"For America to compete effectively, businesses must work with local, state and federal entities.''
That was our Galtian hero, John Aglialoro, producer and co-writer of "Atlas Shrugged", back in 2007, right after the State of Massachusetts gave a $3.1 million grant to his company, Cybex International.
And it's a darn lucky thing they did...
...because otherwise, the fiercely independent Aglialoro was gonna head straight for Galt's Gulch:
``Cybex had been looking to state government for several years, or frankly, it had to leave,'' said John Aglialoro, Cybex's chairman and chief executive officer.
Looking to government? But surely that was a slip of the tongue, because only moochers and looters "look to government" for anything. Certainly the innovators at Cybex could handle their own interests just fine without government meddling, thanks very much.
Oh...
The Massachusetts Opportunity Relocation and Expansion grant, first announced last month, will extend a sewer line for a new Cybex building, adjacent to the current site, that will bring 120 manufacturing jobs.
Phew! We dodged a bullet. One of the top 25 richest executives in America was this close to going on strike if the government didn't fork over.
By a fantastic coincidence, $3.1 million happens to be almost exactly what Atlas Shrugged has grossed to date. Just enough to pay for Aglialoro's sewer pipe. Whoops, looks like the taxpayers already did.
Many thanks to the wonderful Alicublog for bringing this to my attention.