Most the places I checked with were in a hiring freeze. They seem to be thawing a little this quarter but still a bit lean. I am confident I will find something, may take a while, but I am prepared for it, so not to worried yet. Also can use the time to get a lot done on my small farm that has been neglected for a while.

Could not join a union. Would rather learn Spanish and go pick fruit on the farms and do odd jobs than join a union.

It is not our obligation to ask permission to live by our agreed upon constitutional freedoms; rather, it is our responsibility to demand it, even as it is our obligation to refuse to submit to infringement. Our constitutional rights were not created by the Constitution, to be taken away by the men that created it, it's a documentation of those rights bestowed upon us by our Creator, therefor inalienable other than by God himself.

The FICA taken out of your check was a TAX, not a premium on Old Age insurance. It went in the General Fund and Congress doles it out as they please. Social Security Administration is tasked with determining where that welfare goes. In other words they can give it to whoever meets their criteria. Get over it. Join the Resistance. Don't send another dime to the thieves in the Beltway
.http://www.nontaxpayer.us/
De Oppresso Libre!!

If profit is evil it's so much easier to steal it by convincing those who make it believe that they're being saved from their baser instincts. Those who object to it being stolen are just mean, unsocial, greedy bigots.

I have for all practical purposes lived by the oath my whole life. Yes, there were times when I was younger that I tried to get away with not living by it. But those always turned out poorly.

I am so tired of hearing Demoscat libtards demonize profit.

I swear by my life, and my love of it, that I will never live for the sake of another man, nor ask another man to live their life for mine. Lesson finally learned....

Quite right, there is little incentive to create sturdy roads and reduce job security. The bureaucracies have taken local control away to the point that event the dirt road grader drivers must follow a schedule rather than grade where needed within their territory. We have mud after the rain, and dust when we don't. The pavement is potholes, and the state tree should be orange barrels; all while they contemplate giving us the highest gas tax in the land...

Best of luck on the job hunt. The recent job numbers aren't promising, but producers are always in demand, even when they aren't always appreciated. :)

If your DOT looked at its mission, not as a public feeding trough to get 8 hours pay for 0.8 hours work, but like it's private industry where you preform or get fired, maybe your roads would improve. I found... the closer ours gets to that objective, the better our roads get. And where we run our "company" like a company (mainly our rural areas), our highways are *stellar*. Where we have a leftist local govt (our major metro areas), our highways flat stink.

sorry to hear that Xenok. :(
maybe you could be John Galt in the movie?!
you'd have to join a union....

"I swear by my life and my love of it, that I will never live for the sake of another person, nor ask another to live their life for me." In this dark day of the former republic, I stand in Resistance to the premier means of acquisition by the State, the Income Tax. Face to face, I have asked Criminal Investigators of the IRS to articulate the attributes of the class or classes of persons on which Congress has laid the Income Tax. They could not, would not, and did not answer me. Thus, without this basis, they could not illustrate the events which brought me into any of those classes. Therefore, I have dismissed their pleadings and request for my property. I live my life in freedom. I use the liberty of contract to trade my skills for money and other valuable consideration, no withholding allowed. I protect my assets with the lawful means of free entities, that operate as Nontaxpayers, being wholly protected by the jurisdiction of their origin. It is a fine place to be. Will you join the me? www . nontaxpayer . us

I got wind of layoffs at the company I work for and if I was not working, I was looking for work, so my reading time has gone down. It just went up a great deal so you might see a few articles posted again soon.

yesterday was the first time I had even come out to the gulch in a few weeks, or done much of any reading other than going through job listings on web sites and talking with people from companies around the area.

I took the pledge in 1967; I have left 5 companies usually saying, I am going to Henry Reardon. You would not believe the dumb looks I got. I started a consulting company just because I wanted to and I loved teaching and solving problems. I chose or chose not to accept a client based on just one face to face to ask 3 questions as to why is he is business, for whom is he in business, and what he thought of his employees (I would only talk with the top management team). The answers had to be along the belief that: 1. because I wanted to or I just love what we do; 2. profit, 3. comes first. Of course had fewer clients than others but had much more fun for almost 15 years. Retired now and re-reading AS and comparing it to today's newspapers. A few of my former clients simply and happily walked away during the collapse. They would not be bribed; they would not compromise. One client was privately held; he gave it to his employees and hasn't been seen since--in person; by email he is being seen all over the world as he enjoys his freedom.

Happy to help.
Good to hear from you XenokRoy.
Have you read any good Sowell articles lately?
Regards,
O.A.

We have the worst roads in the states. We have virtually no toll roads. I would happily pay tolls to have better roads if they reduced the gas road tax. That is not what our statist government wants though...
http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20130...

Sometimes, life is far far better than fiction... until those of us embrace a stellar work of prediction, er, fiction, and bring it to life! Thanks!!!

Thanks for this article. I was struggling with this very concept this week and it was most helpful.

AND - this is what I love - they turn a HUGE profit. Even in them forsaken Euros.

I've taken cars over the 200 mark (which is what, about 125 or so) going north toward Firenzie (luckily, not getting caught by the Carbinieri!! ;) ) and it felt far more solid and secure than traveling 1/3 of that on a US interstate.

Viva autostrade privati d'Italia!! Andiamo!

They are a blast to drive on! And meticulously maintained. Vroom

I swear by my life, and my love of it that I, like the Producers in Atlas Shrugged, have the freedom to choose who and what I will work for. And that I will never accept the demand by another that I live for the sake of another against my will, nor will I ask another to live their life for me. The Moochers and Looters have no rightful claim on me, my ideas, property, time or work product. I will not be enslaved by any contrivance of the Moochers or Looters, especially their concern for my "safety" or the "common good". They are nothing more than common thieves and thugs.

wow, good stories Suzanne

I wanted to comment on that really quickly... out here, our roads are paid for and maintained not by a general fund moocher tax, but by a fuel tax those who drive on the roads pay. While it is not necessarily a toll road system, it pretty effectively is a "use what you pay for, and pay for what you use" system. And those who use motor fuels for non-highway use (Diesel heaters, chainsaws, and the like), can actually buy non-tax fuel.

On the other hand... look at Italy. It has a public highway system, and a 100% private toll highway (Autostrada) system. I tell you what - the roads that Benetton (the owner of Autostrada) builds and maintains are by far and away STELLAR compared to their state run counterparts... and if you ever watch them being maintained, you would be amazed at the beauty and efficiency of it. And knowing they have to return a profit - to themselves and their shareholders) you bet they're doing it and making money at it.

"I swear by my life, and my love of it, that I will never live fro the sake of another person, nor ask another to life their life for mine"

"Contradictions do not exist. Whenever you think you are facing a contradiction, check your premises. You will find that one of them is wrong."
Francisco D’Anconia Ayn Rand “Atlas Shrugged