Comments on: Ask Dr. Helen: Is It Time to ‘Go John Galt’?

By: Charles Jones

Charles Jones — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 21:05:30 +0000

Looking at Atlas on the cover of “Atlas Shrugged,” I can’t help feeling that it’s inappropriate for him to have his head bowed as if in shame. I think he should be looking the viewer in the eye and look angry and defiant instead.

By: Robert Schels

Robert Schels — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 03:58:27 +0000

I first read “Atlas Shrugged” about 20 years ago. I enjoy reading it and have re-read it several times since then. My point and comment is this: I went Galt (before I knew there was such a thing)several years ago. I withdrew from Mensa, Sold my business and walked away from my money making skills, and will only do work that makes me happy. I help out my neighbors when I am asked (although I do charge the $1.00 to do so in keeping with my beliefs) and never give my skills to people or companys who would exploit the common good.
If anyone thinks I have lost my mind, Let me say this. I could have had a very profitable life with lots of money, no worries about my future, a big mansion and all the trapping of a so-called easy life.
BUT….. I now sleep easy and peacefull at night. My family grows food in a community garden, I fix, repair, build and maintain my own things. I give my daughter what she needs to survive when she grows up and let her compete in gmynastics like she loves to do. My wife teaches a private university where she teaches her students that when the common good is FORCED upon you, it is neither common nor good.
I see no reason to give my hard-earned knowledge or help those who would use it for no other reason but to try to make me less of what I am. There are those who would curse me and tell me that I should use my mind to give others what they will not get for themselves. I live MY life for ME and MY family. I refuse to give anything to anyone who would not get it for themselves and would only have it simply because they took it from me.
I think John Galt would approve. As for the rest of the world???I care not one bit what they think.

By: Laban Paul

Laban Paul — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 06:06:32 +0000

This is a nice post realizing that what kind of society we really have.

By: Gus Levy

Gus Levy — Wed, 13 May 2009 19:26:15 +0000

I am an INTJ personality type so it follows that I am of Libertarian philosophy. Unfortunately for people of my type the laws of nature work against us as the normal distribution ensures that “individualists” will always be outnumbered by “socialists”: I suppose that human genes must distribute this way to ensure it’s own survival by limiting the amount of individualists as we are social animals.

Anyway, most people in this blog would probably understand intuitively that individualists are primarily the types that have always and will always be the group to lead humanity forward in terms of most important matters of progress and innovation. The irony is that the rest of society benefits the most from the work of the this minority group; unfortunately, there also exists the truly and inherently evil types who benefit themselves by limiting the ability of individualists to pull humanity forward by (ironically indeed!) persuading the rest of humanity to give them the power to do so.

I naturally distrust any person – usually of religious or political bent – who comes to me and claims their goal in life is to help me. My thought is always: “Don’t you have your own problems to take care of…and I prefer to solve my own problems in my own way, anyway, thank you.”

So to solve the problems that I (and we) are given today and henceforth for the forseeable future I am indeed choosing to “Go Galt” by retiring early (am 38 y.o.) from my relatively high paying job (+500m/yr) and investing in a mix of investments that will ensure that I do not exceed the income point where the progressive tax system begins to become truly nonsensical. I own my cars and only have a small mortgage (tax benefits!) so will live a peacefully content and quiet life in my personal Galt’s Gulch while I have physically prime yrs remaining rather than toiling away these great yrs for the nearly complete benefit of others…I know – How selfish!

By: Not a Moocher

Not a Moocher — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 03:26:48 +0000

It’s good to see all the looters and moochers complain how UNFAIR it is for the productive class not to contribute to the fullest.

If government is such a good thing, why not they send extra to Washington DC and Sacramento (in my case)?

By: Mandy

Mandy — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 05:43:06 +0000

In light of the insanity coming out of the White House in relation to undermining our security I’m surprised there aren’t mass resignations from those putting their life on the line for this country and the people in it. It may be one way to stop the craziness. The people in this country would be in an uproar if the majority of the employees in the CIA, FBI, NSA, and other organization did a mass resignation. It would certainly make the WH think twice before undermining these organizations and putting our security at risk. Not to mention end the threat of the people in these agencies being prosecuted in the future. Seems an Ayn Rand move needs to occur real soon. By the way – Where is John Gault when you need him? Seems Obama missed reading that book!

It may be a good idea to float this idea out there.

By: Fenian Minuteman

Fenian Minuteman — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 19:46:12 +0000

David, the word “moocher” is not strong enough. Those that live off of the production of others are stealing.

By: gus3

gus3 — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 08:05:30 +0000

Maralago,

You are the worst kind of hypocrite, who latches onto the narrow definition for your own purposes.

Who do you think has made the modern world as disease-resistant as it is? Yes, the resistance is uneven, but the fact that there is any resistance to disease at all is thanks to those who wanted the best for themselves and their descendants.

Who made us mobile? Henry Ford (yeah, whatever) wasn’t doing it out of some kind of altruistic guilt-trip. He found a way to do it, and do it well, and he made a huge fortune from it.

On behalf of all the abused, neglected, malnourished children in the world, we can thank Salk and Ford and Boeing and the people who are making huge fortunes developing tomorrow’s technology, for making it possible to bring food and vaccines to those who need it most.

Taking your approach, we would still be living in caves, waiting for the lions and tigers and bears to come eat us.

By the way, if you want to practice highway robbery, you might want to target Democrats. A lower percentage of them pack heat, so your odds of survival will be higher.

By: Maralago

Maralago — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 18:16:22 +0000

By the way, to the creep who said “I want the best for me and my family, if someone else doesn’t – too bad”. Thank you. I have been looking for just the write example of the vomit-inducing selfishness that is the Republican mindset these days. On behalf of all the abused, neglected, malnourished children in the world, we spit on you. It may be a shock to you because you are so self-absorbed it’s disgusting, but when someone else doesn’t “want the best” for his/her family, it is our MORAL obligation to help the family they leave swinging in the wind – the children, the ailing elderly parent etc. I fight every day to keep society from turning into the world YOU want, one where poor & blind & disabled & mentally ill & autistic & old people get driven out to a field & left to die.

I have now decided how I am going to help society. I am going to start stealing from people like YOU, Rolph and Karen and the rest of you bitches & bastards. You want survival of the fittest? Good. From now on, every Republican I meet is a target: I will steal purses and wallets and rip your jewelry right off your body. You see, I do what’s best for ME. That’s the Ayn Rand philosopy, isn’t it? After all, there’s no difference in me taking your wallets than in you taking my investment money to pay for your condo in Aspen.

By: Maralago

Maralago — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 18:08:12 +0000

I didn’t read all the comments because I couldn’t get past the narcissistic fantasy of one Sarah Rolph (she certainly made ME rolph). She says the MOST insane, most delusional thing I have heard in my adult life: “I may or may not become unproductive when and if I retire. In a free society I have the right to choose how productive to be for how long.” What are you Rolphie, 25??? Raj had it correct when he says we have points in our lives when we need help, when we cannot take care of ourselves. Even if Sara Barf were fortunate enough not to be felled by age-related disease or impairment, what of those who ARE? The theme of this putrid bunch of comments is that no one has the RIGHT to health care, no one has the RIGHT to a job or help when they cannot take care of themselves. Oh nooooo. BUT they DO have the RIGHT to accept tax breaks. They DO have the RIGHT to pay themselves in the tens of millions each year despite the fact they are public companies – which, for those of you who just don’t get what that means – is a firm expected to give those people a just return for their investment. But that’s impossible if the firm pays a few hundred of its executives tens of millions of dollars every year. Think about it – how much more would that firm be worth if it’s payroll were cut back by $400 million a year by virtue of paying its executives their REAL worth which can’t possibly be more than $1 million a year. There isn’t an executive on Planet Earth worth $40 million a year. Therefore, those executives are STEALING from their shareholders.

But I guess I shouldn’t be surprised at some little idiot chick, Sarah, who thinks she’ll never grow old, she’ll never be infirmed. After all, this bunch of posters include a psycho who thinks highly of Sarah Palin. That is literally the definition of insanity.