My husband retired at the end of July, saw what was coming, even if Trump staff did not. We live in a rural area, thank goodness, but know they are coming for our right to do so. Remember when Hillary started asking how many bedrooms people had, might use them for homeless. Not liking what we see. Know gas is going to be overtaxed, that estate tax will eat up with we hoped to pass on, and capital gains will kill us. How could so many warning signs been ignored, how could people not have seen them, how could Trump adm. not seen them. Now look at the commie nation of the US.

One of my grandsons and his wife are both teachers in the Houston area and I strongly suspect they both vote left. Sad.

It's even more of a shame when the "wrong" views are pro American, Constitutional, individual liberty that rub against the collective.

I live in the Houston area, as such there are over 100 school districts within an hours drive from my home; additionally, I teach high school math. (a VERY high demand position) About 5 years ago I had a disagreement with an administrator over just such a thing. I informed the administrator that I could find another position every year for the rest of my life and never run out of opportunities. I left that school 2 weeks later to a higher paying position at a school closer to home.

So I don't hide my opinions, and yes occasionally I run into opposition but as I really don't care and they need me, they largely leave me alone.

Admirable endeavor, but how do you manage? My daughter is a Randian in a middle school in a somewhat rural conservative community, but the school administration and bureaucracy make her keep her ideas hidden. What a shame that in today's country, we have little or no freedom if you have the "wrong" views!

I am in agreement with the general theses of the above. I had planned to retire a couple years ago. Bought my retirement home and I have a few other properties. I agree the $$ is becoming scary. I got two mortgages at low rates, one for primary, one for retirement. Figure as inflation returns, it will be like making money! I too have added bitcoin and some tesla...not much but it has already done well.

One other thing that is making this good timing. As I watch how this pandemic is being reported, the enthusiasm for attaching your vaccination to your passport, etc...The total lack of science being applied (a news story this morning said, "We're testing all the school kids and there was no COVID, so we prevented it by testing")...I think things are really going to take a downturn as the powers-that-be jump on this opportunity to really destroy liberty.

Sounds like you are the ultimate multi-tasker.

I also thrive taking on my "menial" jobs.
Filling a niche can be lots of fun and very rewarding.

Finding meaning in my work (and hopefully making a profit) is my definition of prosperity.

Prosperity....requires definition. If this equates to happiness in the midst of mindful, equitable relationships, of mutual support of mortality...
I'm just being a bit pedantic! LOL
I am doing more "menial" things of real purpose to my life than ever before. Support of a community outside the "Universe 25" of the metro areas.
But wait...there's more! Fostering an axle repair business outside of Plover and cultivating a small, very select source of hardwood for furniture makers in Wy. Just got word on 3 metal building frames outside Kaukauna that will be bases for solar kilns.
This will take up time until late March when fruit tree pruning begins.
I grew up in farm country...9 to 5 does not exist for me.

As collectivism advances, patents will be worthless

Exactly. Bitcoin sounds to me like BS, so I havent gotten interested in it. It is backed by nothing, just like the dollar.

That is the dilemna. Work hard so you get ahead, or slow down and fall behind. What a choice.

Another one is to reduce expenses by NOT buying what you really dont need. Then work less and look for ways to find ways to escape the taxation, whether in the USA or in other countries.

Interesting, I am cutting back on work and expenses. I just dont want to fund the collectivists any more with their crazy schemes. NOT to mention that they make it harder every day to actually make the money that they tax you on. Regulations and additional taxes have to be dealt with before I can even turn a profit. ENOUGH

Those of you who say “Keep Charging Ahead Full Speed!” Seem to be missing the point. Your zeal only generates more taxable income. You’re literally attempting to swim up a waterfall. The more they spend the more they print. The more they print the harder you have to work. Dollar amounts are not THE GOAL. Unplug from the matrix. Intrinsic value matters. The rest is all fake. And don’t buy into that Bitcoin crap. It may have a theoretical ceiling, but it has no floor. When you can buy up to eight decimal places of bit coin it is effectively infinite. Rand didn’t live in an economy where the Dollar was not backed by anything. She’d have a good deal to say about this.

I don't agree with it at all. My reading of AS is that people are motivated by honest trades, not by being whipped or beaten. Even the most hardworking people imaginable, will eventually stop working if they are not free.

The world has loads of problems, but IMHO it's better than ever. In the US I turn over nearly a third in income taxes plus other taxes. (I just mailed the Q4 estimate.) That's bad, but US and many societies throughout history have seen everything as belonging to the king or the church and even practiced out-and-out slavery, so I do not see the AS scenario in my world. On the contrary, I'm surprised how much freedom has increased in my lifetime, how people without regard to location, sexual identity, race, or other identity group are serving customers and building wealth.

Everyone's free to do what they want, but I'm for living life to the fullest.

It goes without saying that people are free to work hard or not.

I am a huge fan of plug-pulling, shaking things up, trying something new.

Slowing down, though, is not for me at this point. This has been a crazy year, with a lot of crazy ups and downs, but everything worked out amazingly well. Things will be even better when the pandemic ends.

I think you misinterpreted, it's not do the minimum possible but walk away and do your own, as much as you choose to, for yourself apart from the moochers.

Granted, it is not always possible to separate from society (where can you go) so why help build their shit pile more than you have to until you find a way to Shrug. These days that's a tall order as the societal noose tightens and can no longer be easily ignored.

I have never understood the "do the minimum possible to sustain your existence" part of the Galt mantra. Seems like cutting off one's nose to spite one's face.

A revolution would likely also affect the SS retirement of every retired person over 66.

;^)

Unfortunately, many of us are stuck where we live for now. My house consumes much of my time in maintenance. I'm waiting for warmer here in north-central Arizona to do exterior repair work. Maybe the revolution will arrive in the spring and I won't have to do anything. Many of the retirees in the neighborhood live on great pensions (many are retired from major industries in California). They can hire contractors to do the work on their homes. So, I can't wait when things start falling apart and see how they fair.

You're doing very well.
Glad that you can be so active and prosperous here in WI.

Anyone who is in the low carb/keto world - I know we have some here - probably are well acquainted with a personal friend of mine, Tom Naughton (producer of FatHead, FatHead Kids, a Facebook Group called FatHead that he doesn't participate much in - and a very prolific blog with a huge following). Anyway, he wrote a farewell post in which he indicated that there's a moment when you feel the tap on your shoulder that tells you it's time. Time to do what you want to do, time to focus on your own priorities, time in which you realize - down to your bones - that there is a clock ticking away. No one knows when the clock stops (for them) but it's a certainty that it will.

That realization is very eye-opening, and in his early sixties, Tom recently felt that tap on the shoulder. As a result, he's changing his life focus.

Although I am senior to Tom by 9 years, I only felt that tap just over a year ago, when the birthday cake said 70. But just as he said, I felt it, I know it, and some things just can't be un-felt.

Hang in there, it only gets better, and if you think think time moves now, just wait until that day you owe no one anything, and your free to do whatever you please (more of less). I don't know what happened to the last 20 years of my retirement, but it's gone. Take advantage of all your whims and desires and just do it, you don't get a second chance.

I'm in my early 50s and haven't had a mortgage for 16 years now. It wasn't easy. But, being debt free is amazing. That said, your math is well-founded. And, they are decimating the dollar. I recently added bitcoin to my portfolio. The returns are so good I am sure the feds will step in soon and put an end to that.