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Rhonda Wilson

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Everything posted by Rhonda Wilson

  1. I hear you, Steve. I'm particularly concerned about how abortion rights might be restricted on the fringes. Also, who knows what escalation we might see on the war on drugs? I recently posted on my facebook status "Another election year, and another choice between a party that wants to control our personal choices and a party that wants to control our economic choices. Wish we had a party that stood for liberty of both kinds. Am I the only one who feels this way?" I've never voted for third party candidate, because I always have seen them as spoilers. However, I'm wondering about Americans Elect this year and whether or not there will be a credible candidate. If someone would be for choice, deficit reduction (something like Bowles-Simpson) and a maybe some kind of compromise on health care. It might be worth considering.
  2. I have to say, that it was pretty clever for Pelosi, Reed and Obama to postpone the implementation of the Affordable Health Care Act to 2014 because it doesn't seem to be in the public consciousness right now. President Obama didn't even mention it in his State of the Union speech. You really need to become familiar with the income-redistribution aspects of this law, if you are not. See the CBO's analysis of premiums here http://www.cbo.gov/ftpdocs/107xx/doc10781/11-30-Premiums.pdf go to the last page. See how a family that makes $102k / yr will pay $14.1k in premiums while the family that makes $90k per year pays $9.2k in premiums. That is a 50% additional marginal tax rate. At least with the Republicans there is a chance of repeal or change of this insanity.
  3. Hello, I'm new here. I was introduced to Ayn Rand's works in the mid-90s by a friend who gave me a copy of The Virtue of Selfishness. I was a Christian at the time and read the first chapter or two with - I don't know how to describe the mixture of feelings - anger, incredulity? It took me several years to finally admit to myself that God was a fantasy and altruism was a philosophy of self-destruction as Rand had taught. I was finally ready to read The Virtue of Selfishness for the second time and make a new beginning on ethics. It didn't happen in a moment or a day, at some point I just started answering the question of what I believed as "I am an Objectivist." I consider myself a relative beginner to Ayn Rand's philosophy and I'm here to learn and exchange ideas. One of the downsides of being an Objectivist is that it is a bit lonely. I don't have a single friend who knows of Ayn Rand's teaching so there is no one to talk to. Many of my "friends" at work are Christians, and I've found that it's better not to flaunt one's atheist belief's in a conservative rural community. -Rhonda
  4. I can't say that I'm proud to be an American. I'm not ashamed to be one either.
  5. I remember the scene in the movie Wall Street when Chalie Sheen asks "How many yachts can you ski behind?" etc. This definition of greed completely misses the point and I hate to fall into the trap of saying that enough is enough when it comes to wealth. Should Warren Buffett have stopped growing his fortune at say $1M, or $10M, or $100M? Is there some number that is enough, beyond which is simply naked greed? I say "no." By his virtue he has created prosperity not only for himself but for his many investors.
  6. Good topic. I think that this really comes down to the definition. If greed is truly "concern with one's own interest without respect for the rights of others." Or even "..an inordinate desire to acquire or possess more than one needs or deserves." Then no, it is not good. The moral man does not seek undeserved gain nor does he seek to cheat others, which is equivalent to looting. If someone were to define greed as "a desire for wealth beyond what one needs" or something like that, I would not call that bad. I once was talking with my sister about some successful (wealthy) friends of ours who started several businesses. I was speaking of them in admiration, of course, because they have created a great deal of wealth through their own excellence. And my sister, being of the liberal mind-set, made a negative comment, wondering why any individuals should amass so much personal wealth. "Why does anybody need that much?" Or something like that. I believe that people like my sister see wealth as a zero-sum game and when people are successful they taking away other's people's share. Language is powerful. What is the positive word that describes a virtuous seeking of wealth? Perhaps this is part of the reason that capitalism itself is under attack. People look at the wealthy with suspicion and envy instead of admiration and respect.
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