Will Atlas Shrug?

Spent a productive day in the Gulch. Have read 200 pages of “Atlas Shrugged” in 3 days; I’ll post today’s quote when I can find just ONE good one–there’s so much Rand wrote in that 51-year-old book that reads as if she wrote it after the 2008 primary season. Lovely, sunny fall day in the high 50s. I threshed some amaranth, stored some water, then did a little shopping, and am settling in for the Notre Dame game.

News of the Day? Who knows? I heard a little as I worked–Obama’s back on the stump after spending a day and a half visiting his grandmother in Hawaii. Some poll Fox was quoting had Obama ahead by 12 points–a ridiculous assertion. Gas is $2.59 a gallon here. Sample ballot arrived today–McCain is the first listed choice for President, which should be a little helpful.

What government services did I use today?  I live in a free country thanks to the military. I’m writing this thanks to the First Amendment. I heard police and fire sirens, which means they’re still around. I drove on state highways. I used electricity and natural gas–private monopolies, but I would reckon they’re “too big to fail” and operate under the aegis of the government. I paid sales tax on my purchases. Government was benevolent today.

Will it always be? Again, I remain convinced McCain will win. One of the many reasons I am voting for him is I know where he stands–I’ll hate many of the things he does, but he won’t actively work to subvert democracy and capitalism. My life and my investments will still be my responsibility.

What will Senator Obama do? The fact that he’s on the record as wanting to spread the wealth around gives some clue, but he’s such an unknowable cipher that no one knows for sure. Kelsey Grammer was on Cavuto a couple of weeks ago saying he was completely out of the stock market, partly as a hedge against Obama winning and confiscating his profits. I noted below that if people vote for this madness, I will get out of my 401(k). How many others will do so?

There’s no doubt that the greed of people living beyond their means, as well as the government forcing banks to give mortgages to people with no hope of paying them back has gotten us into an awful financial mess. The government bailed the whole mess out with incomprehensible sums of taxpayer money. All objective sources indicate that credit is loosening back up. Yet still the market struggles.

Is Atlas preparing to shrug? Not with the ostentatious displays that leftists indulge in–protests with papier mache puppets–but with silent, purposeful action? A prediction–if Obama wins on November 4, the market will lose another 2000 points between election day and when he takes office. People will simply cash in their chips and walk. The big guys will move it overseas to those few shelters still friendly to capitalism. The little guys will purchase tangibles, land, precious metals, and store up cash. What’s the point of taking a risk in the markets when you will be punished by the government if you succeed? Like Joe the Plumber, why start a business if it will be taxed and regulated into oblivion?

How many productive people will simply go “on strike”? How many would it take to show the country that the government needs productive people more than those people need the government?