I gave you points for both of these. Good job!

I had a successful career. I was an accomplished professional. However, I worked in a dysfunctional office. The people at the top and bottom of the organization did nothing. The people in the middle, led by me, did all the work, including the jobs of the people above and below us. It got to the point where the slackers didn't even bother to conceal it and began to flaunt it. I asked myself one simple question: Why do I need this? Answer: I don't. If the people above me didn't care anymore why should I? It took me a while to figure it out but when I did the conclusion was resounding. I resigned. Just walked away from it.

While sorting all of this out the following passage from Atlas Shrugged lingered in my head:

It was worth whatever it cost me. I could afford the price of that show. What's a burning city compared to tearing the lid off hell and letting all men see it?

I have not been back to the old office since I left. Reports from different people say the place is not operating efficiently. Words like "crazier around here than I even imagined" and "bottlenecks" have described the new environment. So what do I do? Just like Atlas I shrug.

In April of 2011 when I was at my nadir John Galt came to see me. He explained some things to me and helped me to see other things. I had an epiphany! Both him and I knew I wasn't ready that day so he said he would be back for me. We both knew the next time I would be going back with him. Fast forward to 2012. In the summer everything he said fell into place and I was ready. In the fall John Galt comes back to get me. On this day I accepted John Galt's invitation and life has never been better.

Ayn got it right. In so many ways. On so many levels.

FYI you said the magic word...khalling is going to want to talk to you :)

You mean the "Peoples State" of New York?

I couldn't resist creating an account, after months of irregular lurking, so I could contribute to this thread.

For the last 10 years or so I have been running a reasonably successful dive bar. And in doing so, I am on strike.

It's not that the business doesn't require a huge amount of effort to operate profitably; it does. Just ask any other bar owner you may run into. And while I still work hard, I consider this endeavor's contribution back to our moocher society to be minimal, at best.

You see, like Hugh Akston and his diner, I have chosen not to use my skills and training to benefit those who want to reward my efforts by looting me of the fruits of those efforts. Instead, I use them on projects that amuse me and maybe a few of my customers.

Like Galt, I too am an engineer. I have degrees from MIT. I have patents. I have run more than one multi-million dollar hi-tech company. But no more. I am on strike. When California (and the Feds) sees fit to take more than 50% of what I produce / earn, then I simply stop producing.

And what I find most depressing is what happened last November. I cannot recall an election where the choice between the producers and the moochers was more stark. And yet the moochers prevailed. We now live in a society where the majority feels a moral right to take what they want/need from the minority without compensation. It's a slippery slope from which I cannot see a recovery. But unfortunately we do not live in Galt's world. Our decline will be more gradual, playing out over multiple generations. But make no mistake, the scales have tipped and the decline has begun.

And I remain on strike.

And I pray that my assessment is wrong.

Kudos to to you for having the fortitude and conscience to stand by your moral values.

One good thing about a time like this ie the rise of the inept,,, is that it brings people like us together. I don't have a good label for myself; I don't care if gays marry, i think they should. I don't think religion has a place in our government, i am atheist. i believe in helping those who are down by giving welfare but with mandatory work and training programs, im for immigration thru proper channels, im for penalties commensurate with crimes including the death penalty. Im for much less government and much more constitution. Im for leaving people alone to do their thing without the government nanny state telling us what is right for us and i am for the right to bear arms. As a Dentist and artist who put myself through school with menial labor, and then creating a good profitable business, i know what it is like to give blood sweat and tears to make it. I also know the risks involved with changing times and the risk of physical disability. I believe in protecting your own butt. At the peak of my earning years, in the midst of maximum leverage and family building I felt the need to pay thru the nose for high end disability insurance in order to protect my family. I live in a big city where the great majority of people are liberals. Due to the advent of HMOs and PPOs people increasingly were expecting to pay little or nothing, requiring Drs to play the ins GAME to get paid enough to make a profit. I was unwilling to do so and maintained a high end private practice where i would help some people out as i saw fit. One day while trying to stay healthy i was hit by an impatient car while riding my bike, landing me in the hospital for 13 weeks and ending my dental career. After having to hire lawyers to get my ins to pay, ( deep pockets VS me) i ended up ok but with much less than expected. Rather than stay in the buiss with associate Drs trying to play the ins game all for the benefit of the moochers, i sold the business to a objectivist and started consulting. I now only work with objectivist Drs to help them succeed against the moochers. I am much happier now that i do not have to bite my tongue all day and feel that i can do my part against the mob. What goes around comes around and there are many ways to skin a cat. Cheers to all of you for standing fast in your own way, together we can make a difference.

Being a "artist" people assume that I drink the liberal KoolAid and believe that anything government does is just great. Well, this artist (a term I detest - I'm a craftsman - I create things, good things, well made and inspiring on some level) creates for HIS profit, HIS soul, HIS urge, HIS dream. If you like it (and I hope you do - I do have a ego :D) buy it. If you don't like it, that's OK too, but do not tell me how to make it so that EVERYONE WILL LOVE IT. I did not make it for them or you, sorry.

Then I turn around and those who pledge to support "we the people" fight everything we try to do. In ASII Ken Daninger says the "government takes what it wants ans taxes what is left". Man oh man, truer words were never spoken. If you are a "good business" and make green products today, you can write your ticket for stimulus money, special incentives for government purchase agents and so on. But if you work with coal or oil, well, you just might be closed down. All green jobs are "vital", while jobs in coal mines and oil fields must be sacrificed.

The IRS are the storm troopers these days and far too many people find themselves in the place I was. Thanks for the suggestion about getting representation, my accountant did as much as he could to help. He told me that he'd never seen anybody go through so much who did nothing wrong.

There is one lesson I learned from this, the IRS always assumes you are guilty before you prove yourself innocent. I thought at one point we were going to lose our large home (which I built myself), our cars and camper and be left on the street - guilty of the crime of being a innocent man.

Now, my wife and I travel, looking for our "valley" and when I find it, I'll buy it (or as much as I can afford) and shrug off everything that ties us in a state that's become oppressive in a nation becoming oppressive. I hope we may yet find happiness in my chosen occupation.

A occupation I will not profit the looters with or feed the moochers with. The proceeds will be mine. Until then, like I said, I'm on Strike.

Hello stargeezer,
I know of five cases similar to yours over the last ten years, where people I know were simply bankrupted by the process. Finances, businesses, families and marriages by the wayside… Terrible. We need a fair tax.
Congratulations on your strike.
O.A.

Exactly. Value for value. We are not all experts at every trade. This is why we have free markets...or should I say "not so free markets" these days.

I happily buy it because I'm utterly clueless about how to do it. Thank goodness for technically creative geniuses!

Wow. Quite a story. Thank you for sharing. Being self employed, I am not surprised as I hear meany similar stories.

IRS: Guilty until proven Innocent...on your own dime of course.

Oh my goodness, Stargeezer! That just gave me cold chills all over. That is an unforgivable thing they did to you! How terrible that you put your heart, expertise and passion into your business, only to have the IRS spoil it! The damage done s so astoundingly unjust. khalling's advice is sound, should you ever decide to pursue it. And congratulations on your STRIKE!!!

Agreed. Worst part is the obvious. I affect creativity and production. As I always say, anything worth doing is worth doing for money. Why create software that helps people, when the very people you help demand it for free? Let them design it themselves if it is SOOO easy and of sooo little value

What happened to you is criminal. Unfortunately it's not an isolated incidence.

Congratulations on your strike.

hmmm, let's see: reason magazine, Cato Institute, Heritage Foundation, vonMises-I could go on-do not believe software should be protected and feel that the PTO gives out too many patents. as well, we are now seeing examiners hired into the PTO who do not have backgrounds technical enough for their job, and the general atmosphere within the office is trending towards not allowing. startups and individual inventors invest thousands in money and time (more than 3 years to get a patent-some 10 years or longer) only to be told no for illogical reasons. just part of the atmosphere of mooching. it infects everything

wow. that is a very moving story. rule number 1. get qualified help if that ever happens. Do not let them in your place of business or meet them without representation. If I were you, I would consider getting representation now and have them go everything that happened. the IRS took advantage of your rights, and they are not allowed to do that or to tell you "how" to fill out forms. please consider meeting with a tax expert on this. as well, you can , on your own, file a complaint within the IRS with a tax advocate. I do not recommend doing this without representation.

Wow. That's terrible.

Eight years ago I opened a business in a small town after purchasing the long abandoned Railroad Depot. For three years my business prospered and I was able to expand the original building to five times it's original size. Since the business was centered around handwork of my own making (pottery), you can imagine how happy I was with the growth and with the welcome I received from the community I came to love.

After the 2008 election my business like so many other retail businesses suffered a loss in sales and of course income. Since I have another fixed source of personal income, and the fact that I took on no debt to build my business, I felt confident that I could weather any storm. To this point I took no income from the business, choosing to put all profit back into the studio, equipment and supplies.

For the next two years we watched every dime, paid all our bills, expanded into wholesale markets and worked to build an additional internet market for my product. We did everything right, covered all the bases and filed sales taxes, filed income tax statements and to outward appearances, we seemed successful except we still never took a salary, but I was happy that what I was working toward was a future where we would reap the benefits of our labors.

Then one day late in 2010, I received a letter from the IRS informing me that they were going to audit my business, my personal filings and bank accounts. Although there was going to be some effort required to gather 3 years of statements, copies of filings, deposit slips, sales tax payments and all the rest, I knew I had filed everything correctly and the accountant I hired to file my taxes was a old, established firm I had confidence in. A few days and I had everything in one big file box, copies of everything, financial statements or each year and proof of where every dollar of income I had came from.

The two agents came to my business on a day we were closed and I laid everything out for them, gave them copies of everything, and as they ran the numbers, they agreed that indeed I had actually not taken any income, that every dollar that had entered my cash register was accounted for, and finally informed me that this was the problem - they did not believe that anyone would do what I did without hiding income somewhere. That our lifestyle mandated that we had more income than they could account for.

We then spent 6 months confirming every dollar we had earned, every capital gain, every cent of savings interest and how I'd taken a tax exempt settlement 15 years back. After all that they finally conceded that yes, I was a rare person who was actually 100% honest in all ways with my tax reporting and I owed nothing. I felt like I'd been beat to a pulp by then but I was relieved that this might be over. I was so relieved that I almost missed the next thing they told me. They added that there was a certain change that needed to be filed, that it did not change a thing, it was a correction and the agents assistant walked me through the form.

As I placed the form into the mail, I really assumed the grief was over. Foolish me. Two weeks latter another letter arrived informing me that a change had been entered to my filing that increased my tax liability in the amount of $145,000!!! I just lost the next few minutes. When my blood pressure finnaly lowered enough that I could see to read I quickly discovered that the person who had input the data into the computer had made a error and multiplied one number 10 times the real number.

A quick call to the investigating agents office reveiled what I could expect for the next year. "Oh, our people could not have made a mistake like that" was a phrase I soon got familiar with, along wit "if you pay this now, we will refund it to you when the entry problem is solved" sure you will. Then they began to ask for me to pay the interest on the amount I did not owe, or else they might be forced to freeze my bank accounts.

Almost a year of this, while I'm trying to run a business that was just getting by. The business I loved, the work I got out of bed for, the craft I'd spent years to perfect and the 6 years of university training I'd spent acquiring the needed skills was being used as a club against me each time I unlocked the door.

A year after it started there in the mail was the letter confirming that all claims against me had been dropped and that I owed nothing to the IRS - I was a free man - according to the government.

A couple events came together and a few weeks later a lady in town asked me if I'd ever consider selling my place. I thought about all that had taken place. The grief, the fear and frustration, all of it flashed in my mind for the long span of 15 seconds and I answered, yes I am. I sold it to her for $100 less than I'd invested. The IRS got nothing from me, my labor or my future.

I'm on STRIKE

After working and paying taxes and enduring regulations until the age of 55 I retired to found a campground which I ran until the burden of regulation and taxation made it less enjoyable. I now quietly speak out against the statist juggernaut whenever possible and wait to see the self destruction materialize from the preponderance of bad ideas and evasion of good ones.

Sorry to hear about your experience and not too surprised, but thankful there are still some good people, around in our kids education. Thank you for your efforts. They are appreciated

My big brother has a '68 (?), 500 hp mustang that he restored. It's for sale.

Great great analogy kh! Thanks for sharing that. Of your own free will.

it is no panacea, but leave the country. It will further your goals of removing you talent, and reduce your stress and cost of living. it's also an adventure. Focus on the opportunities ahead and try not to dwell in the present emptiness. liquidating even mooching family is liberating, freeing after the tough decision is made. I will tell you one of my favorite stories. When I was in college, I dated an Iranian foreign exchange student for a brief time. His family had a business that had been very successful and his father, after working so hard to build it in a culture of religious oppression and surrounded by people who had just given up on their dreams, had it all stolen from them in the fall of the Shah. I felt so bad as he told me about the seizure of their property, inventory, and how he had to work to get his father out of prison. He looked at me perplexed. "Do not worry for my father. He made a million once, he will make a million again."
We lost contact, but I do not doubt for one minute that his father left that hellhole and made his millions again.