I was pleased to be quoted by Doug Bandow at American Spectator. Here is his reference piece:
Will Atlas Shrug?
By Doug Bandow on 6.25.11 @ 8:04AM
The financial collapse of 2008 and ensuing tsunami of bail-outs led to a surge in sales of Ayn Rand’s books. Many of her acolytes asked: Is Atlas about to shrug? Will productive people increasingly flee what is becoming an ever more dysfunctional, distributionist state?
The writer “Monty Pelerin” warns that the time may be approaching:
Atlas is shrugging in the US. Capital is relocated to regions where it is treated more favorably. Within the country, we see capital and jobs leaving the overtaxed, overregulated Blue states and migrating to smaller government Red states. That provides partial relief, but onerous federal policies cannot be avoided by moving within the country.The increasingly adverse climate at the federal level motivates moving outside the country. This motivation and the resulting movement has been underway for years. Initially, much relocation was due to comparative advantages in regions around the world as economics would predict and welcome. Recently, much movement of resources is increasingly a flight from onerous government policies. The process is simple: first parts of businesses leave (outsourcing), then manufacturing and finally intellectual capital (the entrepreneurs).
Intelligent and talented people investigate overseas opportunities. Jobs and opportunities are increasingly more plentiful in some areas of the world. Taxes are less onerous and living conditions have modernized. Dual citizenship is not uncommon and an attractive option for people who want/need to leave the US. Americans renouncing citizenship and living outside the US is at an all-time high. The citizenship decision is made for an obvious reason — to escape the predatory IRS which claims partial ownership of all income regardless of where earned.
Over the next decade or two, unless we see a change in US governmental policies, a serious “brain drain” is likely to devastate the US talent pool. Our society and economy benefited immensely from the immigration of talent over the last 70 years. It was an attractive place for talented, motivated individuals. That flow is now reversing. Instead of being a destination for talent, we are becoming a departure point. Much of the rest of the world does not punish productive people.
Such a migration might be the only way to constrain the avaricious looters in Washington. They can steal wealth that has been created. But they cannot force people to keep generating wealth to steal in the future.
And there’s no need for a “Galt’s Gulch” hidden away in America if other nations are willing to accept and protect entrepreneurs. U.S. politicians may rail against the ungrateful and unpatriotic rich, but the real enemies of America are those who achieve power by demonizing the successful while producing nothing useful themselves.
Will America change before Atlas shrugs? That may become the most important political question in the coming years.
The Vandals Crown is an excellent but a bit dated book that I believe has stood the test of time just as well as the Sovereign Individual in understanding where we are and where we are going. I believe that Monty is right about the Sovereign Individuals authors too.
I believe that both of you are right in your diagnosis, but what incentive is there for a government to provide fiscal prudence, a rule of law, property rights, and regulatory certainty in an age of moral relativism and omnipresent statism? In our UN, oozing toward a world government planet, there is a movement to centralize and not decentralize power. Living in either a socialist, communist, fascist, or Peronista “paradise,” is as odious a choice to liberty lovers as deciding which form of execution the condemned man must select.
There are a number of small states that have expatriate potential, and the both of you mentioned two that are plausible, Panama and Costa Rica, where one could keep your head down to try and ride out the looming economic storm. You are not the first to discuss this.
Jim Rogers first looked at China and now is living in Singapore. Based upon Jim’s record and his prodigous travels that are well documented in his books, if there is a “Galt’s Gulch” out there, he would have located it by now. I suspect that Singapore is the place that he will be hanging his hat for a while. However, Singapore is so tiny that it could easily fit into any average sized American county, and leave a lot of room to spare.
Sadly, history is filled with examples of national financial storms where the prudent and responsible were fleeced. Look at Weimar or almost all of the last century in Argentina, and most of the rest of S. America for instance. Albert Jay Nock wrote that “…someone should write an essay on how one would know that one was living in a dark age.” This is as timely today as it was when Nock wrote this over half a century ago.
Since the upcoming financial storms will be international and not simply national in scope, this turmoil will be unique as a flock of Taleb’s “Black Swans” splash down in front of us.
There needs to be a “librarian(s),” to make sure that when the darkness arrives and the lights go out, that the vestiges of the potential that is 21st century life can be preserved so that eventually this informational foundation can be restored. Even as the Great Recession continues/worsens, the technology in a number of exciting and interesting areas continues to develop. I am optimistic that biotechnology, nanotechnology, and expanded uses for composites and other new materials will all provide new and exciting products that will be hard to keep off markets within the next decade (I am a bit of an optimist) despite the destruction of central bank’s paper and a collapse in most of the world’s division of labor. I believe it was Mises, or his successor Rothbard, who pointed out that government was the only one who could take two valuable commodities, paper and ink, and combine them so that they would become virtually worthless and eventually the world will realize that government control over currency through central banks is as ridiculous as government ownership of the means of production.
I am John Galt and have been looking for a place to go. The problem is the entire planet is in the same perilous shape we are. The difference is that they are less punitive towards the productive. So where does one go? Central America with hopes and prayers that the local drug cartel doesn’t notice your arrival? Europe and their pending collapse and rampant socialism? Africa? South America? Australia and New Zealan have some appeal but are not much better economically. Then the culture shock of summer in the winter and the winter in the summer sets in.
I am waiting for SOME nation to get its act together and to start ADVERTISING to the wealthy and successful. They will lower taxes, limit regulation and BEG the wealthy to bring their dollars and businesses to their country. At some point, some nation wil do this, and they will be the next USA back in the 50′s and 60′s.
Syrin,
You have had a busy morning judging by the multiple comments to this site. They are appreciated and I agree with much of what you have said.
For those wishing to emigrate (an increasing number of people), as you properly point out, it is unclear that other places are either safer or more friendly to capital. Furthermore, looking and judging these countries and our own today is dangerous. The world is still rather rational compared to what it will become when the real crisis hits. Almost impossible to determine who will react how until that occurs. Dual citizenship provides an option that those able should probably pursue. Panama used to be a reasonable possibility, although I have not followed developments there regarding citizenship requirements.
Regarding your point of nations encouraging immigration of talent, there was a book written several years back entitled “The Sovereign Individual” which dealt with this issue as an inevitable trend. I believe it was written by James Davidson and Lord Rees-Mogg. Might be of interest to you and other readers.
Wow, thanks for the response. Believe it or not, I am swamped at work, and this is what I do as a cathartic break. I will be sure to check out that book.
Your point is well taken, and one I have been trying to research. I am convinced we are about to hit the economic iceberg, and the only real question left for me, is what does the collapse look like. Mass riots? Revolution? More of what we have today with greater inflation, higher unemployment? Post apocolyptic world as in “The Road Warrior”? My cardiologist buddy and I debate the specifics of this with regularity. I am so convinced of the collapse that I converted 80% of my liquid assets to gold and silver, pruchased firearms (which is SO out of character for me), have a year’s supply of food, and am working on the water. This is surreal. Once Costa Rica starts courting me with some degree of seriousness, I may leave for good. Unfortunately, recent gov’t regulations (words every citizen should fear) have made it more palatable to renounce one’s citizenship rather than be a dual citizen. The IRS knows no borders and the gov’t now believes we are its serfs to be obeyed (just ask Boeing).