Ayn Rand by her writings deemed the meaning of life to be altruism and of a life to be lived by the self and not others.

But in the end, she collected social security which was her right as she paid for it and had earned it. But was it her undoing?

The liberal left has used this fact many times to dispose of the conservative belief of welfare as a road to socialism.

The mainstay of the liberal attacks stem from the Tea Party and their belief in and support of the philosophy of Ayn Rand. Article such as this appear every election season:

Ayn Rand Was A Secret Welfare Queen

Why would anyone feel that sediment to be in any way justified?

More Nuts than Knowledge on that site!

So,they believe one must not recoup stolen property if possible?

and all those monies extorted for those Government Pyramid-Schemes definitely are better back where they belong,than in the grubby hands of some Government-Officials!

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The Myth - Ayn Rand violated her own philosophy by collecting social security.


The Truth:
This is the same as claiming that if you are against robbery, and you were one of Bernie Madoff's victims, you violate your principles by putting in a claim for partial restitution.

She addressed a similar issue in her article "The Question of Scholarships,” The Objectivist, June, 1966. From that article:

"Many students of Objectivism are troubled by a certain kind of moral dilemma confronting them in today’s society. We are frequently asked the questions: “Is it morally proper to accept scholarships, private or public?” and: “Is it morally proper for an advocate of capitalism to accept a government research grant or a government job?”

http://www.aynrandmyths.com/

http://freestudents.blogspot.ch/2011/10/lying-about-ayn-rand-and-social.html

SS is not welfare. If you've paid into it your entire working life should you not get some return on your investment?
I pay into my pension fund. Is it "welfare" that I get when I retire?
I also pay into a separate IRA because I don't plan on recieving SS by the time I turn of age to be eligable to receive it. To be honest I would rather have the money I pay into SS and put that in my IRA.

But there are nuts everywhere, especially in the political arena, with the extremest from both sides of the spectrum being the worse.

But here is the crux of the matter: the government mandates that those subject to the social security tax shall contribute up to a set earnings, 6.2% of those earnings to be matched in like by the employer, or 12.4% total. They also deduct 2.9% for medicare but let's ignore that for this part of the discussion.

Now this is but a tax that the government has no obligation except to keep the funds in a trust that can only invest in secure investments, government bonds, an oxymoronic thought unto itself. They can give it to those that have paid little to nothing , deny certain provisions to those that don't meet certain rules and to pay a sum that looses value by each passing year to those that qualify.

But now we come to the main subject, Ayn Rand. From what I know of her thru her writings and other sources on her life, she struggled with this decision. She did not want to claim what was really hers, until her health made her, something the liberals enjoy using against her.

Her here is the rub, somehow the liberals have no problem with the entitlement train until one that is the victim of their robbery claims what they earn.

And that is how they keep coming up with this attack on Ayn Rand, as a defense to keep the gravy train. They have no concept of stolen money for the benefit of others and stolen money being claimed by right from those it was stolen from.

Well sir, looking at your age, you are on the crux of a decision, to pay or not to pay. Social Security is voluntary and you can opt out. but if you do then you must deny the whole thing including all contributions made to date. But just imagine , your 6.2% and your employers 6.2% going into your private retirement plan.

All you need is to do your homework and you will discover the truth. It can't be told, it must be discovered in order to be defended. Remember you are opting out of a tax that the government would like to bully you into paying.

I have no problem paying into it. Maybe it will be around when I hit whatever age it is the government deems retirement age. I just wish the government would have never started spending it on what they want. Instead of just using it for what it is supposed to be used for.

My point was in response to being on welfare by getting SS when you reach retirement age. As I said before, how is it welfare if you've paid into it your whole working career?

That is your option and your right but I doubt you will ever get a penny as your full retirement age would be 67, another 23 years. The Baby Boomers, me included, will totally break the system and the Federal Reserve has destroyed the general fund so no rescue on the way.