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I read this on Leonard Peikoff's site a while ago:

Q: I am writing to inquire about your sentiments on the current state of America and the world.

A: I now read only the front page of the New York Times, dropping each story when it is necessary to turn the page. That way, what is happening does not become too real to me.

I didn't understand this statement when I first read it. I mean, I got that he didn't like what was happening in the world, but I didn't understand how he could feel so passionately about it.

These days I'm beginning to understand more of what he meant every day. I think it all started with gov class. There is no real problem with the material we cover: it is all strictly outlined to prepare us for the cumulative exam at the end of the year. We learn about government the way that it is now. Naturally a lot of the classtime is spent debating because politics is something that can be so controversial at times. I'm usually one of the debaters, and sometimes I wish I weren't. It surprises me how much of what we learn really affects me...I get so angry sometimes sitting there in the room and listening to my teacher spitting out things about welfare, public education, the public health system, etc. I don't know why I get so angry! I mean, I know that I have very strong values and that I have reason for my values....so when someone expresses a different value, it affects me. But these days it's gotten quite awful. I've become so passionate, I think, that it's almost painful. And to top it off, half the class thinks I'm some clueless anarchist, when I probably think about government more than the rest of them combined.

Of course, I could just keep my mouth shut and let other people talk. But I feel that by listening to all that crap, that I'm not doing my part....that I should express my values because I know them to be right...for myself. I don't want to give anyone the idea that I actually agree with any of the stuff we're taught because it makes me sick to my stomach. I don't mean to imply that I care what others think...but for my own sake, I like to express myself.

Like today...taxation came up and a friend of mine said that if you earn more than $200,000 a year, you're taxed 39%. (Is there truth to this?) Now I already know that taxation is bad and that we wouldn't have to pay so much if the government were much smaller...but hearing those numbers got me reeling with anger. I thought about how I want to be a surgeon. I thought of my money being taken away from me without my consent. It made me want to punch something!

Similar instances have occurred...someone has said something that is just so awfully wrong that it's painful to even listen to. And as I'm discovering, even when people are presented with irrefutable logic, they still sometimes don't agree with you. It baffles my mind and affects me terribly.

I understand what Peikoff means now. It's unbearable at times. What does one do? I can't just not care....my values are very important to me, I can't be indifferent towards them, that'd be a contradiction. Do I just deal? Is this a constant struggle I'm going to have to endure?

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Like today...taxation came up and a friend of mine said that if you earn more than $200,000 a year, you're taxed 39%. (Is there truth to this?) Now I already know that taxation is bad and that we wouldn't have to pay so much if the government were much smaller...but hearing those numbers got me reeling with anger. I thought about how I want to be a surgeon. I thought of my money being taken away from me without my consent. It made me want to punch something!

For $168,000 and above the current federal income tax rate in the US is 35%. This of course excludes state income tax which is generally between 5-10%, social sceurity and medicare which end up being about 15%, unemployment another 2%, property tax on your house which varies greatly(ask mweiss about how much this can be), sales tax, auto registration, capital gains tax which is 38% on any increase in value of your saved investments, if you have any money left when you die, 50% of it will be taken as well on any amount over 625K. Further, if you are a doctor, due to a defunct legal system, you can expect to pay unreasonable amount for malpractice insurance. (Roughly, on average $20,000/month in florida.

:D have a nice day

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For $168,000 and above the current federal income tax rate in the US is 35%. This of course excludes state income tax which is generally between 5-10%, social sceurity and medicare which end up being about 15%, unemployment another 2%, property tax on your house which varies greatly(ask mweiss about how much this can be), sales tax, auto registration, capital gains tax which is 38% on any increase in value of your saved investments, if you have any money left when you die, 50% of it will be taken as well on any amount over 625K. Further, if you are a doctor, due to a defunct legal system, you can expect to pay unreasonable amount for malpractice insurance. (Roughly, on average $20,000/month in florida.

:D have a nice day

All is not dark, however. You can deduct roughly $3,000 per child from your taxable income. So if you have 50 children by the time you get your doctorate, you'll pay almost nothing in taxes. ;)

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It's unbearable at times. What does one do? I can't just not care....my values are very important to me, I can't be indifferent towards them, that'd be a contradiction. Do I just deal? Is this a constant struggle I'm going to have to endure?

Consider Dominique and how she allowed too much significance to evil.

Don't let your environment, whatever it is, stop you from pursuing your values. What did Roark say about evil? "I don't think of it","I don't think of them". He went on and kept doing what he wanted the way he wanted, on his terms.

Become what you want, make enough, that after taxes, you will achieve your desired life-style. Focus on the positive, that you are still living in a place fee enough for you to pursue her own values. Keep your focus on your goal, and when things change, rewrite your plan, but keep going.

Always do what is best for you. If arguing with your classmates drains your energy to the point where you are starting to feel you don't have enough of it for things you want to do, continuing to do so - is not in your best interest. If you can handle it without it exhosting your 'life force' - do it. Try stating your opinion and giving good reasons for it without wanting to change other's views on the spot. You could have made them think about something they did not consider before and they may change their opinion later or they may never do so. You have no control over that.

Edited by ~Sophia~
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And that is a wonderful sentiment, Sophia.

The thing that always got me about Roark or Galt was exactly that the external world never got to them enough to ever shake their belief in themselves. That takes incredible self-esteem (or maybe just self-esteem).

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I was recently in your situation. To put it shortly, my history teacher is an idiot. I used to debate with him on many of the things he said. I argued pretty dang good, but no matter what I said he turned around. I remember once, this is when the arguing was at its worst point, he said that there are other types of force other than physical. I said physically was the only way to force someone into doing something. Later, he said: "Well, if you seriously believe the only type of power is physical, theres no point in arguing." This kind of pissed me off, he twisted my words. But I think it was that day that I learned to no longer care about whether I won or lost the debates. I truly do like debating, but at that point, I was doing it primarily to prove him wrong, whereas now I do it because I like to debate. You have to learn not to focus on other people.

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But I feel that by listening to all that crap, that I'm not doing my part....that I should express my values because I know them to be right...for myself. I don't want to give anyone the idea that I actually agree with any of the stuff we're taught because it makes me sick to my stomach.

Imagine how Ayn Rand felt attending the University of Petrograd (Leningrad?) a few years after the Communist revolution and having to listen to lectures about the capitalist exploitation of the masses, or when she worked as a tour guide and had to give lectures denouncing the evils of capitalism.

Or, imagine how she felt during the 1940s and 1950s, as she formulated her philosophy and saw that she was practically the only one who understood and agreed with her ideas.

In some ways and for some classes, being in school is like Ayn Rand giving the lectures at the museum in Communist Russia. It is something you have to do to achieve your larger goals. The reality is that the Objectivist perspective is a minority perspective, and one that challenges the "received wisdom" of the majority. Also, I have found (through similar experiences as yours) that most people don't think independently, and no matter how hard you try, you cannot convince them of the rightness of your ideas. If they don't listen to what you have to say, it is a result of their limitations, not yours.

So, I would try to learn as much as you can in school, argue where you can and it is enjoyable (but not where it is painful), and then move on and become a surgeon, or whatever else you decide to do.

By the way, the world is not as frightening a place as it may seem when you read the Peikoff quote or hear about enormous rates of taxation. America today is the wealthiest country that has ever existed, a plethora of multiplying technologies enrich our lives, and powerful new means of communication (such as Internet blogging!) enable us to be connected and reach a wide group of people who share our views. America is still so free that you can achieve almost anything and live well, even after paying exorbitant taxes. I am not just saying it, I am living it!

On a separate note, I completely agree with what Sophia wrote. All of it is excellent advice, in my view.

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Like today...taxation came up and a friend of mine said that if you earn more than $200,000 a year, you're taxed 39%. (Is there truth to this?) Now I already know that taxation is bad and that we wouldn't have to pay so much if the government were much smaller...but hearing those numbers got me reeling with anger. I thought about how I want to be a surgeon. I thought of my money being taken away from me without my consent. It made me want to punch something!

If you think income tax is bad, wait til you own your own home and have to pay property tax! Now THAT is a most unfair situation. Take me, for instance... I average about $3000-6,000 annual income lately in my freelance work. My house taxes are $11,443 a year. And my house is paid for! No mortgage to speak of, since it was self-built. And here's the hit: if you can't pay, a SWAT team will eventually come and remove you from your own home so the town can sell your house to some one else who CAN pay the taxes!

Anger? You bet I have anger! I'm being watched as a 'terrorist' by our local police, after some confrontations over what I feel to be a grossly unfair assessment in 2000. It's a lose-lose situation though, one that can only end badly.

Income taxes? You don't have to pay them if you don't earn above the poverty level. But they'll steal your house if you're poor. Damned thieves ought to be executed in a public trial...

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mweiss: I am 15 and I am paying income taxes! Its about 10% and I get most of it in my tax return(taxation without representation!). I have to mention the irony: I would be working more hours (more $ for government), but its illegal! Limiting hours is also a lose lose situation, for me and the government.

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For $168,000 and above the current federal income tax rate in the US is 35%. This of course excludes state income tax which is generally between 5-10%, social sceurity and medicare which end up being about 15%, unemployment another 2%, property tax on your house which varies greatly(ask mweiss about how much this can be), sales tax, auto registration, capital gains tax which is 38% on any increase in value of your saved investments, if you have any money left when you die, 50% of it will be taken as well on any amount over 625K. Further, if you are a doctor, due to a defunct legal system, you can expect to pay unreasonable amount for malpractice insurance. (Roughly, on average $20,000/month in florida.

;) have a nice day

Yeesh, welcome to the machine.. [rant]Sometimes, when I let or make myself sit and think about it, it really blows my mind that a government can be so corrupt, and so blatantly and shamelessly exploit its citizens, and with such pathetically feeble and illogical reasons and justifications provided, and yet the majority of supposedly freedom loving people simply accept it and obediently submit to it, not only failing to oppose it but even usually to accept it as a moral duty. The fact that this is the freest country in the world and the freest in history doesn't make it any easier for me to comprehend this--At least the more explicit and more consistently totalitarian countries often have the excuse that the truth is obstructed by force, and that ideological dissent is illegal. In this country, the choice is available, and people still continue to choose more and more statism and human sacrifice.

I'm not a pessimist, and I believe there is hope for future change, and I acknowledge the many people who are fighting and winning various battles to preserve those freedoms we do still have. But still, to think of the actual gravity of the crimes which our government is now getting away with; and to think of the many ways *my* rights have been and are being and will be violated by those people in my country who are the government, it really pisses me off. Yeah, it could be worse, but it should be better.[/rant]

I have to mention the irony: I would be working more hours (more $ for government), but its illegal! Limiting hours is also a lose lose situation, for me and the government.
This is logical, but unfortunately the government cares more about power than money. More unfortunately, the type of "increasing certain freedoms will boost productivity and lead to more forcibly acquired tax revenue which will lead to a more powerful State" argument is pretty much what modern conservatives, alleged defenders of capitalism, have been reduced to. (See The Decline and Fall of American Conservatism by C Bradley Tompson for more info on that).
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More unfortunately, the type of "increasing certain freedoms will boost productivity and lead to more forcibly acquired tax revenue which will lead to a more powerful State" argument is pretty much what modern conservatives, alleged defenders of capitalism, have been reduced to. (See The Decline and Fall of American Conservatism by C Bradley Tompson for more info on that).
Since the article is long, here is a relevant excerpt (bracketed text mine):

As economic “supply-siders,” the neocons occasionally support tax cuts—but not because they want to return to taxpayers money that is rightfully theirs. Instead, they advocate lowering the marginal tax rate because it will provide an incentive for people to work harder, earn more money, spur economic growth—and, thereby, generate more tax revenue that will be used to fund the conservative welfare state.

Kristol [a prominent neoconservative] sums up the neoconservative position this way:

"The basic principle behind a conservative welfare state ought to be a simple one: wherever possible, people should be allowed to keep their own money—rather than having it transferred (via taxes) to the state—on condition that they put it to certain defined uses. . . . Policies such as these have the obvious advantage of reconciling the purposes of the welfare state with the maximum degree of individual independence and the least bureaucratic coercion. They would also have the advantage of being quite popular.” Irving Kristol, Two Cheers for Capitalism, p. 119, emphasis added

Edited by Bold Standard
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Fight harder :ninja:

You can always go on Strike...

And don't let the day-to-day issues distract (and discourage) you from long-term change.

Sure, go on strike and lose your domicile to the tax collection agencies. Sounds like a self-destructive decision.

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You can always go on Strike...
Can one person go on strike? I think that's just called quitting. It's only a strike, I believe, if a group of people withhold their services, as a demonstration of the necessity of their efforts.

I don't think a student can technically go on strike either.. That's just called dropping out.

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Can one person go on strike? I think that's just called quitting. It's only a strike, I believe, if a group of people withhold their services, as a demonstration of the necessity of their efforts.

I don't think a student can technically go on strike either.. That's just called dropping out.

I completely agree. Not only is it dropping out to "go on strike" in the context described above, it is also self-sacrificial. Unless it is part of an organized attempt to re-cast society, as it was in Atlas Shrugged, or if you live in a dictatorship, I cannot see how it would be in one's self-interest to quit or drop out. As I said in my earlier post, one still has a very high degree of freedom to achieve one's values in today's society. And our society, despite all its taxes and regulations, still offers abundant opportunity to make lots of money, or even a moderate amount of money, and live very well. Relatively poor people today buy flat-screen TVs, cell phones, and computers, devices that were virtually unheard of 25 years ago.

I am not trying to minimize the awfulness of encroaching government power, or the threat it poses to our future, but one must realistically acknowledge that we have it good today. Certainly in comparison to other historical epochs, our standard of living and life-span are unparalleled.

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