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MONDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2009
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Lawmaker: Obama Era Looks Like Atlas Shrugged

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(Newser) – A California congressman thinks President Obama’s economic policies are leading the country down the path described in Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged, the Washington Independent reports. “The achievers, the people who create all the things that benefit rest of us, are going on strike,” Republican John Campbell said. “A kind of protest from the people who create jobs, the people who create wealth.”

Those people “are pulling back from their ambitions because they see how they’ll be punished for them,” said Campbell, known for giving his interns copies of the novel. So how long until the rich retreat and watch society crumble? “That will happen when people expect that there ought to be a recovery going on, and it isn’t.”

Republican John Campbell represents California's 48th Congressional District.
Republican John Campbell represents California's 48th Congressional District.
In Ayn Rand's
In Ayn Rand's "Atlas Shrugged," the rich retreat to a hiding place to start their own society   (Flikr)
The cover of Ayn Rand's
The cover of Ayn Rand's "Atlas Shrugged."   (Amazon.com)
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30 comments
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Nwambe
Mar 5, 09 4:13 PM CST
Unfortunately, Ayn Rand has been read by business-school graduates everywhere. It's a monument to intellectual masturbation. When the rich pull out, those who they have abused will step in and make the world better. Hey, it's just as idealistic and idiotic as Rand's views. Not to mention Campbell's Reply
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northeast
Mar 5, 09 4:34 PM CST
I thought it was pretty simple, actually. But sure....intellectual masturbation it is...
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Bryanw55
Mar 5, 09 4:49 PM CST
Intellectual masturbation it is. But if the rich read history, they will certainly realize that much of their profit came from those who actually produce whatever it is that they finance. They might also be aware of what happens when they decide to "let them eat cake." And besides, riches are a poor indicator of production, as we have seen in this financial crisis. Moving money around has zero intrinsic value for society as a whole, and those making their living in that way have become extremely over-valued when it comes to wages.
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northeast
Mar 5, 09 7:13 PM CST
Have you read it?
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anchower
Mar 5, 09 5:10 PM CST
Fail. Reply
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