"You have made several statements that clearly indicate you think that "galting" means walking away from productive activities"
You give a few good examples of Galting, but I still don't know what it means. That's fine, but nothing I say about it has any meaning since I don't know what it is.

Regarding Sarbanes Oxley, I know little about it apart from what was mentioned in some general business books I've read (Execution: The Discipline of Getting Things Done, and one other book I can't recall, maybe it was Unintended Consequences). My uninformed guess is that the law made public incorporation less favorable, and that's pushing businesses to be owned by private equity rather than public. If this guess is right, I do not know if this is good or bad.

Regarding 2000, that was the peak the of the tech boom. VCs were funding companies that had no profits, sometimes companies that didn't have real sales if you discounted mutual advertising sales between Internet companies. It's not fair to compare the tech boom to this run-of-the-mill expansion cycle. Maybe with better policies, we could be in a major expansion, something akin to 2000 but sustainable.

I agree with the general idea we should be looking for ways to increase liberty, innovation, and just letting people do their own thing in general. Things could be a lot better. I'm not sure on the claims that number of IPO is a figure of merit. I agree we want more startups which are good at innovation AND more mature businesses which are good consistency. We want more people solving each other's problems.

That's great that you're writing books. Calling that "galting", in my confused understanding of the term, sounds like an insult. You're just doing a job you want to do, trying something and seeing if it works. I call that life. Maybe "Galting" is what I call life.

last first. You have made several statements that clearly indicate you think that "galting" means walking away from productive activities. I am just responding to those statements by saying that is not what is happening. when a jbrenner, for example, says he "galted" by walking away from startups to teach fulltime, in one sense the world is definitely losing because of the disruptive nature of the tech area he invents in. In another sense, he has more time to devote spreading ideas. I agree with Rand that this is fundamentally a war of ideas we're fighting against socialism.
Here is a small example of what I am talking about. In 2000, 406 companies went public. After the passage of Sarbanes Oxley, those numbers just plummeted. In 2000 (as a sample year) the US had more companies go public than any other country. Why shouldn't we? Now we are not on top. Here is a paper that I cite for numbers. I do not agree at all with their premise, as bigger companies absorbing startups in the long run are not good for economy as it is proven startups are the 95% of all net new jobs in the US.
http://fisher.osu.edu/supplements/10/120...

Last year 222 companies went public, however their earnings are less than a third per company than in 2000.
Finally, I suppose we are of an age to consider early retirement, but that was not our choice. We chose to focus on writing books. As a team we write fiction novels. Db is currently also working on a second non-fiction book about growth economics.

"Then stuff happened at the end of the book."
To me the point of that was how bad bad could get if taken to an extreme. Extreme liberty would lead to an inexhaustible energy source. Extreme socialism would lead to everyone falling over one another to grab other people's stuff and focusing their efforts on sob stories and political machinations instead of making goods/services.

"What if policies did not hamstring producers...is it possible not only they would produce more but benefit thousands/millions in the process?"
Yes. 1% extra GDP growth a year works out to several times the production after 100 years. That's just tangible production growth. The overall benefit of liberty is priceless.

"We realized more and more of our time was eaten up by the lack of freedoms I talk about in here and write in our novels. Leaving allows us to accomplish important work we had less time before to focus on."
I hope you write an article or book on this topic. I'm interested in how lack of freedom was causing a problem and how physically moving helped. I love stories about people moving to try something new, i.e. the story of America and all the sci-fi with similar themes.

"We decided the value of that potential work was too important. Do not assume that those who engage in "brain drain" stop their production. check your premise"
Even if moving meant retirement, that's your right. You're not a deserter for not wanting to make something and sell it.

The check your premise thing means almost nothing. Arguments can be unsound because a) false premises or b) logical errors. Either one will take you to wrong conclusions. In this case, the issue is defining "brain drain", "Galting", and so on. At one point I thought you said Galting was abandoning your dreams, or maybe it was abandoning seeking your dreams within the US. Here you say "brain drain" does *not* mean stopping all production. These words need definitions.

In the book the Gulch residents were clearly producing stuff but out of reach of the taxing authorities.

I'm not a child, and I have never worked in policy or written about it so have nothing to gain/lose. I just take a break on policy blog. I avoid people who use political techniques, esp when there's nothing at stake.

sounds sort of occupy wallstreet....have you read comments in the Gulch where people say they're doing this? I'm not sure where this concept you're putting forth comes from...I haven't read any comments from gulchers that are regulars or producers suggesting this is their life. have you?

this is a deflecting technique. why is it important to know this?

ok, I do not know where this is going...but I would say it is a mother thing. maybe a parent thing. just wait...

I'm not a republican.

I'm curious if you would identify as Republican if you had to choose between the two main parties. I have found only Republicans use "period" for emphasis. I almost never hear it locally. Maybe it's regional. I think it might be a Republican thing, which would be interesting. I think people here would say "absolutely".

Thanks for indulging my linguistic curiosity.

Yes. I was restating what kathywisco and Ayn Rand said, not suggesting anyone here lives for validation. I agree with everything you said except for what you think I have a problem with. I'm fine with people saying they're slacking off or doing whatever they please b/c that's what they wanna do. We owe others no explanation at all for what we do. I reject the argument someone is slacking off or failing to produce value as part of a program for political change. It sounds like a sanctimonious spin on not getting stuff done.

Yes. If someone thinks something like a->b therefore b->a is a valid argument, there's nowhere to go from there.

Well, I believe that the Galters here aren't looking for anybody's validation. They certainly don't need it! I just am not sure why you have such a problem with it. Who cares if they left! They have their own reasons for doing so. Period. What you think doesn't matter. What you would choose to do, if you ever "Galted", is purely in your own best interest, and what other people think of how you should have done it better has no bearing.

"Reason is not automatic. Those who deny it cannot be conquered by it. Do not count on them. leave them alone." Ayn Rand

Yes! That's the main point I took away from the book. You can become a industrialist, work just enough not to need a handout, or something in between. Don't look to others for validation. Moving forward requires doing things no one's done before. "Why do we have to be the first?" You don't have to be, but you have to if you want to create something new.

I read it. I think I understood it. I just didn't agree with that part. I kept wanting to tell the characters "you've overcome amazing challenges, juggled multiple things, done what it takes to become business leaders, so go out and work this problem. Show these people that rationality and free enterprise delivers the goods, delivers the things we wall want.

I'm thinking you're a Dagny-except when you do refuse to see many of the manmade govt obstacles out there. I don't think Galt's case was EVER that he could not overcome obstacles. He was about undoing grevious wrongs. Dagny was about letting those wrongs exist and trying to leapfrog them. Then stuff happened at the end of the book. ;) I use the characters for illustrative purposes only. I understand reality. Actually, reality is worse. I always look to the future, but part of that is understanding opportunity costs. What if policies did not hamstring producers...is it possible not only they would produce more but benefit thousands/millions in the process?
When db and I galted, it was about accomplishing things. We realized more and more of our time was eaten up by the lack of freedoms I talk about in here and write in our novels. Leaving allows us to accomplish important work we had less time before to focus on. Eventually, we decided the value of that potential work was too important. Do not assume that those who engage in "brain drain" stop their production. check your premise

I guess you didn't read the book, or at least didn't understand it.

I really don't care WHO agrees with what I do, I use MY mind to decide what to do with MY life.

I agree with everything you say, except the part about Galting being righteous and being the _only_ way to fight back. The world is run IMHO by those who show up.

I do not think you got laid off for bad attitude, went on gov't pmts, and then retreated to your room to indulge in conspiracy theories, LOL.

I'm glad you're not upset about the first part with the omitted word. I stand by the second part, though. That's how we come off, IMHO-- people with problems getting along, angry, scared, confused, and the taking the self-righteous tack that we're actually misunderstood geniuses who would provide untold value for humankind if it weren't for having to deal with gov't regulations. I find sanctimony about NOT accomplishing things very annoying. I like hearing about people who overcome the problems and do accomplish something.

lol. would it help if I told you I was not upset? I did wonder if that was how you saw me...Did you check out the book review requests from the new gulch member "Defense of American Ideals?" He is willing to send it for free for a review. I think Tom does a brilliant job of laying out the case for so much of what Conservatives tend to feel but sometimes aren't able to articulate. and he does it in that O way which is solution-oriented while still making the case. here's the link to his request:
http://www.galtsgulchonline.com/posts/a6...

What utter and pure joy! He did it, and he is PROUD! And happy knowing nothing can stop him from striding forth using his own motor. What a wonderful thing to see! Thank you KH!

Yep. No rigid principles under the umbrella of the government.

Yes!!! Hell yes!! Ok, that's exactly what is needed here. Real perspective.

I feel like an ass.