Going Galt

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(Who is John Galt?)
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== Who is John Galt? ==
 
== Who is John Galt? ==
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<s>John Galt was a notable Scottish novelist and biographer of Byron. Now that's the real answer.</s>
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As the name implies, this is inspired by the character of John Galt, the "hero" of [[Ayn Rand]]'s [[Objectivism|Objectivist]] doorstopper, ''[[Atlas Shrugged]]'', who destroys civilization to avoid paying taxes.<ref>Hicks, J. Brad.  "Atlas Shrugged 2: Shrug Harder".  ''The Infamous Brad''.  May 25, 2008.  LiveJournal.  http://bradhicks.livejournal.com/393124.html.</ref>  They apparently think this is a good idea, and hope to follow in his footsteps.
 
As the name implies, this is inspired by the character of John Galt, the "hero" of [[Ayn Rand]]'s [[Objectivism|Objectivist]] doorstopper, ''[[Atlas Shrugged]]'', who destroys civilization to avoid paying taxes.<ref>Hicks, J. Brad.  "Atlas Shrugged 2: Shrug Harder".  ''The Infamous Brad''.  May 25, 2008.  LiveJournal.  http://bradhicks.livejournal.com/393124.html.</ref>  They apparently think this is a good idea, and hope to follow in his footsteps.
  

Revision as of 13:26, 28 March 2013

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"Going Galt" is a right-wing blog catchphrase inspired by the tax policy pushed by President Barack Obama. The idea is that having to pay 4.9% more in taxes on the part of their income that exceeds $250,000 per year constitutes such an intolerable burden that they should deliberately cut back on their business to lower their income to $249,999 per year, or flee the U.S. altogether.

It is largely promoted by idiots who can't do math, and by scaremongers trying to take advantage of idiots who can't do math.

Contents

Who is John Galt?

John Galt was a notable Scottish novelist and biographer of Byron. Now that's the real answer.

As the name implies, this is inspired by the character of John Galt, the "hero" of Ayn Rand's Objectivist doorstopper, Atlas Shrugged, who destroys civilization to avoid paying taxes.[1] They apparently think this is a good idea, and hope to follow in his footsteps.

In the novel, John Galt declared his opposition to collectivism by starting a collective called Galt's Gulch.[2] He expressed his opposition to organized labor by organizing (what else?) a strike.

How it usually ends up

Eric Dondero, a man deemed too crazy for the Ron Paul campaign, has proposed going Galt, going so far as to recommend people should quit their jobs if they work for a Democratic voter.[3]

In practice, though, if anyone has actually gone Galt, it's had no measurable effect. As a result, the usual response to a Galt-going threat is "so go already".

See also

External links

Footnotes

  1. Hicks, J. Brad. "Atlas Shrugged 2: Shrug Harder". The Infamous Brad. May 25, 2008. LiveJournal. http://bradhicks.livejournal.com/393124.html.
  2. Ayn Rand also had a collective of devoted followers.
  3. http://www.libertarianrepublican.net/2012/11/the-end-of-liberty-in-america-only.html
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