Atlas Shrugged: Who Is John Galt?

The final installment of the Atlas Shrugged movie trilogy will be opening at theaters tomorrow (September 12, 2014).

You can find a theater where the film is showing here.

It is a film that I had doubts would ever make the big screen. I went to see Parts 1 and 2 and both movies did poorly at the box office. Atlas Shrugged: Part I only grossed $4.6 million and Part II brought in $3.3 million.

It is a real testament to the producers and financial backers of the project that they have stayed the course and finished the series.

Were the first two parts of Atlas Shrugged a couple of the greatest films I have ever seen? Certainly not. They were fairly low budget films with no-name casts. However, Atlas Shrugged is a story worth telling and learning from. Especially in the country we live in today.

I urge all of my readers to support the effort of these filmmakers and see the movie. If you have not seen Parts I and II, try to see them on DVD.  Both are available through Netflix. I believe that only Part II is available on Netflix online.

I have written about Atlas Shrugged several times in BeeLine. Below you can see two of the most relevant posts for background on the book and the movies.

Who is John Galt?

Atlas Shrugged Again
(originally posted July 25, 2012)

I have finally shrugged and decided to actually read Atlas Shrugged.  I have written about the book and the movie previously but I could never commit to starting the 1,168 page tome. The eerie nature of how closely President Obama's remarks on "you didn't build that" parallels a book written over 50 years ago as a cautionary tale on the dangers of socialism and collectivism pushed me over the edge. I plan to begin reading it this week.

If you somehow missed Barack Obama's view of entrepreneurship and success here it is again...

"If you’ve got a business -- you didn’t build that.  Somebody else made that happen."

Compare that to this dialogue in Atlas Shrugged written by Ayn Rand in 1957 that makes the same argument as to why the government is justified in heavily taxing and regulating a successful entrepreneur named Rearden...

“He didn’t invent iron ore and blast furnaces, did he?”

“Who?”

“Rearden. He didn’t invent smelting and chemistry and air compression. He couldn’t have invented his Metal but for thousands and thousands of other people. His Metal! Why does he think it’s his? 

Why does he think it’s his invention? Everybody uses the work of everybody else. Nobody ever invents anything.”

She said, puzzled, “But the iron ore and all those other things were there all the time. Why didn’t anybody else make that Metal, but Mr. Rearden did?

Is this life imitating art or art predicting life when we forget the principles that made America what it is?

By the way, Atlas Shrugged: The Movie-Part 2 is scheduled for an October 12, 2012 release.

I went to Part 1 when it was released in May, 2011. Apparently not many others went to see it as it only grossed $4.6 million per IMDb.

I enjoyed the film but was concerned when I saw the box office results that Parts 2 and 3 of the trilogy would never make it to theaters.  Thank you to whoever has backed this project financially! Putting this movie together in liberal Hollywood is not an easy task.

It appears that a different cast will play the main characters in Part 2 than we saw in Part 1. You can find out more at the Atlas Shrugged Part II web site.

I can only imagine what Ayn Rand is thinking as she looks down on us.  I don't think she is shrugging.



Who is John Galt? BeeLine Now Knows
(originally posted October 10, 2012)

Just in time for the theater release of Atlas Shrugged, Part II this Friday, BeeLine has completed reading Atlas Shrugged as I promised I would.

I have three general thoughts about the book that was written by Ayn Rand in 1957. Rand was a Russian emigre who saw first hand the dangers of collectivism, socialism and communism and could appreciate individualism and capitalism like few Americans.

It is ponderous.  It is wordy and weighty.  It is not an easy read.  Its seems as if some paragraphs go on for pages.  Many times I thought Rand could have used one-third the words and got the same point across.  However, it is well written and thought provoking throughout.

It is prophetic.  At times it was almost eerie in how Rand wrote about where the socialist, anti-capitalist mindset leads us.  I had to keep reminding myself that this book was written in 1957. Federal government outlays in 1957 were $77 billion.  We now spend that in about one week.  She is spot on in writing about the liberal intelligentsia and how they always "know what is right and fair". (Sound familiar?) She writes about a "Project Soybean" in the book the  purpose of which is to recondition the dietary habits of the nation. Wheat and corn are so inefficient. Everyone should eat soybeans. ( Sound familiar?)   She writes about getting oil from shale in Colorado. (Sound familiar?) She writes about top down government planning on technology (Sound familiar?).

It is philosophical.  The book is almost equal parts novel and philosophy.  It challenges the concepts of right and wrong and good and evil that we have become accustomed to.  Rand questions why we demonize the producers in our society who move the world and carry the masses to places they could not get to on their own. Is it evil to want to create, innovate and profit from your industriousness? How is it noble to produce nothing and add no value to society but expect that you should benefit from the work of others?

I can understand it if you don't read the book. It is a major investment of time. However, you need to think deeply about the message of Atlas Shrugged.  Rent the DVD movie, Atlas Shrugged, Part I, or go see Part II beginning this week at a local theater.

Who is John Galt?

All I know is that I will take as many guys like that as I can find.

Atlas Shrugged, Detroit Disregarded It

I have written several times about Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged.  Here is a post that I wrote about the book just before the movie Atlas Shrugged, Part II arrived in theaters last October.

If you ever wanted an example of life imitating art then consider this article by Daniel Hannan in The Telegraph that starts this way.

You thought Atlas Shrugged was fiction?

Look at this description of Detroit from today’s Observer:

What isn’t dumped is stolen. Factories and homes have largely been stripped of anything of value, so thieves now target cars’ catalytic converters. Illiteracy runs at around 47%; half the adults in some areas are unemployed. In many neighbourhoods, the only sign of activity is a slow trudge to the liquor store.

Now have a look at the uncannily prophetic description of Starnesville, a Mid-Western town in Ayn Rand’s dystopian novel, Atlas Shrugged. Starnesville had been home to the great Twentieth Century Motor Company, but declined as a result of socialism:

A few houses still stood within the skeleton of what had once been an industrial town. Everything that could move, had moved away; but some human beings had remained. The empty structures were vertical rubble; they had been eaten, not by time, but by men: boards torn out at random, missing patches of roofs, holes left in gutted cellars. It looked as if blind hands had seized whatever fitted the need of the moment, with no concept of remaining in existence the next morning. The inhabited houses were scattered at random among the ruins; the smoke of their chimneys was the only movement visible in town. A shell of concrete, which had been a schoolhouse, stood on the outskirts; it looked like a skull, with the empty sockets of glassless windows, with a few strands of hair still clinging to it, in the shape of broken wires.

Beyond the town, on a distant hill, stood the factory of the Twentieth Century Motor Company. Its walls, roof lines and smokestacks looked trim, impregnable like a fortress. It would have seemed intact but for a silver water tank: the water tank was tipped sidewise.

They saw no trace of a road to the factory in the tangled miles of trees and hillsides. They drove to the door of the first house in sight that showed a feeble signal of rising smoke. The door was open. An old woman came shuffling out at the sound of the motor. She was bent and swollen, barefooted, dressed in a garment of flour sacking. She looked at the car without astonishment, without curiosity; it was the blank stare of a being who had lost the capacity to feel anything but exhaustion.

“Can you tell me the way to the factory?” asked Rearden.

The woman did not answer at once; she looked as if she would be unable to speak English. “What factory?” she asked.

Rearden pointed. “That one.”

“It’s closed.”

What is really incredible is that Ayn Rand wrote these passages in 1957.  At that time Detroit had the highest per capita income in the United States.  Today Detroit is in bankruptcy and Washington, DC has the highest per capita income in the country.  DC's average per capita income is actually 75% higher ($30,000 per year) than the national average.  It is also almost $17,000 higher than Connecticut which has the highest per capita income of the 50 states.  I don't think even Ayn Rand could have foreseen that much income disparity developing.

Interestingly, the last Republican mayor of Detroit (Louis Miriani) assumed office in 1957.  He was replaced by a Democrat in 1962 and the Democrats have ruled Detroit ever since.

A few facts about the hole  chasm that Detroit is in.

• Less than half of the residents of Detroit over the age of 16 are working

• An estimated 78,000 homes are unoccupied in the city,

• In 2011, half of the occupiers of the city's 305,000 properties did not pay their property taxes.

• 40% of the city's street lights don't work

• 2/3 of the city's ambulances are not in service

• The violent crime rate in Detroit is five times higher than the national average.

• The murder rate in Detroit is 11 times higher than it is in New York City.

• Two-thirds of the parks in the city of Detroit have been permanently closed down since 2008

• $9.2 billion out of total debt obligations of $18 billion for Detroit is owed to the city's retirees for pensions and health benefits but this number is probably understated due to unrealistic future return assumptions 

• Total property tax and income tax revenue for the 2012 fiscal year was less than $500 million.  The city brings in another $170 million in casino revenues.  The rest of the city's revenues are state and federal grants and water and sewer revenues

• There are about two retired city workers for every active worker on the payroll today

• The pension fund is estimated to need annual contributions of $200 million to $350 million. The city spent $177 million on retiree health costs last year. Compare those numbers to the tax revenues and you can readily see the problem

If the Atlas Shrugged parallel above is not enough for you, also consider this passage in the book that I wrote about last July.

You might remember Barack Obama's view of entrepreneurship and success from last year's campaign.

"If you’ve got a business -- you didn’t build that.  Somebody else made that happen."

Compare Obama's words to this dialogue in Atlas Shrugged that makes the same argument as to why the government is justified in heavily taxing and regulating a successful entrepreneur named Rearden...

“He didn’t invent iron ore and blast furnaces, did he?”

“Who?”

“Rearden. He didn’t invent smelting and chemistry and air compression. He couldn’t have invented his Metal but for thousands and thousands of other people. His Metal! Why does he think it’s his? Why does he think it’s his invention? Everybody uses the work of everybody else. Nobody ever invents anything.”

She said, puzzled, “But the iron ore and all those other things were there all the time. Why didn’t anybody else make that Metal, but Mr. Rearden did?

Every time I read that passage it puts a chill up and down my spine.

The warning signs for Detroit have been there for many, many years. Atlas Shrugged a long time ago when it saw what was going on. The problem was that the people of Detroit disregarded it. That has brought them to where they are today.

I feel sorry for what lies ahead for the people and the pensioners of this late, great city. I lived just outside Detroit 50 years ago when it was in its heyday.  It is sad to see how far it has fallen.  However, you need more makers than takers in any society.  You can only borrow so much.  You can only withstand so much corruption. You can't continually put public sector unions ahead of the public interest. Eventually you hit the wall.

Detroit has hit the Wall.  Who was driving?

We need to pay close attention to what transpires in Detroit and the pain that results as this bankruptcy resolves itself.  It will not be pretty.  For example, before the bankruptcy filing the city was looking for a deal to cut pensions and health benefits by 90%!

I can only hope that we don't look at what has happened to Detroit, simply shrug, and continue doing the same things for our nation at large.

We should learn that when 'Atlas Shrugs' or 'Detroit Goes Down The Drain' it is time to pay attention.

Atlas Shrugged Again

I have finally shrugged and decided to actually read Atlas Shrugged.  I have written about the book and the movie previously but I could never commit to starting the 1,168 page tome.  The eerie nature of how closely President Obama's remarks on "you didn't build that" parallels a book written over 50 years ago as a cautionary tale on the dangers of socialism and collectivism pushed me over the edge.  I plan to begin reading it this week.

If you somehow missed Barack Obama's view of entrepreurship and success here it is again...

"If you’ve got a business -- you didn’t build that.  Somebody else made that happen."

Compare that to this dialogue in Atlas Shrugged written by Ayn Rand in 1957 that makes the same argument as to why the government is justified in heavily taxing and regulating a successful entrepreneur named Rearden...

“He didn’t invent iron ore and blast furnaces, did he?”

“Who?”

“Rearden. He didn’t invent smelting and chemistry and air compression. He couldn’t have invented his Metal but for thousands and thousands of other people. His Metal! Why does he think it’s his? Why does he think it’s his invention? Everybody uses the work of everybody else. Nobody ever invents anything.”

She said, puzzled, “But the iron ore and all those other things were there all the time. Why didn’t anybody else make that Metal, but Mr. Rearden did?

Is this life imitating art or art predicting life when we forget the principles that made America what it is?

By the way, Atlas Shrugged: The Movie-Part 2 is scheduled for an October 12, 2012 release.

I went to Part 1 when it was released in May, 2011.  Apparently not many others went to see it as it only grossed $4.6 million per IMDb.

I enjoyed the film but was concerned when I saw the box office results that Parts 2 and 3 of the trilogy would never make it to theaters.  Thank you to whoever has backed this project financially!  Putting this movie together in liberal Hollywood is not an easy task.

It appears that a different cast will play the main characters in Part 2 than we saw in Part 1.  You can find out more at the Atlas Shrugged Part II web site.

I can only imagine what Ayn Rand is thinking as she looks down on us.  I don't think she is shrugging.

Atlas Shrugged

Mark April 15th on your calendars.  This is not a tax return filing reminder.  The actual federal tax deadline this year is April 18th.  Another 3 days to procrastinate!  Click here for an explanation that involves a D.C local holiday, Emancipation Day, that is celebrated this year on April 15.

The real reason I want you to look forward to April 15 is this is the day that the movie "Atlas Shrugged" will premiere.  The film is based on Ayn Rand's 1957 novel about the collapse of society as the most productive citizens go on strike, led by the mysterious John Galt, rather than continue to be exploited by a controlling government.

I have never read "Atlas Shrugged" although it has long been on my reading list.  1,368 page books are a little intimidating to me.  The Cliff's Notes version is even beyond my attention span. That is why I am looking forward to this film even though it is actually Part I of a planned trilogy.   Ayn Rand grew up in Russia and saw the flaws of communism, socialism, statism and the welfare state firsthand in the aftermath of the Russian Revolution of 1917.

In this time when so much is being made of collective bargaining "rights" for public sector employees, it is worth pausing to think about what would happen to this society if the most productive, entrepreneurial and creative minds "stopped the motor of the world".  This point was driven home to me more than once by my father.  He used to tell me that nothing occurs until something is produced.   It might be an idea or a product but something has to be created and produced for the economic engine to run.  The service sector would not exist without this initial effort.  Most particularly, the public sector could not exist without the producers in the economy.  These producers make the society work.

It is much too easy to forget this lesson.  Or to simply ignore it.   You need to really stop and think about it.  I don't do it enough myself.  Walk into a factory or a business that has been built from the ground up by an entrepreneur.  Take a look around.  The people that are working.  The equipment that is in use.  The cars of the employees in the parking lot.  Then think about the spouse and children of the workers.  What is in their homes?  How come all of this is possible?  Who made it possible?  Who had the idea?  Who put their money at risk to make it happen?  I work at a company that was built by an entrepreneur.  When I look around me at company functions or walk through the parking lot and think about it in these terms it is awe-inspiring.

 I want to see Atlas Shrugged so I don't forget what it would be like if Atlas did shrug.  You should put it on your calendar.  Do it right before you file your tax return.  I can't think of better timing.

Who is John Galt? BeeLine Now Knows

Just in time for the theatre release of Atlas Shrugged, Part II this Friday, BeeLine has completed reading Atlas Shrugged as I promised I would.

I have three general thoughts about the book that was written by Ayn Rand in 1957.  Rand was a Russian emigre who saw first hand the dangers of collectivism, socialism and communism and could appreciate individualism and capitalism like few Americans.

It is ponderous.  It is wordy and weighty.  It is not an easy read.  Its seems as if some paragraphs go on for pages.  Many times I thought Rand could have used one-third the words and got the same point across.  However, it is well written and thought provoking throughout.

It is prophetic.  At times it was almost eerie in how Rand wrote about where the socialist, anti-capitalist mindset leads us.  I had to keep reminding myself that this book was written in 1957. 

 Federal government outlays in 1957 were $77 billion.  We now spend that in about one week.  She is spot on in writing about the liberal intelligensia and how they always "know what is right and fair". (Sound familiar?) 

She writes about a "Project Soybean" in the book the  purpose of which is to recondition the dietary habits of the nation. Wheat and corn are so inefficient. Everyone should eat soybeans. ( Sound familiar?)   

She writes about getting oil from shale in Colorado. (Sound familiar?)  

She writes about top down government planning on technology (Sound familiar?).

It is philosophical.  The book is almost equal parts novel and philosophy.  It challenges the concepts of right and wrong and good and evil that we have become accustomed to.  

Rand questions why we demonize the producers in our society who move the world and carry the masses to places they could not get to on their own? 

 Is it evil to want to create, innovate and profit from your industriousness?  How is it noble to produce nothing and add no value to society but expect that you should benefit from the work of others?

I can understand if you don't read the book.  It is a major investment of time.  However, you need to think deeply about the message of Atlas Shrugged.  Rent the DVD movie, Atlas Shrugged, Part I, or go see Part II beginning this week at a local theatre.

Who is John Galt?

All I know is that I will take as many guys like that as I can find.

Credit: Zazzle.com

Best Of BeeLine-2013

When you publish 115 blog posts in a year, some are going to be more popular than others with readers, some are going to be remembered more fondly by the author and some should undoubtedly should never have been written in the first place.

Here is a Top 15 List for 2013 that factors in both those posts that had a lot of views and/or were a personal favorite of BeeLine.  

If you missed reading these "favorites" the first time around, here's another opportunity to "the shortest route to what you need to know" to start 2014 off right. 

Degree Dearth=Date Dearth

January 14, 2013

Men are not getting college degrees and women generally don't want to marry men of lesser educational status.  The result is a significant imbalance in dating pools in large cities.

Are We Looking At The Right Target?

January 17, 2013

Is gun control the most important issue in the United States?  Hardly when you look at the real facts about gun violence in context.

 

Will History Be Kind To Millennials?

January 31, 2013

When the history of the Obama era is written, one of the ironies that historians will focus on will be the level of support that younger voters provided for Obama that will clearly be seen as having been against their self-interest when viewed in the fullness of time.

Don't Spillover On Me, Don't Tread On Me

February 27, 2013

One of the big problems we have in the country today is our inability to draw the line between rights and freedoms on the one hand and consequences and costs on the other.  Where do individual rights end and where does the the public interest begin?

The United States Bank Deposits Tax

March 20, 2013

There was outrage in Cyrpus about a bank deposit tax.  However, we have had effectively the same thing in the United States for the last four years.  It is the Zero Interest Rate Policy of the Federal Reserve.

The Unaffordable Care Act

March 28, 2013

A primer and history on health costs and the looming disaster of Obamacare.

The Healthcare Cost Curve And Its Consequences

April 21, 2013

Out of almost $1.3 trillion in personal health care spending, only $36 billion was spent on those below the 50th percentile.  The rest was spent on those above the 50th percentile.  This is why the Obamacare model is destined to fail.  Most people when left to their own devices will not buy coverage to subsidize someone else.

Going Global

April 28, 2013

China now has 5 of the top 11 companies in the world according to Forbes.

Do We Need a Red Card and a Green Card?

June 17, 2013

BeeLine solves the immigration debate.

Flummoxed in Philadelphia

June 27, 2013

Who put the Judicial Branch in charge of writing laws, anyway?  Our Founder would be completely flummoxed by this total subversion of our Constitution.

Atlas Shrugged, Detroit Disregarded It

July 25, 2013

The sad story of Detroit and the eerie parallels with Ayn Rand's book, Atlas Shrugged.

What To Expect When No One's Expecting

July 30, 2013

What are the impacts of declining birth rates around the world?

Obama Is Not In The Rotary Club

October 20, 2013

A look at the Rotary Club Four-Way Test and how it could have saved Barack Obama from the disaster of Obamacare.

Pilgrims, Prosperity and Poverty

November 28, 2013

The story of the Pilgrims you probably did not learn in school.

Co-Signing Your Retirement Away

December 22, 2013

Student debt exceeds $1 trillion and over 115,000 people on Social Security are having their retirement benefits garnished to pay for student loans!

BeeLine is three years old today with 442 posts in the Archives. 

Thank you to all my loyal readers.

If you like what you are reading, pass on the link to someone you think might be interested.  I don't mind writing but it makes it easier to know that someone is reading this stuff.

Best Wishes to all in 2014!

You Didn't Build That-Part I

When the history of the 2012 Presidential election is written, historians may cite the statement that President Obama made in Roanoke, Virginia on July 13, 2012 as the seminal moment that defined the campaign.

This is the statement that I am taking about.

"If you’ve got a business -- you didn’t build that.  Somebody else made that happen. " 

However, he also said this shortly before he made that statement.

"Look, if you’ve been successful, you didn’t get there on your own.  You didn’t get there on your own.  I’m always struck by people who think, well, it must be because I was just so smart.  There are a lot of smart people out there.  It must be because I worked harder than everybody else.  Let me tell you something -- there are a whole bunch of hardworking people out there."

There are very few times in a Presidential campaign when you see the very essence of what a candidate truly believes. What is in his mind and in his heart. So much is orchestrated and on teleprompters that we rarely get that true glimpse.

However, at this speech in Roanoke the President was not using the ubiquitous teleprompters that we have come to expect with an Obama speech. According to The Hill, President Obama is trying to wean himself off of the teleprompter in order to be more spontaneous and better connect with voters on the campaign trail.

The two statements above clearly appeared to be off-script remarks.

One of the best comments I have seen in reaction to Obama's remarks was by Pat Sajak, the "Wheel of Fortune host, who is also a rare Hollywood conservative. This is how he described it in a commentary on Ricochet where he harkens back to other famous defining moments for (in order) Michael Dukakis, John Kerry, Dan Quayle and Gerald Ford.

It's as if President Obama climbed into a tank, put on his helmet, talked about how his foray into Cambodia was seared in his memory, looked at his watch, misspelled "potato" and pardoned Richard Nixon all in the same day....

Sajak sees this as a similar moment.

 These defining moments take hold most devastatingly when they confirm what a large portion of the electorate already believes. Taken alone, it seems unfair that a single moment, an unguarded remark or a slip of the tongue can carry such weight. They're often dismissed as "gotcha" moments, but when voters are able to nod and say, "I knew it," these moments stick and do terrible damage. We have witnessed such a moment. 

I won't go that far because it remains to be seen how this will all play out.  In the other examples, the real damage was done with consistent repetition in the media of the original faux pax. This made it stick with the public.  It is unlikely the mainstream media is going to do that to Barack Obama.  The heavy lifting on that will have to come from the Romney campaign.

What I did find very interesting in the Obama statement is how closely it resembles dialogue that is in Ayn Rand's book, Atlas Shrugged, that I have written about before.   Ayn Rand's 1957 novel is about the collapse of society as the most productive citizens go on strike, led by the mysterious John Galt, rather than continue to be exploited by a controlling government.  Rand grew up in Russia and saw the flaws of communism, socialism, statism and the welfare state first hand in the aftermath of the Russian Revolution of 1917.

Remember that this is a book written in 1957 that is set in a future USA whose economy is collapsing as the most productive people in society slowly check out rather than deal with increased taxation, regulation and the general overreach of government.    


Rearden (in the dialogue below) is the owner of a steel company who has invented and produced a wondrous new metal alloy for rail lines that is making high speed rail travel a reality (remember this is written in 1957).  What has government done in response?  A raft of new laws have been passed directed at Rearden and his success.  He must limit his output of the new metal.  Another law requires him to sell "a fair share" to everyone who requests it, regardless of output.  There is no way that his company can survive long term if they have to follow the new rules.


Consider this dialogue which is in Part I, Chapter 9 of Atlas Shrugged as it is argued why government is fair in taxing and regulating Rearden the way that they are. (Credit to Chris who made this comment to an Ann Althouse blog who pointed this out)

“He didn’t invent iron ore and blast furnaces, did he?”

“Who?”

“Rearden. He didn’t invent smelting and chemistry and air compression. He couldn’t have invented his Metal but for thousands and thousands of other people. His Metal! Why does he think it’s his? Why does he think it’s his invention? Everybody uses the work of everybody else. Nobody ever invents anything.”

She said, puzzled, “But the iron ore and all those other things were there all the time. Why didn’t anybody else make that Metal, but Mr. Rearden did?”

It is almost eerie how closely President Obama remarks parallel a book written over 50 years ago as a cautionary tale on the dangers of socialism and collectivism.

This election, perhaps more than any other since the election of 1860, is about a choice of two very different paths for the future of our country. President Obama for the most part cleverly disguised his true intentions and agenda four years ago. His speech in Roanoke should make it clear that he wants to take the country in a direction that is far removed from the principles that made us the greatest country in the history of mankind.

The only question left is whether a majority of the voters in this country still believe in personal initiative, freedom, accountability, creativity, rational self-interest and individual incentive as the foundations of success-both for individuals and for societies.

President Obama does not seem to believe that these principles have been that important in creating what made the United States great. He seems to think it has been luck. More on that in Part II of "You Didn't Build That".

Stop Him and Implement Socialism

Democrats seem to be offering only two reasons for why people should vote for them this year.

Elect us so that we...

1. Can Stop Donald Trump.

2. Implement a Socialist agenda.

Try as you might, you cannot find any other positive policy reasons or a realistic platform of ideas from Democrats to improve the lives of Americans and make the United States better.

Yes, I don't consider the Democratic Socialist agenda either positive or realistic.

Many Democrat candidates for the House state that their number one priority is to impeach Donald Trump.

When asked what are the high crimes and misdemeanors that would be the reason for an impeachment, they cannot provide an answer beyond "he is guilty of so much."

What would an impeachment due to the nation's business?

You can be assured that if Democrats take control of Congress there will be next to nothing of importance that will come out of Congress over the next two years.

There will be a lot of investigations and noise.

Little of substance will be accomplished.

If Democrats are able to pass some type of legislation they favor, it most certainly will be vetoed by the President.

That will be the reality if Democrats control Congress.

A vote for Democrats this year undoubtedly means that voters will be even more upset with what Congress is doing (or not doing) than they are today.

As it is, voters are already very dissatisfied with the way Congress is handling the nation's business.

In a recent Quinnipiac poll, only 21% of voters approved of the way Democrats in Congress were doing their job.  A massive 70% disapproved for a -49% net approval rating.

Source: https://poll.qu.edu/poll-release?releaseid=3965

Republicans in Congress did not fare much better.

26% approved of the job Republicans were doing compared to 62% who disapprove for a -35% net approval rating.

Source: https://poll.qu.edu/poll-release?releaseid=3965

Trump's net approval rating in the same poll looks relatively good at -26% compared to those bleak numbers.

What is interesting in looking at polling numbers right now on Trump's approval, and how it relates to the upcoming midterm Congressional elections, is comparing the approval numbers to actual results delivered over the last two years.

It is clear that Trump is taking a big hit for the Iran conflict and its related effect on gasoline prices.

This is most particularly hurting Trump with Independent voters who are also most susceptible to mainstream media headlines as they are typically the voters paying the least amount of attention to underlying facts and issues.

The Iran conflict caught them blindsided. Trump campaigned against "forever wars". 

He campaigned on a platform of freeing up domestic energy and lowering gas prices.

I can see where they are coming from. This is not what they voted for.

On the other hand,  I previously wrote that I could see the midterm fortunes of Trump and the Republicans improving if the Iran problem was solved between now and election day.

Take those issues away and Trump's record looks pretty good from most objective standards.

What should those who voted for Trump two years ago but are not happy be doing now?

My suggestion is to take a step back and don't let their vote be ruled by short term emotions.

Look at the facts and reality.

Getting control of immigration was Trump's signature issue.

The Biden administration told us that nothing could be done about it without new legislation.

Trump stopped the flow of illegals crossing the southern border almost immediately.

 

Source: https://www.cbp.gov/newsroom/stats/southwest-land-border-encounters

The steady flow of illegals at the southern border has slowed to a trickle.

The Trump administration has also been prioritizing the removal of illegal aliens with criminal records, those who have overstayed temporary visas and tightening the rules regarding H1B visas.

All of this has resulted in the number of foreign born persons in the United States falling by an unprecedented 2.9 million people in the last two years.

It is the first time we have seen net negative migration to the United States since the 1930's.

There is nothing Trump has done on immigration that he did not say he was going to do.

Deporting criminal illegals may also be having some effects on crime rates.

The first six months of 2026 compared to the year earlier has shown major reductions in violent crimes in the United States.

We have also just seen the Census Bureau report the highest real (adjusted for inflation) annual household income in the nation's history---$87,460.

This broke the previous high that was reached in 2019.

 

Higher incomes and lower inflation with Trump in office compared to Biden has made a difference in real household incomes.

The percentage of people in poverty also reached a historic low in 2025.

Source: https://www.reuters.com/world/us-poverty-rate-102-2025-census-bureau-says-2026-09-15/

The record low poverty rates also extend to children, African Americans and Hispanics.

They have never been at lower levels in the nation's history.

Those high gas prices do hit you in the face at every street corner.

However, when adjusted for inflation and higher incomes today, it has been worse in the past.

I also remember when Biden was President the narrative was that he could do nothing about the high prices at the pump.

It did not matter that the spike was related to the Ukraine War which Biden's fingerprints were all over.

We have also seen prescription drugs prices decline for the first time in American history under Trump.

Source: https://x.com/WhiteHouse/status/2101038712356282759

Stocks have recently been at all-time highs.

The S&P 500 is up 26% since Trump began his second term.

The NASDAQ is up 34%.

The current unemployment rate of 4.1% is also very close to the level that economists would consider to be full employment.

Yes, gasoline prices have increased significantly this year but retail sales (excluding gasoline) are showing signs of strength. 

People are somehow finding the money to spend even after spending more at the pump.

Retail sales (excluding gas station sales) in August, 2026 were 4.9% higher than a year before.

Source: https://wolfstreet.com/2026/09/16/despite-all-moaning-groaning-americans-not-in-the-mood-to-slow-down-retail-sales-surge-even-without-gasoline/

On top of all of this, the Atlanta Federal Reserve just revised its third quarter estimate of GDP growth to 5.1%. The retail sales figures for August undoubtedly had something to do with the upward revision.

If that number is realized it will be the highest quarterly GDP growth rate since 2021 when we were coming out of the Covid lockdowns.

Despite all of this, why do many Americans seem to believe that things are so bad?

A big reason is that the mainstream media tells them that. Every day and in every way.

I have written before about the University of Michigan Survey of Consumer Sentiment that has recently been at the lowest levels seen in the last 60 years.

Source: https://www.sca.isr.umich.edu/charts.html

Think about that consumer sentiment index we are seeing right now.

That is lower than during any recession the last 60 years.

Lower than the 1979-1981 period when we had double digit inflation for three consecutive years.

Lower than the early 1980's when mortgage rates hit 18%.

Lower than the period between late 1982 and early 1983 when the employment rate was more than 10%.

Lower than when the entire economy was shut down with Covid.

Lower than in 2022 when inflation was running at over 8% per year.

How can sentiment be so far removed from reality?

All of this proves once again why it is so dangerous to allow the narrative and the emotions of the day to get in the way of making sound long term decisions.

Stop Trump?

You may be stopping a lot more than Trump.

You make not like his bombast and bravado. 

Forget the form. Don't ignore the substance and the facts.

Implement Socialism?

Take a look at the data above once again and tell me socialism is going to improve life for the majority of Americans.

Yes, things can always be improved. However, do the Democrats seriously believe that taking a hard left turn is the way to do that?

It pays to consider a little history at times like these.

Many people around the world through the years were told they needed to stop someone.

They succeeded but what they got was far worse.

The Russians got Stalin. The Germans got Hitler. The Iranians got the Ayatollah.

In North Korea and Venezuela the Socialist/Communists told everyone that they needed to embrace collectivism to improve their lives.

It didn't exactly work out very well for them.

Before North and South Korea went their separate political and economic paths, the people in the North had GDP per capita that was 30%-50% higher than the South.

Those paths have diverged a great deal over the years.

Venezuela went from being the richest country in South America to the poorest in the span of a single generation once the "Democrat Socialists" gained control.

 

 

Most people would be better served by putting short term emotions aside and vote with their long term interests and future in mind.

This quote by Ayn Rand, the author of Atlas Shrugged, summarizes it well.

If you are not familiar with Ayn Rand and her book Atlas Shrugged, that was published in 1957, you might want to read the blog post I wrote in 2011 after I finally sat myself down and read the nearly 1,200 page book.

It is a good reminder that voters should not just shrug and vote mindlessly this year.

Indeed, there are consequences in avoiding reality.

The Twilight Zone

At times I think we are living in The Twilight Zone.

For those a little younger than I am, The Twilight Zone was a television series that originally aired from 1959-1964 that combined science fiction, suspense, horror or fantasy which often concluded with a macabre or unexpected twist.

The show started with a voiceover like this which was narrated by the show's creator, Rod Serling.

"This highway leads to the shadowy tip of reality: you're on a through route to the land of the different, the bizarre, the unexplainable...Go as far as you like on this road. Its limits are only those of mind itself. Ladies and Gentlemen, you're entering the wondrous dimension of imagination. Next stop....The Twilight Zone."

If you don't think we have crossed over the line to The Twilight Zone consider this AP story about Gerard Depardieu, the French actor, who recently renounced his birth citizenship because of his anger over the proposal by French President Francois Hollande to raise the income tax on earned income to 75% from the current rate of 41%. In his letter renouncing his citizenship Depadieu stated that he was leaving France because of his belief that success and talent are being punished by the current French government.

Gerard Depardieu

Where is Depardieu going to take up citizenship? Switzerland? Belgium? Austria? UK? USA?

No. This is where we enter The Twilight Zone.

Depardieu is on his way to becoming a Russian citizen as President Vladimir Putin has approved Depardieu's application for citizenship in expedited fashion.

Why would Depardieu be interested in becoming a Russian citizen?

Russia has a flat 13% tax rate. That's right, 13%! France is at 41% and wants to go to 75%. The USA has just increased the income tax rate on rich people like Depardieu to over 40% (including the Obamacare taxes) and communist Russia is at a flat 13%!

This highway has indeed led us to the shadowy tip of reality. We have found we are also on a route to the land of the different, the bizarre, and the unexplainable when a communist country has a flat tax of 13% and what have always been considered free market, capitalistic countries are close to confiscating incomes and property rather than taxing it.

I have to think that if Serling had submitted a Twilight Zone script to CBS in 1962 with a story line that Russia had a flat tax and was luring people of individual talent and achievement away from Western countries it would have been rejected as too far fetched.  Not only has Atlas Shrugged but Ayn Rand could return to her homeland and feel good about it.

Please change the channel! All of this is getting a little too scary to watch. Let's watch Leave It To Beaver instead.

Twitter Tales

We now live in a soundbite world and a 280 character universe.

That is a big reason why so many know so little today.

They never get the full story. They are never given the context to understand an issue.

This has become particularly true in politics.

Donald Trump is famous for his Twitter trolls and tirades.

The Democrats running for President are on Twitter as well explaining how they are going to make everything right with the world.

Let's look at a few recent tweets from the Democrat candidates and put what they are selling in a little more context.

Just remember, however, that for millions and millions of voters (many of them young) the tweet or Facebook post is the only story they ever get.

Let's start with Bernie Sanders.

Bernie appears to suggest that the doctors, nurses and the hospitals that provide the care for childbirths are going to work for free in the future.

The cost of childbirth is clearly not going to go away under Medicare for All. It is just a question of who is going to pay for it.

As I have written before, Bernie keeps telling people that Medicare for All will be free. The fact is that current Medicare is anything but free. It takes an enormous amount of taxes to fund the program and it still requires monthly premiums, deductibles, coinsurance and private supplemental insurance to pay the bills. It will not be free.

Another fact that Bernie does not mention is that 43% of all births in the United States are paid for by Medicaid. Medicaid pays for 66% of all African American and 60% of all Hispanic births. I guess the cost of these births is already $0 with his way of thinking. Of course, the American taxpayer is paying the bill.

Here is Andrew Yang promoting his proposal to give every American adult a "Freedom Dividend" of $1,000 per month.

I give Yang credit for being creative but let's consider the math.

Yang speaks of 320 million shareholders but the fact is that less than half of those 320 million shareholders are working. The latest Bureau of Labor Statistics data indicates that there are 157 million people employed (full and part-time) with only 129 million of those being in the private sector.

You also have to consider the fact that there are 141 million taxpayers in the country but 97% of the taxes are coming from the top half.  That means that about 20% of the population produces the revenues that pay for the bills that many of the remaining 80% are enjoying.

As I have also written before, 71% of all current federal spending is comprised of payments to individuals (Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, foot stamps, housing subsidies, child care subsidies, etc). That is $3 trillion out of a $4.3 trillion budget.

Is that not already a pretty substantial dividend?

Elizabeth Warren weighs in with a tweet about her plan to increase Social Security benefits by $200 per month for every beneficiary.

Never mind that the Social Security system cannot meets its current obligations as it is.

Of course, Warren has a plan for this. This is Warren's new campaign logo.

What's her plan for most everything she wants to do?

Tax the rich. Give stuff away to others.

Warren not only wants to remove the FICA wage cap, she wants to raise income taxes and institute a wealth tax as well to pay for forgiving student loans, free childcare, increased teacher pay, Medicare for All and a Green New Deal. Along the way she wants to also ban all future oil exploration and natural gas fracking.

My belief is that Warren's Social Security gambit is actually meant to distract and mislead Seniors in order to keep them from focusing on her proposal to eliminate the requirement that corporate executives and fund managers act as fiduciaries for their shareholders and investors.

Large corporation and investment funds would need to be re-chartered and they would need to consider numerous "stakeholders" rather than just those who put their capital at risk for the enterprise.

Who would be most detrimentally affected by Warren's proposal? Older Americans who have worked and saved over a lifetime and who have their life savings invested in stocks.

Former Senator Phil Gramm and Mike Solon took aim at Warren in a Wall Street Journal op-ed right before she came out with her Social Security bonus. Coincidence?

Her “Accountable Capitalism Act” would wipe out the single greatest legal protection retirees currently enjoy—the requirement that corporate executives and fund managers act as fiduciaries on investors’ behalf. To prevent union bosses, money managers or politicians from raiding pension funds, the 1974 Employee Retirement Income Security Act requires that a fiduciary shall manage a plan “solely in the interest of the participants and beneficiaries . . . for the exclusive purpose of providing benefits to participants and their beneficiaries.” The Securities and Exchange Commission imposes similar requirements on investment advisers, and state laws impose fiduciary responsibility on state-chartered corporations.

Sen. Warren would blow up these fiduciary-duty protections by rewriting the charter for every corporation with gross receipts of more than $1 billion. Every corporation, proprietorship, partnership and limited-liability company of that size would be forced to enroll as a federal corporation under a new set of rules. Under this new Warren charter, companies currently dedicated to their shareholders’ interest would be reordered to serve the interests of numerous new “stakeholders,” including “the workforce,” “the community,” “customers,” “the local and global environment” and “community and societal factors.”

If you have ever read Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged this should all sound very familiar.

Rand, a Russian emigre, wrote the book in 1957. The book is set in a future USA whose economy is collapsing as the most productive people in society slowly check out rather than deal with increased taxation, regulation and the general overreach of government. Everyone is told that they must work and produce for the "good of all". Of course, only the government decides what is good and what is fair.
 
Elizabeth Warren sounds like she wants to create a nation that is eerily similar to what Ayn Rand wrote about.

What does that nation look like? It is one where a majority of voters no longer believe in personal initiative, freedom, accountability, creativity, rational self-interest and individual incentive as the foundations of success for either themselves or their country.

It will be a dark place (not only due to the fact that Warren wants to ban coal, fracking and new oil exploration) because, as Gramm and Solon point out, "socialism always destroys wealth; it doesn't redistribute it".

Sen. Warren would roll back the economic Enlightenment that gave us private property and economic freedom, and plunge us back into the communal world of the Dark Ages. Like the village, guild, church and crown of yore, government-empowered special interests would once again be allowed to extort labor and thrift. When capital is no longer protected as private property and is instead redefined as a communal asset, prosperity and freedom will be the greatest casualties.

Note the common theme in the three tweets above. All are offering something for FREE.

Nothing is free, most particularly freedom.  I hope you and all your loved ones understand that.

280 character tweets can never tell the tale. What you are seeing from the Democrats above are nothing but fiction and fables. Americans need to understand the full story about what is being sold to them.