[whodathunkit]

I fired the three neighborhood kids working part time, took my skilled people and moved the business out of Camden last fall. The building is empty and covered with graffiti.

A round of applause for you, Sir. _You_ are John Galt !

[mick]

No I'm not. I paid the protection money and moved out of town feeling like a sell out to my principles. And I was.

And in the final analysis that is the paramount evil of collectivism....you are faced with the hobbesian choice of either going down in flames for the "right" and taking your family and employees with you, or trying to survive. I do business in Ukraine and I can tell you that the compromises people in the old USSR had to make just to feed their kids is unbelievable to an American. The beauty of free market capitalism is that average people like me can prosper and maintain dignity. The first thing you lose in collectivism is dignity. And telling yourself you had no choice never makes it easier. I tell myself I ran away to fight another day. Maybe. Or maybe I just wanted to survive and save my ass.