Are You John Galt?

Atlas Shrugged is a popular book among conservatives right now. For those who don't know, it posits a world in which the successful and creative people abandon an America and a world that increasingly straightjackets their creativity and robs them of their wealth.

Well with Obama in the white house, I gather Republicans feel that it's time to implement this idea and that's what Terry Paulson suggests, hypothetically, in his latest article.

Our unchecked entitlement system will eventually collapse; I challenge you to make that happen now! It’s time for Atlas to shrug—to calmly, consciously and deliberately go on strike for true fairness. Our collective response must be simple and non-violent—“No More! I will cease to achieve, invent, produce, hire, serve or invest until all Americans pay the same flat income-tax rate!”

Reengage when America once again is a country that protects everyone’s rights—the right to property, the right for every person to rise as far as she’s able.

It must certainly be entertaining for Republicans to entertain this fantasy; but a general strike of the wealthy only works if they all agree to participate, and consequently all agree to abandon their wealth or to withdraw from America.

I don't really know what to say about this particular fantasy. I think it's telling that Paulson (and many Republicans) look at America as it is and basically determines that wealthiest among us are the ones who are really getting the shaft.