To my sorrow, but hardly to my surprise, the inimitable Karl Denninger (whom we've met in these pages on many previous occasions) has decided to 'go Galt' as far as future income-producing activities are concerned. This appears to include a drastic reduction in the amount of material he makes available to his readers. Here's an excerpt from his announcement.
We all have our point at which we simply refuse to consent. A few, like Joe Stack, take that refusal and turn it into acts of violence. Singularly such acts are futile and amount to nothing more than martyrdom at best and a waste of human capital at worst.
But others, like myself, are unwilling to waste our lives. One can recognize there is a non-violent means of refusal that no government can counteract or put a stop to. It is far more effective and personally-satisfying than active, violent resistance, especially when the latter is singular and most of America is busy watching Dancing With The Stars, unworthy of anything more than being sheep to provide warmth for the "leaders" and occasionally a plate full of mutton.
. . .
I refuse to continue to silently accede to, and actively fund through my drive to acquire that measured in and rewarded by "wealth", the rampant theft and fraud that has and continues to take place in the economic sector, especially in the banking and health care areas of our economy. None of this could ever exist except through the insertion of the guns of government up the noses of the American people.
I can no longer live with being one of the better sources of funding for these abuses. This decision did not come lightly, easily or quickly. But I'm convinced it's the right choice as things stand today.
In short, if you want it in two words, it's this: I'm done.
I choose instead of either active participation through funding of our government's BS or violence to peacefully withdraw my consent. To refuse to labor. To make do with less -- a lot less. I choose to reduce my voluntary contribution to the tax hoard that is misspent or forms the foundation against which our government borrows, giving the proceeds to those who think that doping it up is a grand past-time or shoveling guns, missiles and money to terrorists while groping our grannies, using the very existence of the terrorists we gave the guns and missiles to as justification for what any civilized society would call sexual assault.
The portion of that which I earn by my efforts that I am able to retain in real terms shrinks by the day, and I have concluded that the balance of benefits and harms, especially the harms done to others using my tax dollars, is no longer acceptable to me.
My decision will not change until America changes. Until it wakes up. Until the people demand and the government of this county, this state and this nation recognize everyone's fundamental rights -- that shall not be infringed means what it says, that shall pass no law means what it says and all branches of government stop using taxpayer dollars to arm terrorists, maintain and promote medical monopolies, promote and empower banking cartels while excusing violence and fraud, both financial and corporeal, committed against the people of this nation by those entities and the agents of government itself.
There's much more at the link. Recommended and thought-provoking reading.
I'm very sorry, from a personal standpoint, that Mr. Denninger has made this decision, because it'll reduce the amount of information on which I've come to rely from him. However, I applaud his honesty and personal integrity.
I'm in no position to 'go Galt', as I don't (and probably never will) earn enough to be in Mr. Denninger's tax bracket; but I hope I can set an example of what's right by living off the sweat of my own brow, of doing whatever it takes to earn my own way in life and not rely on the taxes of others to support me. I've been accused of being an idiot, of being 'disgustingly old-fashioned', and a few other things, for holding such views. Nevertheless, with my books now selling moderately well and the prospect of more sales in future, I think I'm on an increasingly sustainable path towards that objective. As I said on another blog:
I can foresee the day when I’ll earn enough from my writing to be able to terminate my disability pension. That means a great deal to me. I was raised to believe that one shouldn’t ‘suck on the public teat’, as my father rather picturesquely put it, except in dire need, and then only for the shortest possible time. Back in 2004, a neurosurgeon predicted I’d never recover sufficiently from my injuries to earn a living through my own labor. I may not have recovered any better than he foresaw, but nevertheless, the prospect of proving him wrong is very satisfying!
With so many actively seeking to 'suck on the public teat' their whole lives long, perhaps the best that those of us who can't afford to 'go Galt' can manage is to provide a counter-example. It may not be much . . . but it's something.
Peter
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