Middle Class Going Galt

By Tom Rhodes, 3/20/2013

"Going Galt" a libertarian phrase that's not familiar to a lot of people but is gaining popularity in the public lexicon. It refers to people moving or taking other actions to reduce the amount of money confiscated by government, by taking their property and business outside of the government's confiscation ability. The most famous example in the US is Phil Mickelson contemplating retiring or moving to avoid excessive taxes. The news was filled with examples are French moving to England, Luxemburg, etc. to avoid new confiscatory taxes. Even extreme lefty Bill Maher is saying the Rich Pay their fair share.

It's relatively easy, for a person like Phil Mickelson, to go Galt. He has enough assets to live out his life comfortably without ever working again. For the average middle class person it's not so easy, but it's not impossible. The middle class going Galt is why Detroit went from an industrial powerhouse to a wasteland. Those people and businesses who could, left. My parents went Galt and escaped Detroit in 1972. What do I mean by they went Galt?

My dad left a major company in Detroit working as an automotive engineer with several prominent patents to his name to working as an electrician Florida. Went debt free and stayed that way. He went from working 70 hour work weeks to 40, but by moving to a state without income taxes, and a much smaller government foot print, we lived a similar standard of living on less total money. Much of America is doing just that. Private debt has fallen significantly since the bubble burst in 2008. Although many idiots still live with excessive credit card and other debt, much of America is listening to Dave Ramsey and seriously getting debt free, no credit card debt, no car payment, not even a mortgage if possible.

This is how the middle class go Galt. When the middle class decides to buy a $2500 clunker instead of plopping $2500 down on a new car and paying $400/mo to service that new debt, it changes the game. Banks don't make interest and the government is denied taxes from the sale of a new car. The more people do this the more it hurts the WallStreet-Kstreet cabal. It helps out your local garage, and smaller business.

The most common example of going Galt is Retirees, who do it all the time. Work and live in NY or Wisconsin for 40 years, then take your toys and move to Florida to retire, avoiding the property, income, and other taxes of those socialist states. Yes the weather is better, but more importantly the government no longer gets significant parts of your retirement income. Moderate homes in low crime areas are available in Florida for less than $75K, and have less than $1000/yr property taxes. Sell your Appleton Wi, home for a quarter million, move to Florida, pocket $150K, and reduce your annual tax burden by $4K/year. Put that money you profited from the sale of your home into a modest investment account, and it will return $6K a year. Thus moving from Appleton to a small town in Florida nets Grandma and Grandpa $10K a year and they don't have to shovel the sidewalk.

Taking your money out of the bank, buying silver or gold, or other tangible assets is also part of going Galt. Using cash and barter are all going Galt. Living smaller than you have too and saving is going Galt. Small businesses that decide to stay under 50 employees when they could expand but the owner decides the extra government intrusion isn't worth the effort is going Galt.

The fact is, like every similar society in history before us, our society is degrading and disintegrating economically, politically, socially, morally and spiritually. America is in permanent decline, period. Statists and leftists want to erode private property rights to prolong the illusion that our society is still stable and viable. The statists depend on a "dependent" society. Being independent, able to farm your own yard, fix your own car, live within your means, trade and barter and avoid the government is all part of going Galt. Those actions are make you independent, they are also biblical; 1ST Thessalonians 4:11-12 says, "Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business and to work with your hands, just as we told you, so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody."

You don't have to be rich to go Galt, just quit playing the statist game.