Going Galt

The Telegraph newspaper in the UK reports that "Almost two-thirds of the country’s million-pound earners disappeared from Britain after the introduction of the 50p [percent] top rate of tax, figures have disclosed." That means that high achievement, high income people voted with their feet.

I'm sure the Left would applaud this news, saying "good riddance." What they can't seem to process is that the rich pay the majority of taxes that keep big government running (as it closes in on bankruptcy), and it's the rich that create the majority of jobs by investing in big businesses and starting new ones. No matter -- good riddance!

The Telegraph provides additional information:

In the 2009-10 tax year, more than 16,000 people declared an annual income of more than £1 million to HM Revenue and Customs.

This number fell to just 6,000 after Gordon Brown introduced the new 50p top rate of income tax shortly before the last general election.

The figures have been seized upon by the Conservatives to claim that increasing the highest rate of tax actually led to a loss in revenues for the Government.

It is believed that rich Britons moved abroad or took steps to avoid paying the new levy by reducing their taxable incomes.

Barack Obama's never-ending war on those who have been financially successful won't accomplish much very even if every millionaire stays put. I discussed that in a recent post. But what if the U.K.'s experience is repeated here?

In fact, as the dependency class grows ever larger, allowing those who pander to the dependency class to win election after election, we begin to approach the dark world described in Atlas Shrugged.

Atlas Shrugged is a novel (actually, it more of a polemic) written in the 1959 by Ayn Rand, a conservative who viewed socialism with a jaundiced eye. In the novel, a character named John Galt becomes fed up with the government's continuing demands on his business and on his personal income. He goes dark, purposely making no income and therefore providing no revenue for a government he views as corrupt and rapacious.

The actions of the rich in the U.K. are often described as "going Galt," defined (somewhat stridently) at an Atlas Shrugged website in the following manner:

"Going Galt" means asking in the face of new taxes and government controls, "Why work at all?" "For whom am I working?" "Am I a slave?"

"Going Galt" means recognizing that you're being punished not for your vices but for your virtues ...

"Going Galt" means recognizing that you do not need to justify your life or wealth to your neighbors, "society," or politicians, or bureaucrats. They're yours, period!

"Going Galt" means recognizing that the needs of others do not give them a claim to your time, effort, and achievements ...

Sure, the definition is a bit extreme, but there's more than a kernel of truth in it.

As Barack Obama and his supporters on the Left continue and expand their successful class warfare meme, there's only one thing that stands in their way. It's already happening in the U.K., and it just might begin to happen here. It's called going Galt.