A Randian thought experiment...

[Rocky Hillian]

In honor of the other thread, I would like to ask a couple of questions and see where it takes us.

So let's say that the top 1% income earners in this country decided to follow "John Galt" and remove themselves and their "wealth" to a large ranch somewhere in the Rockies. Like the book, a complete cut-off from all of society, vanished.

What would happen to the country's economy?

What would happen to the 1%ers?

[jumblemind]

I suspect a bunch of people from both groups would starve to death.

[# 9]

Is this going to be one of those A to A then over to B and around to C things? Because that is as boring as...well you know.

[Rocky Hillian]

I'm just curious about what people think would happen in such a situation.

I see starvation happening, as well.

[rikki]

Removing themselves and whatever wisdom, experience, etc is in their brains would have little impact. They'd be replaced.

How exactly would they remove their wealth? If they convert all their investments to cash or gold or canned goods for their hidey hole, they'd not have much impact. It would just be a new name on the various title and certificates.

I don't see starvation anywhere except perhaps within their hidey hole. Generally speaking, they'd just open up space for competitors to rapidly occupy. The only kind of individual who might not be replaceable is someone like a researcher with some special insight into cancer or power generation or the like whose disappearance delays or prevents the discovery they were on the verge of making, but such a person would not be "going Galt" because their riches were yet to be attained.

[Rocky Hillian]

I don't see starvation anywhere except perhaps within their hidey hole. Generally speaking, they'd just open up space for competitors to rapidly occupy. The only kind of individual who might not be replaceable is someone like a researcher with some special insight into cancer or power generation or the like whose disappearance delays or prevents the discovery they were on the verge of making, but such a person would not be "going Galt" because their riches were yet to be attained.

That individual wouldn't be among the top 1% earners. Probably not even the top 50% earners.

I'm a little foggy on how Rand had the Galt crowd removing themselves. I know it included what they had accumulated in the "outside" world. I guess they would liquify their assets and take it with them. To me that would be a lot of worthless stuff in their commune.

[jumblemind]

I just remembered that Rush Limbaugh was fond of a parable of people that met for lunch every day, with one man paying for most of the bill, the rest paying smaller portions like for a couple of drinks, the tip, etc., and several paying nothing at all, a way to show that the 1% pay the most taxes. It would build up to the Galtian dramatic question, "What do you suppose would happen if that one guy decided he wanted to stay at home and not eat out?"

[Raincrow]

Removing themselves and whatever wisdom, experience, etc is in their brains would have little impact. They'd be replaced.

Nobody noticed when John Denver disappeared into Colorado.

[Tess]

My opinion only, but some of the big money got pushed offshore a long time and some of the big money got used up in ways that didn't get into the marketplace.

[rikki]

I'm a little foggy on how Rand had the Galt crowd removing themselves.

It was a work of fiction. Maybe in the robber baron days there were individuals whose deliberate exclusion of themselves from the economy would have had big effects, but with everything now in the hands of corporations, I doubt such individuals exist.