Ayn Rand: More Idiocy In The Media

Collective socialism tends to inhibit innovation, and no one captured this idea more perfectly than Ayn Rand. I think in the context of what America should be today, Ayn Rand's ideas generally work - of course, they're a bit oversimplified and I do not believe her work is a manual on how to run society, as some do. Still, she was a great writer and Atlas Shrugged was her magnum opus: integrating great character stories with her philosophy perfectly.

In hilarious fashion, writer Alex Beam delves right into the Ayn caricature of the typical elitist who pretends he's doing a favor for the masses - by criticizing a book and a philosophy he admits he's never read:

I would be the first to admit that I don't know much about Ayn Rand, beyond her name. The Ayn rhymes with dine, and Rand is supposedly an Americanization of her birth name Rosenbaum. I have heard the operatic details of her personal life, (much younger lover, proves to be fickle; drama ensues) and have a crude understanding of Objectivism, the "morality of rational egoism" that Brook cites above. Private entrepreneurialism = good; centrally planned, government-funded economy = bad.

As it happens, America's most prominent Randie is probably former Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan, who presided over one of the most grandiose expansions of government expenditures in world history. In 1982, Greenspan attended Rand's funeral, where her body lay next to a large floral arrangement of a dollar sign. R.I.P.

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Alex Beam knows nothing of the economy, and nothing of Ayn Rand, only knows that Alan Greenspan attended Rand's funeral and that he presided over government expenditures. Those expenditures were caused by politicians, public pressure, silly world trade agreements - take your pick, but it wasn't Greenspan, who admitted after he left his post that most of what he had done was against what he believed in. But we can't speak out against the sanctity of the Federal Reserve falsely controlling the money supply, because that's an existing institution in the US and Rand is dead, so it's easy to make fun of her without ever reading her books.

Good work Alex, can't wait to read your next article!

Health care mess chasing people out of state

I posted on Corrupt here about a recent health care story in the news.

The driving points are as follows:

• Massachusetts legislators are looking for new & creative ways to force hospitals & doctors to spend less taxpayer dollars
• Hospitals & doctors are just trying to do their jobs but are being squeezed by insurance companies
• Insurance companies are squeezing patients as the result of above

We've seriously considered leaving the state, and if this mess of health care and increased taxes continues, I don't know how we can afford to stay here any longer. There's too much corruption, red tape, and government interference, and the worst part is, the traditional values of Massachusetts are so misaligned with where we are now. I can't call another state home, but I may have to at least try it out for a bit with the increasing squeeze being put on the middle class.

Massachusetts votes for higher income tax

House Speaker Robert A. DeLeo won his first political victory with the 108-to-51 vote, persuading lawmakers to sign onto his plan to increase the sales tax from 5 percent to 6.25 percent. The vote also heightens the tension among top Beacon Hill Democrats, who have had sharp disagreements over how to solve the state's budget crisis.

Patrick opposes the plan and sent an ultimatum to all 200 members of the Legislature yesterday afternoon, promising to veto the increase unless lawmakers first enact transportation, ethics, and pension law changes he has sought.

"While I recognize the need for revenue, raising taxes of any kind during a recession is a bad idea," Treasurer Timothy P. Cahill, who has not ruled out challenging Patrick, said in a statement.

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Keep in mind, Massachusetts is receiving $3billion in federal bailout funds from our federal government. And they won a scare tactic campaign victory in November by scaring voters into voting against an income tax rollback.

Treasurer Cahill's remarks highlight the problem with politics and an uneducated public: the problem isn't revenue generation, it's spending. The problem in Massachusetts has always been and will always be spending, not a lack of revenue. Toll roads, high excise taxes, high property taxes, high sales taxes...the state gets plenty of revenue. It just doesn't know how to spend it effectively.

And Deval, while I like what he's doing, the causes of his action are problematic. Per above, he's essentially saying, "I won't allow a tax increase unless you tell me I can spend it any way I want."

The politicians running our state have left the voters and citizens completely out of the political process. I hope to leave Massachusetts at some point when it makes sense, both career and family-wise, and let the socialists infect the entire state before it collapses. We're at the point of no return: it's easier to let things fall apart so we can build anew than try going back to the values upon which this state was founded.