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In a country well governed, poverty is something to be ashamed of. In a country badly governed, wealth is something to be ashamed of. |
Tag: Redistribution of Wealth
Ayn Rand’s Message to America
In 1959 Mike Wallace interviewed Ayn Rand on his program The Mike Wallace Interview. This was Rand’s first major interview on television and came two years after the release of her most prominent work, Atlas Shrugged.
While this video is over 50 years old, the format and content is timeless. Ayn Rand was brilliant in the articulation of her philosophy and her perspective and did an excellent job of engaging Mike Wallace without running him over.
Atlas Society
In this fascinating interview, a young Mike Wallace interviews Ayn Rand, author of Atlas Shrugged and The Fountainhead. She states that the world is moving towards “disaster” and “destruction” and “complete collectivism” or “socialism.” This she ties to the implementation of the welfare state and its undermining of individual rights. The welfare state is leading us toward a society where “everyone is enslaved to everyone else” she argues. Wallace counters that this system came about democratically. Does Ayn Rand oppose that democratic process? Rand explains that the majority may not vote away inalienable rights: it may not vote away the property, life, or freedom of others. Individual rights are a limit on what the majority may do politically. How then should we move forward? Rand says, by “voluntary cooperation,” “voluntary action,” free from force.
This interview will be of interest to Tea Party activists and libertarians of all stripes, as well as those seeking a quick explanation of Ayn Rand’s political views.
How Much Do The Obamas Spend On Vacations And Travel?
How Much Do The Obamas Spend On Vacations And Travel?
Shared sacrifice? Socialism is for the people, not the socialists.
Obama administration travel and vacation documents were released yesterday by Judicial Watch, and they reveal an unprecedented level of executive branch leisure spending.
According to public information: “As of 2001, the president earns a$400,000 annual salary, along with a $50,000 annual expense account, a$100,000 nontaxable travel account, and $19,000 for entertainment. The most recent raise in salary was approved by Congress and President Bill Clinton in 1999 and went into effect in 2001.”
Obtained via a Freedom of Information request, here are some of the Obama presidency’s spending items:
- Since 2009, a total of $40,000,000 has been spent.
- This year’s Presidential golf outings to California and Florida, including $3,000,000 in flight expenses.
- 2013′s Africa trip and Honolulu vacations for the Obamas cost $16,000,000- for flight expenses alone.
- 2013′s Ireland trip tab: $8,000,000.
- Michelle Obama’s 2-day side trip to Dublin cost $250,000, including a $3,500 per-night suite.
To put these figures in perspective, the administration spends every 5 hours what the average American family spends each summer on vacations. And that only counts those that actually are financially able to vacation. To put it another way, it takes the annual income taxes of 926 typical households to cover these costs.
Or another way, that’s 70 times what the president is allotted in compensation on a yearly basis.
Is there any conceivable way to justify a monthly average travel and vacation budget of $625,000? For a President that constantly harps on about income inequality and shared sacrifice, his lavish presidential lifestyle is the epitome of hypocrisy.
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