work. Do you think they're listening?)

What's chilling is that John Galt came from just such a company. In the book, it was an automaker. The owner died and left the company to his children. They decided to run it like the communists in Russia ran their factories. Everyone received the exact same pay. This led to no incentive for doing a good job. They had long, divisive meetings in which everyone had to vote on what they were going to do. John Galt walked out in disgust and went underground.

Everyone I know is going Galt. They are tightening their belts, lowering their productivity and, therefore, their income so that they don't need to pay so many taxes. I have many friends who are beginning vegetable gardens and raising chickens, buying canned goods, and stocking up for the hard times, when the richer producers leave the country.