When combined earning of working folks becomes swill in the tax trough for tax-and-spend pigs, productivity at the private level fades away, more people depend on welfare and entitlements
Great books make great reading over and over again, not only because they provide entertainment, but also reinforce lessons previously learned from them, or provide new lessons. Some such books establish their greatness by means of prophecy, as does Ayn Rand’s magnum opus, Atlas Shrugged.
Published in 1957, this bestselling novel depicted America as a nation in which fiercely individualistic businessmen, industrialists, scientists, and others find themselves being preyed upon by parasitic socialistic government leaders and a bloated, bullying bureaucracy.
Fed up with having their hard-earned money snatched away by taxes which went to support unproductive people, those possessing the country’s best minds were led by the novel’s hero, John Galt, to an isolated mountainous region, where they established a vibrant, productive economy.
If Ayn Rand were alive today, she would see that many of the prophecies readers can deduce from Atlas Shrugged have become reality. She would see corporations absorb one hundred percent of every dollar lost while being allowed to keep perhaps one half of every dollar brought in, with the other half being gobbled up by taxes.
She would see entrepreneurs and small businessmen, over-regulated and over-taxed to the point that they lose interest in competing in what was once a free market environment, give up and close their doors.
Consequently, fewer jobs become available, which in turn drives more people who would otherwise want to be productive to turn to the government dole for support, thereby increasing the need for even more taxes. New ideas, new technology, and new machines — all of which would have contributed to higher living standards — fall by the wayside.
The same equation that forces productive entities to absorb one hundred percent of losses while keeping fifty percent of gains plays out on an individual basis. Those who despise government dependency and yearn to work hard in order to make better lives for their families and themselves realize that their efforts are futile. Why, they ask, should I work more months per year to support a government that supports those sucking its teat than I work for those who depend on me?
Like businesses, these private individuals see no future in absorbing the total sum of their losses while forking over all but a fraction of their gains to fiscally irresponsible government spenders. The reality becomes alarmingly clear: They are facing a no-win situation.
The bottom line is obvious: When the combined earning of working folks — what can be labeled as the national income — becomes swill in the tax trough for tax-and-spend pigs, productivity at the private level fades away, more people depend on welfare and entitlements, the federal reserve prints valueless currency, inflation soars, and employment plummets.
Over a half century ago, Ayn Rand predicted such a dystopian scenario, but more and more Americans seem unable to grasp the ultimate consequences, and instead are ignoring history and thereby doomed to repeat it, while they follow like sheep to the slaughter those they elected to lead them: the pied pipers of perdition.
Jimmy Reed is an Oxford, Mississippi resident, Ole Miss and Delta State University alumnus, Vietnam Era Army Veteran, former Mississippi Delta cotton farmer and ginner, author, and retired college teacher.
This story is a selection from Jimmy Reed’s latest book, entitled The Jaybird Tales.
Copies, including personalized autographs, can be reserved by notifying the author via email (.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)).
