This is an old thread, but since I just stumbled onto it, I want to go ahead and respond. When you get tired of supporting the moochers, tired of working for the benefit of someone else, when you realize your dreams are no longer possible, when you know your elected officials are corrupt and cater only to the ignorant among us, when there is no hope for the future, you'll either shrug or join the moochers. Right now, we're experiencing the agony of "death by a thousand cuts" and for many, it's too easy to join the ranks of the moochers.

How do you shrug? Work only for yourself. Ignore the demands and expectations of those around you. Simplify your life. Stand up for your rights. Accept the fact that you don't "owe" anyone, anything. Protect yourself. Plan for a worst case scenario. Most of all, stand tall and accept the consequences of your actions. Our forefathers put eveything on the line when they fought for our freedom. Is that freedom any less valuable today than it was during the Revolutionary War? If you answer, "no" ... then shrug.

The people such as you and I may see that we are in a cage. Or rather we are the cage constricting ourselves and our individual kind. The need to justify in the eyes of the cage crafting mongrels is nothing but a word, or a phrase. For like the ever posing question: Who is John Galt. Nothing... is what you are but a bar to the system that enslaves us all in a world as this may be.

I shrugged in 2007. I spent the first several years finding myself and learning to understand the world as it really is. For the last year I've worked
a minimum wage job just to feed myself. I used to have my own business, I received awards for my work, but when looters come to take... It was time to stop the madness. In the last year, I've come to realize that my own siblings are the worst of the moochers and looters. I had been in denial, but I have finally accepted the truth. I am now disassociating myself from them. Its very, very painful, but its a necessary move. I only wish there was a physical Galt's Gulch to move to... But alas, insanity is everywhere these days.

Could you be a bit more specific?

Make that the world and you would be closer, far more the the planet is socialist than is not.

You either are supporting yourself and are therefore supporting others by force of tax law or you are being supported and have become part of the problem.
There is no other choice.

A bold statement, but without recourse.

statistically speaking, those of us who would like to see this fail quickly are probably fewer than those contemplating mooching as a right. that's just a pragmatic take though.
I would hate to see you give up on some of your convictions for a possibility.
Remember that the govt did this on purpose. they make it harder for producers to produce if they withdraw support, vs becoming a moocher.

Personally, I think going on the government dole is sacrificing your beliefs. It may take a little longer, but let it fall on it's own. Then you can stand with your head held high and start rebuilding with the rest of us who share the same philosophy.

I have been struggling with this one the last couple of weeks. I am not so sure his idea is wrong.

If millions of us quit and started to draw out it would fail that much sooner. Are we better off to quit and just let it collapse or quit and help it collapse?

I guess it really depends on your motivation if you go to the government dole. I do not think I could do it, even if I did decide that it would help speed things up, but something has gotta knock some sense into the big government types.

ok, DK, that last line is a favorite line of the day

Bravo!

Yes Dragonlady I do sound like a moocher. I'm undercover. I would not deliver such a cruisy performance if my employer were a productive private company. But then I would have to pay a higher tax rate and I refuse. My customers get good service but my employer gets only fair value.

I am intentionally living below what I can afford. I could move up from my current rental (that's right, could buy, but why? And in a country that's going Communist?) to one that's twice my current rent. But then, my $$ would go to the utility companies, which provide a discount to those "less privileged". I'm sick of providing "free stuff/services" to those who simply don't want to do it for themselves. You get out of life what you put into it. For those who choose not to put any effort into life, don't complain when you see us who do have a better life, better circumstances, education, career, etc.

"I choose to work in a government job....I can cruise along without having to perform" Sounds a little like becoming a moocher to me. Or maybe I just don't understand the premise....

I went on strike in 2006. I work at the minimum tax rate. I choose to work in a government job. Fully acknowledge the irony of that, but I can cruise along without having to perform. I am not available for promotion. My actual life, be assured, is outside of my paid job.

How? Without going to Jail.

Its a wonderful idea but I do not see how you can do it without turning into a moocher or a looter.

I would love to see how someone plans to shrug.

How?

I'm looking at Texas for after shrugging. Need to sell first.

Before you do anything, you have to ask yourself this question' "who is the guilty party"? Let your answer dictate your actions. I went "Galt" almost four years ago after I asked myself the same question.

So, what do you do then??? Do you quit your job and get on the government dole? Do you move to another country?? How do "you" not comply?? I would love to know?? I might join you. So, what do you do?