Some high income folks are "going John Galt"
Posted: Tue Mar 10, 2009 2:20 am
What does "going John Galt" mean, you ask? It's the practice of deliberately lowering your income so as to avoid the increased taxes on incomes over $250,000 planned by President Obama. "John Galt" is the main character of Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged, who worked in a menial job in spite of his high intelligence because he didn't want to experience being "looted" by the tax collectors who would come after him if he made more money. The people who are "going John Galt" plan to either reduce their working hours or fire employees in order to slip under the $250,000 mark:
http://pajamasmedia.com/instapundit/71770/
http://pajamasmedia.com/instapundit/71770/
I guess for some people, being asked to consider much apart from their own bank account is quite "demoralizing."Dr. Sharon Poczatek, who runs her own dental practice in Boulder, Colo., said that she too is trying to figure out ways to get out of paying the taxes proposed in Obama’s plan.
“I’ve put thought into how to get under $250,000,” said Poczatek. “It would mean working fewer days which means having fewer employees, seeing fewer patients and taking time off.”
“Generally it means being less productive,” she said.
“The motivation for a lot of people like me – dentists, entrepreneurs, lawyers – is that the more you work the more money you make,” said Poczatek. “But if I’m going to be working just to give it back to the government — it’s de-motivating and demoralizing.”