Posted on 03/07/2009 7:55:49 PM PST by 2ndDivisionVet
Enough. In a word, that is the message of disgusted taxpayers fed up with the confiscatory policies of both parties in Washington. George Bush pre-socialized the economy with billion-dollar bailouts of the financial and auto industries. Barack Obama is pouring billions more down those sinkholes. It isn't just the camel's back that's broken. His neck and four legs have all snapped, too.
Enough. Last Friday, thousands of Americans turned out to protest reckless government spending in the pork-laden stimulus package, the earmark-clogged budget bill, the massive mortgage-entitlement program and taxpayer-funded corporate rescues. Contrary to false left-wing blog smears that the hastily planned impromptu events were “Astro-turfed,” the crowds were packed with first-time grassroots activists. They were people with families and day jobs whose usual definition of “community organizing” involves neighborhood yard sales or their kids' soccer matches. They were members of the silent majority who decided to be silent no more.
Enough. These “Tea Party” protests spanned the sunny Santa Monica pier to the icy streets of Chicago and Cleveland to rain-drenched Atlanta, overflowing the grounds of the St. Louis Gateway Arch, with massive turnouts in Greenville, S.C., and crowds of several hundred each in New York City and Washington, D.C., and all points in between. Like those who demonstrated before them in Seattle, Denver, Mesa, Ariz., and Overland Park, Kan., two weeks ago, the Tea Party participants held homemade signs that said it all: “Your mortgage is not my problem”; “Liberty: All the stimulus we need”; “No taxation without deliberation.”
The speed and scope with which they mobilized were due not to nefarious outside conspiracists, but to social networking websites Facebook and Twitter, where a burgeoning network on Twitter called Top Conservatives became the central clearinghouse for information. Planning for a new wave of demonstrations on April 15 has begun at www.taxdayteaparty.com.
Enough. While they take to the streets politically, untold numbers of America's wealth producers are going on strike financially. Dr. Helen Smith, a Tennessee forensic psychologist and political blogger, dubbed the phenomenon “Going Galt” last fall. It's a reference to the famed Ayn Rand novel “Atlas Shrugged,” in which protagonist John Galt leads the entrepreneurial class to cease productive activities in order to starve the government of revenue. (Not coincidentally, Rand's novel sales are up and John Galt references punctuated many of the Tea Party demonstrations.) Dr. Smith was inundated with stories like these:
“I have frozen hiring in my firm. … No investments will be made in taxable accounts – only 401k/IRAs. I am buying silver and gold instead of CDs or stocks with non-qualified money and savings. I have stopped taking new clients, thus freezing my income. I barter more and more. Spend less. I stopped leveraging assets (don't borrow).”
“I have cut WAY back – I'm no longer buying retail, driving out of a 10-mile radius, spending money on eating out or putting my money in a savings account. I am using the money to pay off all of our debt. It has made our family closer, more appreciative.”
Another blogger wrote: “Last year my family paid nearly $1,000 a month in federal taxes, and we are not by any stretch of the imagination rich. I'm going to make it my business to cut that amount in half, using every legal means possible and reducing my income so there is less to tax.”
Enough. Those business owners are not alone. This week, ABC News spotlighted upper-income earners going Galt in response to Obama's proposed tax hikes on families with incomes of $250,000 or more. A Lafayette, La., attorney told the reporter she was cutting back on her business to avoid the tax threshold: “Why kill yourself working if you're going to give it all away to people who aren't working as hard?” Tax hikes have consequences. Incentives matter. Only self-deluded wealth redistributors living in la-la land believe otherwise.
Another business owner, Dr. Sharon Poczatek, explained: “The motivation for a lot of people like me – dentists, entrepreneurs, lawyers – is that the more you work the more money you make,” said Poczatek. “But if I'm going to be working just to give it back to the government – it's de-motivating and demoralizing.”
The perpetual Borrow-Spend-Panic-Repeat machine in Washington depends on the capitulation of the wealth producers. There's only one monkey wrench that can stop the redistributionist thieves' engine. It's engraved with the word: Enough.
I refuse to be the obamanation’s ATM. After spending over 20 years as a military officer I finally hit the the jackpot in my own business in the real marketplace. I am debt free, own a few assets and have my military pension. I employ about ten girls and I bring home a lot more than than hussein’s wealthy definition. My wife and I are used to living on a whole lot less than 250k so it will not be a problem for me to cut back to that level. I have already told my staff that I may be cutting back on work. They understand what that means. I hate to lay off these folks, I really hate to do it. OTOH I am approaching 60 and I don’t feel like it is my responsibility to support a socialist economy. I am working harder than I ever have so I don’t mind taking more time off to travel and work in my garden. Working hard is not my goal, making a lot of money to prepare for my retirement is. Working hard to prop up a socialist tyrant was never in my plans.
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Two acquaintances who have owned their own business for a long time pulled all their money out of their brokerage accounts the day after the election. They’re a smart couple and have worked very hard to accumulate what they have. Now they’re working even harder to preserve it and to avoid having it redistributed to those who did nothing to earn it.
Didn’t New Zealand just go right of center in the last election?
Australia is a great country. The government is a little left now but Australians in general are very hard-working, freedom loving, honest, diligent and frugal. Also, their government has a budget surplus and it is a commodities-based economy for the most part. It will prosper again as Asia recovers.
The tax policy there is pretty fair, and they have a good legal system- the loser pays the winner’s legal fees. The recent stimulus package in Australia went for things like insulating peoples homes and businesses to conserve energy down the road- fairly pragmatic compared to our mess.
They also love freedom. They were very eager and loyal (and non-compensated) partners with the US in the Battle of the South China Sea. That battle is still an example of two great nations coming together in wartime and together accomplishing a massive success because of shared values of freedom, sacrifice and honor.
Something else is interesting to me over there- if an Australian starts promoting themselves in sports, music or politics, their fellow citizens are quick to cut them down to size. They don’t put up with a lot of ego over there.
The only negative I have found is that the Greenies over there make our envirowhackos look like Jesse Helms. Most people do care for the environment in a good way over there- not too extreme- so overall it is a good thing.
It is probably the closest thing to Galt’s Gulch out there now. If Kevin Rudd gets too crazy left, they will toss him out of office. If things keep going the way they are over here with the destruction of our republic and the decimation of our economy, I am sure many Americans will be lining up at the Australian embassy. In fact, I was told that a lot already have been doing so- and that it picked up in the Fall and even more after the election...probably getting much busier lately...
What kind of gun laws does Australia have?
Excellent!
bump
Not as good as over here in the south, unfortunately. (or as good as ours used to be!?) Wikipedia actually has a pretty good summary of the gun laws over there.
I also forgot to mention that Australia does not have nearly as bad of an illegal immigration problem as here.
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