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Politics : Formerly About Advanced Micro Devices -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Maple MAGA who wrote (1566251)	10/18/2025 3:45:46 PM
From: combjelly	Respond to of 1570981

Why should I care what Ayn had to say on any issue?

To: Maple MAGA who wrote (1566251)	10/18/2025 3:53:25 PM
From: Land Shark	1 Recommendation Recommended By pocotrader Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 1570981

Was Ayn Rand a welfare recipient? Yes — Ayn Rand, despite her strong public opposition to government assistance and her philosophy of individual self-reliance, did in fact receive government benefits later in life. Specifically: In the 1970s, Rand accepted Social Security and Medicare benefits under her married name, Ayn O’Connor (she was married to actor Frank O’Connor). Her biographer Jennifer Burns (Goddess of the Market: Ayn Rand and the American Right, 2009) and journalist Anne C. Heller (Ayn Rand and the World She Made, 2009) both document this. Rand’s acceptance of these benefits came after she developed lung cancer and faced high medical costs. Rand reportedly justified this by saying she was merely reclaiming money that had been forcibly taken from her through taxation — consistent, in her mind, with her opposition to government redistribution. So yes, Ayn Rand was a welfare recipient (Social Security and Medicare), though she rationalized it as taking back her own contributions rather than endorsing the welfare system.