Rick Santelli: "... it reminded me of Atlas Shrugged."
"... it reminded me of Atlas Shrugged. It was going to be called The Strike, because people who got tired of being taken advantage of, so they decided they would call a strike and whatever it is they did, run railroads, make steel, they were going to stop."
SOURCE URL: http://video.cnbc.com/gallery/?video=3000267121
He proposes a one-week general strike. John Galt gave his world a strike that lasted twelve years or more. Furthermore, "we started with no time limit in view." He didn't know how long the collapse would take, nor did he care. This was about more than going on strike; it was about quitting. Permanentlyl.
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What exactly is he saying here?
Of course I don't ask them to part with their wealth. I do ask them to take off their masks and play it straight for once.
http://www.breitbart.com/InstaBlog/2014/...
If we are individuals with free will, and WE ARE, then each one of us is responsible for our actions and thus for our lives and for our well being. Charity is not an obligation. It is a virtue of some. What you earn does not prevent anybody, more capable, earning even more.
Progressive taxation is a violation of our Constitution. One day, Americans will wake up and discover that basic truth. I hope before the "progressives" (liberals? socialists? communists?), rigging the government and policies, distroy the country beyond repair. All in pursuit of utopias. Ever heard of a bell curve? It is a property of nature. Just look around!
First, while the main characters in AS would certainly be considered the 1%, the Strike was for and by any and all men (and women) of ability. The strike would not have been effective if only the 1% of ability had participated. The remaining members of the 99% who also had ability would have been able to keep the engine of the world running. And the strike would have been ineffective. (Think Eddie Willers and all of the train crews abandoning their posts.)
And second, the point of the Strike was to Stop the Engine of the World. The point was not to just make things uncomfortable for the moochers for a week or two. It was to manifest the idea that the producers are no longer willing to contribute to a society that does not recognize the value of that production. Remove the output of enough producers and the engine of the world stops. That is how you effect change.
Bottom lines for me... First, WE ARE our own '1%'... yeah, us here. And the government policies we hate have been put in place by legislators voted in by ALL THE REST OF THE electorate... rarely us.
Nothing will change for us or our progeny (or yours... I don't have any) until those 'unwashed masses' get it through their skulls that what they're electing and voting to have implemented are actually HURTING them (the voters.)
I don't know how to make that happen. I'm not (never have been much of) an 'implementer,' but my track record of observing, analyzing and drawing logical conclusions is damned good.
Small example: I predicted the bankruptcy of NYC when I saw Mayor John Lindsay (look it up) caving in to EVERY union's strike demands for pay, benefits, pensions, etc. I could see that there was no way for NYC to manage future commitments to outrageous and stupid, selfish demands.
So, want to help? Brainstorm HOW TO CHANGE the thinking of the majority of the Electorate.
And agreeing with one another here is NOT how to do it. Figuring it out and Implementing It Is. Help!
The day I received that letter was the day I locked my doors of a successful business for the last time. The next time I opened them I did so as a striker who was there to convert his assets and to begin a life living the strikers creed. Determined to not earn another dime that could be taxed to fund a government that has grown to be oppressive. A government that once saw "We the people" as it's bosses grow to the point that it sees "we the people" as it's funding source. Where the nations strength is now it's serfs.
The word "Bolshevik" is derived from the Russian word "bol'shinstvo," which roughly translates as "majority", literally meaning "one of the majority."
I'll be honest – I used to think that "Bolshevik" was the surname of a particular Russian family which either started the Russian Communist revolution, or was a major proponent of it. But no, apparently "bolshevik" just means the majority of the people. In other words, it was essentially the equivalent of the term "99%" which was used by the Occupy Wall Street Movement here in the United States. When you stop and think about the full implications of that, it's kinda scary...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bolsheviks
A great tidbit of knowledge with which to begin my day. Thanks. (Do not like the implications as much as the etymology.)
Jan
There was a Russian Socialist Democratic Workers Party which held its 2nd Congres in 1903 in London (England). Lenin was a member and present. He proposed changes in the party's policies and organization. The main tennet od his proposal was implementation of "democratic centralism". The delegates split when voting and majority ("bolsheviks") went along with Lenin. The minority ("mensheviks") of course lost and were eventually expelled as social democrats, unworthy of the "true", "revolutionary", "bolshevik" party, "the avanguard of the working class" as they liked to desribe themselves.
So, it is absolutely preposterous to think that "majority" refers to the majority of the people, let alone 99%. They were a majority of a small group of exiled rebellious troublemakers dreaming communist utopia. There is no chance whatsover that the majority of the Russians would vote for them, even if the czar would allow that vote.
That "democratic centralism" is just one example of demagogery and obfuscation which enabled later the Central Committee and the Politbiro, headed by the likes of Lenin, Stalin and others to rule the partyand the country and establish the totalitarian and murderous tiranny which they shamelessly called democratic rule.
Suggested reading: Ayn Rand: "We the living". By the way, it is much better than the film the Italian fascists made on the basis of that book. She lived through the beginning of that hell on earth. I did throught Tito's version in Yugoslavia: first week after taking Belgrade, 20,000 executions. Very democratic.
The crux of the problem is that majority of the normal folks do not see through the masterful propaganda until it is too late. The "Strike" led by Galt is an allarm. Before armed strorm troopers force you into submission - so you can save the lives of your kids and such.