@ David -

And I can assure you that there has never been a country that practices pure market capitalism (and never will) because the world is run by nature and humans and as such is an imperfect place. Maybe mas o menos of a market system, but purity does not exist.

We can argue ad infinitum, ad nauseum about whether things are so screwed up because of the lack of pure free marketeerism, but I just won't buy it

To the people who are stupid enough to believe that Objectivism is a "teenage" philosophy, I say --

Is reason false as man's tool for survival? Is the primacy of existence metaphysics, not true? Is the law of identity (A =A) false?

In most cases, I find that these Rand critics know very little about Objectivism and are speaking from a combination of ignorance and emotionalist hostility--no basis for a rational, honest discussion.

Amazing how people who criticize Ayn Rand have clearly not read her works at all. Her philosophy is Not teen-age. Read "An Introduction to Objectivist Philosophy" just to see how dense it can be.

Yes, she received Soc. Sec. benefits. Because she Paid into the system! She had jobs in Hollywood as a screenwriter. Soc. Sec. was taken out of her checks.

Rand's novels are incredible examples with characters who are just noble but also present a clear view of "rational egoism".

"Capitalists with government help which is the worst of all economic phenomenon"

wow, I guess I do agree with Ayn Rand on something.

Also seeing her live I see how people could get so enthralled with her, those dark eyes and strong accent reminds me of a lot of South Asia "gurus" or even Charles Manson. Manson and the gurus never break their gaze when speaking though, Rand is too fidgety looking to the side but still I could see dumbasses like Alan Greespan totally getting in to it.

amalgam from NYC by day, NJ by night, while you are correct that former Command economics such as Russia, China, India, and eastern Europe have fortunately discovered the virtues of a market economy for the past few decades, I can assure you that NO country on the planet, unfortunately, has come close to embracing the Austrian school of economics theories on a market economy. That's why things are still screwed up (and are getting worse).

Rand never took the view that the rich were more moral. He contrast of morality and immorality showed wealthy individuals on both sides. The parasites she discussed were most wealthy and powerful, such as the contrast between Dagny Taggart and her brother James, or the differences between Rearden and Boyle, both steel producers, but the latter a parasite and the other a producer.

Rand's heros were both rich and poor and her villains were both rich and poor.

too bad NPR doesnt spend this amount of time questioning Obama's connections and influence from Saul Alinsky and Frank Marshall Davis. The theme of this piece as well, "how can we turn once of Paul Ryan's influences against him" three days into his VP campaign, I feel like i'm reading a huff post column.

"If I am not for myself, then who will be for me? But if I am only for myself, then what am I? And If not now, when?" Hillel

@ Steven Weiss -

I do agree that no mention of Hayek, von Mises or Friedman in this segment provides an incomplete picture of Ryan's economic theory and worldview. Fair enough on Jack Kemp, too. The thing is that Ryan, for whatever reason, has explicitly tied himself to Ayn Rand which led to this show.

I would request to the BL and WNYC producers that they do a show(s) on rightwing economic theory connecting classical and neoclassical economics, the Austrian School, the Chicago School, Neoliberalism and Globalization.

So much has been done on Keynesian economics over the last few years with little revealed about rightist economic theory in the US and world that, I and others would argue, has been ascendant over the last 30+ years.

Steven Weiss, you wrote: "Your coverage of Paul Ryan in this segment was quite imbalanced. Why no mention of his serious immersion in the writings of serious thinkers like Milton Friedman, Friedrich Hayek, and Ludwig von Mises?"

Are you sure you're not confusing Paul Ryan with Ron Paul? :-)

There is NOTHING in statist Ryan's actions as a politician that even come close to reflecting the free market views of Friedman, Hayek, and Mises.

meatwnyc, you wrote: "I would also mention though that I highly doubt the money was "taken" by FORCE as you suggest. I don't imagine there were police at her door taking it from her. It was presumably taken out of her paycheck as it's a payroll tax, and it was done so LEGALLY, not by force."

Unlike "evil, big corporations"—such as Amazon, Microsoft, and Ford—who cannot force you to buy* their product or service even if you don't want it, the government WILL come to your house via police with guns if you refuse to pay for a war or a corporate bailout or social welfare program or racist cop even if you don't want the "service" that the government has a monopoly of providing.

As far as it's being "done so LEGALLY," so was slavery for centuries in this country. Just because the government declares something "legal" doesn't make it so.
______________
*Of course, in crony capitalism America, big corporations DO USE the guns of government to force you to bail them out rather than letting them go out of business.

Brain

That was a cheap shot about Rand loving the rich and hating the poor.
Rand hated the unearned, especially crony capitalism. She admired integrity
and the pursuit of excellence.

You asked the professor why Paul Ryan went into politics instead of business. You did not mention that Ryan and his wife are independently wealthy. A recent New Yorker article states that Ryan and his wife inherited millions. He has no real business experience, other than manning a grill at a McDonalds.

Your coverage of Paul Ryan in this segment was quite imbalanced. Why no mention of his serious immersion in the writings of serious thinkers like Milton Friedman, Friedrich Hayek, and Ludwig von Mises? And why no mention of his close connection to and work with Jack Kemp, who used to be called a bleeding heart conservative because of his great concern for the poor? This involvement of Ryan's stands in stark contrast to Ayn Rand's ideas.

@David

The interesting question then I guess would be did she receive more or less back than she paid in. (One could do a future value calculation if one wants to quibble over the exact comparison to use).

I would also mention though that I highly doubt the money was "taken" by FORCE as you suggest. I don't imagine there were police at her door taking it from her. It was presumably taken out of her paycheck as it's a payroll tax, and it was done so LEGALLY, not by force. And since it was later returned for her to use during retirement, it seems disingenuous to equate it to robbery when it was more like custodianship.

There is certainly issue with the money being co-mingled and used with general revenues, but maybe less so as the trust holds government guarantees on those loans. If the GOP actually succeeds on getting the country to not honor on those legally binding loans, then at that point theft will be committed.

A slight correction:
The caller who recommended Sinclair Lewis really meant Upton Sinclair since he mentioned people working in the stock yards. But both novelists are of interest.

I hate to break it to people who think they have an "I gotcha" moment when they bring up the fact that Ayn Rand collected her Social Security check. Since Rand was FORCED to pay for something that she didn't want to pay for to begin with, why wouldn't she want to get back the money that was forcibly taken from her?

For those looking for an example of the "Libertarians" vs Rand:

Mozart Was A Red (by Murray N. Rothbard)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9mGpMpaHGM4

Is this an example of positive bi-partisanship?

Ryan bails out banks:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RyJBZYz858M&feature=player_embedded

Obama bails out banks:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dMMJew-qNWM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E7OOv9Hf38A&feature=relmfu

I wonder why these [pseudo] small government free market libertarians in power never talk about shrinking the parts of "big government" that provide law enforced monopolies via patents, copyrights and trademarks.

There are few greater beneficiaries of "big government" then the likes of Pfizer et al, Disney et al, etc etc

They also don't seem against government spending when they can reshape it into corporate welfare via direct payments. EG privatization of prisons, privatization of Social Security [to hand guaranteed business to the financial sector - so highly trusted post 2008!], vouchers for Medical services, outsourcing the military to private contractors (America's soldiers: highly regarded, lowly rewarded vs. Blackwater et al: lowly regarded, highly profitable), etc etc

Don't even get me started on tax expenditures...which seem for some reason to correlate with lobbying and campaign donations...

A couple of gaps/flaws that I see in Ayn Rand's philosophy, at least as represented by those in the current political sphere like Paul Ryan who claim her as an influence:

--Rand missed the unique role of "private collectivities" such as corporate businesses. They do not function as individuals, and often function as amoral entities, almost by definition (their only value is to increase financial value for their owners). Their existence and power render the concept of "individuals=moral, versus collectivities=immoral" bankrupt in the real world, and reveal the falseness of this abstract ideological structure;

Rand--and many of those who claim her influence--omit the role of time, especially the length of the human lifespan, in her consideration of the allegedly self-corrective ability and morality of laissez-faire markets and free politically active individuals. If individuals had sufficient market and political power, perhaps they could theoretically correct problems that market activity sometimes create or allow--but how long would that take, and how much pain--and even impairment of freedom--would powerful political and market actors (individuals and groups: corporations, militias, governments--whoever) inflict in the meanwhile?

*Atlas Shrugged* and *The Fountainhead* are fundamentally romance novels (I thank my wife for pointing that out to me); they are bracing and seductive for many folks, especially for certain young males. I am wary of adults who haven't outgrow them.

Read the Fountainhead and you will find a very unctuous tome of contradictions as the protagonist represents a noble and poor man. Read We The Living and Atlas Shrugged and you wil find an optimism for socialist idealism juxtaposed with an almost glad-handed fascination with Capitalism and individual will, if you like. Read her early short story he Husband I Bought and you feel an empathy for selflessness and standing by your man...

I used to read Ayn Rand thruout my secondary and UNI days and it became clear to me then as it is now: Ayn Rand was just a Russian expat who was over stimulated by a new found freedom in the USA - she was also a struggling writer - struggling with her lust to be a legitimate Capitalist but who is overwhelmed by her Communist class roots. In short, to understand Ayn Rand you have to understand the disparity of the USSR and the USA (at that time) and how these new, combative united states of philosophical dystonia became rivals.

Quickly, take into consideration that Ayn Rand is merely a sycophant. A contradictory, opportunistic wannabe. Her writing while prolific in a short span of time - is not exceptional. It is prosaic, exacting and crass. Which represents anyone coming from Totalitarian, oppressive state. You will find many of these same traits in Chinese and Cubans Americans (for example) - leaving u with the impression that they r somewhat desperate and don't want to "miss out" on something they will never actually have anyhow ...

The caller and Dubya from Soho are both wrong!. Bloomberg is not a Republican nor an independent. He is a narcissistic opportunist. He goes for whatever engorges his ego. If he came from a working class family to become a multi-billionaire then he must be morally and intellectually superior to all of us little people. He is what Ayn Rand saw as the model for utopia.

Amy,
Ayn would not like a company dumping pollutants, but she would not be in favor of laws to stop it.

I bet her point would be that if enough people die, others will stop buying the product and eventually that would force the company to stop dumping or go out of business. Only problem with that is: how many people have to die before her world view works its will?

It's the same problem we have with letting banks fail who are "too big to fail" - how many live have to be ruined before pure capitalism works?

I think Paul Ryan needs a version of 'Obama's Rev Wright speech' addressing the Rev. Ayn Rand issue to get my vote, but won't happen, and, won't happen.

I propose that we cite The Preamble to the US Contitution as often or more often than the Declaration of Independence. These words truly guide our government:

"...form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity...."

I would not vote to a high office someone whose reading list is so limited as to quote one novelist/philosopher as his single inspiration. Ayn Rand was obviously a reactionary product of an unfortunate historical event of HER time. One should be weary of advice from traumatized and deeply scarred from a single event or experience. This is 21st century. Read more and move on!

@Tom how do we help the less fortunate (tm) (r) (c) w/o gvt?

Ryan's totally sold his looney Rand beliefs on Sept 28, 2009

Madam Speaker, this bill offends my principles. But I'm going to vote for this bill — in order to preserve my principles, in order to preserve this free enterprise system.... I believe with all my heart — as bad as this is — it could get a whole lot worse, and that's why we have to pass this bill.

another I was against it before I voted for it moment. so much for bold beliefs

How can ANYTHING be illegal in her world view/system?
Selling children. Harvesting your organs?

Would Ayn Rand have thought it was fine for a company to dump pollutants into a river that made people downstream sick (supposing it could be proved that was the cause of the illness)?

It's only natural that a "rugged individualist" such as Ayn Rand would oppose abortion or any right of a female individual to "choose." Of course, when that "right of choice" involves killing another human being who just happens to be trapped in the womb of an uncareful woman, that's a very different story. It has the right to life and liberty as well.

"I am my brother's keeper."

Ryan/Rand = fail

Modern conservatism is a continuing search for a moral justification of greed.

Really Ryan? The morality of capitalism? Like the morality of Monsanto, Goldman Sachs, on and on? You miserable creep.

@Frank amen

i agree with rand. reagan was the worst kind of conservative. wrapped in a flag with a cross in his hand. thats what betram gross warned against. American Fascism.

http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/Fascism/Friendly_Fascism_BGross.html

No use worrying about Ryan/Rommney being elected. We are already a plutoarchy. They will just make it official.

I think that even atheist would agree that we need to help the needy, but not believe in the goodness of people like Ayn Rand, seems to indicate that because of this, her ideas revolve around pure capitalism, where the employee (rights, safety, benefits, wages) is passed by over the profit of the business.

Also, if Ryan really believed in giving the opportunities to those who want to be successful in this country, why is it that he doesn't address immigration reform?! Wouldn't it make sense to keep all our MS/PHD foreign students who need to leave after they get educated here? Wouldn't it make sense to also keep the hardworking immigrants who come look for a more successful life and have lived here for decades?

And finally, Ryan speaks of individualism, yet his party is so obsessed with depriving women from rights to their bodies, marriage equality for all, and trying to deprive minority and poor people from the right to vote with their ridiculous claims of fraud and voter id.

Ayn Rand deeply admired and considered the sociopathic murderer William Edward Hickman a "Superman," and based an unpublished novel, The Little Street on him. She quotes him saying "What is good for me is right." And that mindset sums up the modern republican mindset.

Ayn's worldview already exists. It's called the THIRD WORLD. An ostensibly independent state, that's really corrupted and suckled dry by the rich, powerful and well connected.

It's beyond naiveté if one thinks that the state can be truly independent from the politically connected and "their will to power." That's why Bolshevism was a disastrous failure and hyper-libertarianism will be too.

People in Govt, even the ones who pledge to destroy it (Leninists/Republicans) will always work for its expansion, it's their nature.

To Niel of Austin

I mostly agree with what you wrote. The only viable dystopia that came out from the Jewish intellectuals of Europe was political Zionism. The more pragamatic Jews who escaped Europe to the US built Hollywood and other industries for the more pragmatic vision of making money.

"we should take responsibility and not rely on gvt to make things right so we can succeed. What's wrong with integrity?"

Joe, there is nothing wrong with integrity, and in a perfect world we'd all be responsible people. But nothing is perfect, and we live in a country that still suffers from the systemic results of slavery and many other unproductive developments. We have to account for the fact that most citizens of this country are not a great as you (and who'd need you if they were?).

Your expert, Jennifer Burns, said that "The Fountainhead" is Rand's first novel. It is not. "We the Living" is her first novel. Just saying . . .

Love the show. Couldn't start the day without it.

Will anyone point out her praise and infatuation , in writing, for a serial killer? Its in her writing: praise for a murderer who dismembered his victim.Ask the biographer!

The caller is wrong, Bloomberg is not a Republican, he is an Independent.

see she said it Ron Paul...a true Randian...the ONLY real hope we have and msm dismissed him....

When I was 15 to 16, living in a small town, I became fascinated with Ayn Rand, read everything she wrote. But I kept on reading and soon saw her as both a shallow artist and a shallow philosopher. Paul Ryan is stuck with a teenage philosophy, which seems to have little to do with lived experience.

Interstingly, during the primaries, Romney was advocating an amendment to the Constitution that to be a presidential candiate, one would have to have a minimum of three years in "private industy," (implication: as entrepreneurs, not workers) -- yet he choses as a Vice Presidential candidate someone with no such experience. I guess being wealthy is an acceptable substitute for actual experience.

Any Rand took both Social Security & Medicare when the time came. She was not wealthy herself and needed these government programs. Utopian visions rarely work in the real world.

When I was in college, i recall many philosphy professors called ayn rand a pseudo-philopshyer along with her writings.

Above all Ayn Rand was a novelist, a purveyor of fiction! She created works of fiction with worlds crafted in her own mind not in reality, and was either too naive or too delusional to recognize that the real world worked very differently than her ideological fantasy worlds.

Isn't there some contradiction between the "morality of productive wealth" and how **amazingly unproductive** the wealthy have been in how they've been using their money for the past 20+ years...????

http://www.synapse9.com/issues/GDPcomplexHist.jpg

Can your guest comment on the great love so many intellectuals in India have for Ayn Rand?

This is one of the most striking things I've noticed about Indian friends here in the US and over there..... SO many will cite Rand as a favorite author.

Here's an article from the Pakistani newspaper Dawn about that love affair:

http://dawn.com/2012/05/30/indias-unlikely-romance-with-ayn-rand/

we should take responsibility and not rely on gvt to make things right so we can succeed. What's wrong with integrity?

Please define "socialism" as you are discussing it here. Seems to me that "socialism" is often used as a generic buzzword for dictatorial communism or ... what? People do seem to forget that most forms of "socialism" as they're intellectually defined are still based upon democratic principles. Aren't they?

What is Rand's take on externalities? The situation where some of the costs of production are born by individuals who are not part of the transaction. A perfect example is degradation of the environment when a manufacturer dumps pollutants. Do we need regulation under such cases?

Individualism vs collectivism is a false choice for instance: the government could give everyone 3d printers and help to become a small business like staking a claim of land used to be done.

meatwnyc - exactly. any conservative republican that agrees with ayn better not be religious. anti religion was central to her philosophy

Ayn sound like an OWS person. A pox on both their houses.

But she was pre-Globalism, so it's all mute now, because companies grow so big that if they had to go by pure capitalism, we'd all suffer and the economy would be so busy picking up the pieces of every collape that it would be impossible for society and business to move forward.

Right, and hands off the banking industry, we all see how well that worked. This is a philosophy that leaves an enormous part of the population in poverty and breaks the social contract.

Ayn Rand is awesome

Please ask Ms. Burns to verify--or not--statements by Patia Stephens on the internet claiming that Ayn Rand and her husband were signed up for Social Security and Medicare.
Thank You

(Brian--your program is consistently interesting and compelling and I'm awed by the amount of work you and your staff must put into it. Many, many thanks.)

Does anyone have information on the rumored Ayn Rand - Jerome Salinger liaison of the late 1950s, early 1960s?

So many bad ideas in America were put forward by traumatized Jewish refugees from Europe: Ayn Rand, Milton Friedman, Kissinger, etc. They saw the world through the distorting prism of their own traumas.

One cannot follow Rand & be Christian. Ryan is a worshiper of Rand, so it no surprise that the Catholic bishops condemned his immoral budget plan.

How will Mitt deal with this problem??

I know a guy that has a Derek Jeter shirt...he doesn't play for the Yankees though.

Well said Blue. Ayn and her family suffered the brunt of Bolshevik "Stat ism," hence her reactionary worldview. If I were her, I would hate government too.

Since Medicare funding depends on Medicare taxes collected from everyone working under 65, how can it remain viable for those now 55 or over (who won't be affected by the proposed changes) if younger people can begin to opt out?

I don't trust these people, they're liars, rich people in there to get more and make sure others have nothing. It's a well-known tactic: "reform" = eliminate.

Ayn Rand's most common adjectives for Native Americans, Aborigines, and pretty much anyone else that was living on the land before the capitalist colonizers got there: savages and primitives.

Why? Perhaps she had to explain away any potential rights of them. Seems in her mind they didn't have any rights until they owned property. Or perhaps she really was just the racist she came across as in so many of her Objectivist writings.

Ayn Rand was an atheist. There's a discussion in her book "We The Living" where she poses the question "Do you believe in God?" and very nicely explains her disbelief in the following response:

"whoever places his highest conception above his own possibility thinks very little of himself and his life."

So, if you believe in God, Ayn Rand thinks that you think very little of yourself.

First, Ayn Rand claimed to be an atheist. This is not true! She was a fervent believer in a god and that god's name was Ayn Rand.

Second, Objectivism is not a product of 20th century thought. It is not a product of thought at all. It is infantile, unsocialized selfishness. Giving it an "ism" name does NOT make it a philosophy.

First, I am 55 plus and my son is 23. Am I supposed to not worry about his future? Also, the cuts to Medicare contemplated by Ryan will affect today's seniors, because lower payments to providers means fewer providers willing to accept Medicare. People don't realize that doctors do not have to accept Medicare patients, and that many doctors do not.

Secondly, Ayn Rand did not contemplate that the qualities that enable individuals to succeed in a "winner take all society" are, not merely independence, self-reliance and personal initiative, but also avarice, deception, ruthless competitiveness, narcissism and a willingness to exploit. Such qualities do not create a society of elites, but rather a miscellaneous group of survivors, each of which is willing to kill the others to get what he or she wants. It's a world without love, trust, or compassion - a sociopathic mess.

Just look at the anger of the Tea Party, and the hubris and delusional thinking of Wall Street (I know these people; I'm not talking rhetoric) and you will see the pathology that class war on the middle-class has provoked.

Ayn Rand came from the Russian noble class, so everything she had was taken away when Lenin and Stalin came to power. So, of course she thinks social programs are moving the US to a welfare state! She has no idea what true democracy is, nor does she care. She is totally deluded about the US Constitution. What's worse, she has no regard for the social contract. She was a miser that disguised her bile as political philosophy and convinced people to think that self-determination is all they need to lead a productive life. Her followers are dillettantes and hypocrites who were born into priveledge and wealth, and would not know how to survive if they had to live on minimum wage.

So listening to Rand's interview with Mike Wallace she, born in the USSR, would not want government control of economy and social institutions and understandably so based on the soviet system, BUT, so too with these "Rand followers" and big corporation supporters, it's ok for big business to control our economy and social institutions?! It's a trade-off and no one seems to see it, or if they do they don't talk about it. E.g, you'd rather pay outrageous sums of money to a private, big business, health insurance company that controls how your doctor can treat you because of a "bottom line", than pay into a government system by way of taxes at a substantially lower rate which allows your doctor to make his/her own choices in your treatment based on his/her professional medical knowledge. Think about it folks.

Two comments. Even if the medicare voucher does not start until age 55 it will affect the seniors children and grandchildren and this is cause for concern. Also is the story that Ayn Rand got her idea that if it feels good for me, its what I'm going to do , she heard from a child murderer.

I tend to think of Ayn Rand as the perfect cold war weapon - destroying American ideology one mind at a time.
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David: unfortunately Obama is pro-Drone as well, the leading supporter of their use actually.
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JoeCorrao: Maybe the guest will explain this. It doesn't follow for me that a leading Libertarian wouldn't be Randian. Can you elaborate?

Ayn Rand was a rabid anti-Soviet communist. She was as extreme in her ideas about capitalism as the Soviets were in their version of communism. This world doesn't exist anymore. Her extreme philosophy is irrelevant and counter-productive for the globalized economy we live in now.

The Preamble of the Constitution states as its purpose to, "promote the the general Welfare," of the people. What does Paul Ryan say about that?

I hope the author points out that, as a Catholic, Ryan is opposing his own Church's official teachings by embracing Ayn Rand. The US Catholic Bishops lobby in Congress against Paul Ryan's Budget.
- Their lobbying statements: http://www.usccb.org/issues-and-action/human-life-and-dignity/federal-budget/upload/Letter-to-Congress-Federal-Budget-2012-03-06.pdf and http://www.usccb.org/news/2012/12-063.cfm.
- The Hill, "Paul Ryan Spars with US Bishops over Criticism of Budget Cuts" http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/222591-rep-paul-ryan-spars-with-us-bishops-over-budget

Why is it that the media so often allow conservative "cafeteria Catholics" to pretend that they are not?

Thanks for the show!

Interesting quotes from Ayn Rand on Ronald Regan
http://dangerousminds.net/comments/ayn_rand_absolutely_hated_ronald_reagan

I'm 50 - what magic will occur in the five years from now to when I'm 55 that it'll be just fine to screw me on medicare & social security?

Brian, don't forget to mention the fact that ALAN GREENSPAN was another totally devoted disciple of Ayn Rand, and her philosophy influenced everything he did. And we know where that led.

Please let's not hear any comments in this segment about Mike smoking. Yes it was a time when we all smoked everywhere. Let's move on.

As Mark mentioned above, Paul Ryan collected survivor Social Security benefits -- which helped put him through college -- after the death of his father.
And isn't it true that Ayn Rand herself collected SS and Medicare benefits until the day she died in 1982? Hypocrisy, anyone?

And call me crazy, but has anyone else noticed the anagram that is Paul Ryan's last name, to wit: Ayn R. ? We do love a bizarre coincidence in the comments section, don't we?

So Paul Ryan-- the "leading intellectual of the Republican Party"-- was inspired into politics by some bad ninth grade literature....written by someone who was "leeching" benefits off of the government? Who also was pro-abortion, and a strident feminist?

Are the GOP right wingers aware of this?

Paul Ryan is not a Randian at all...zero...none...zilch. Brian why don't you talking about issues on the show...its like going to the hair dressers and listening to the ladies gab.

Ayn Rand was a radical?!? She grew up in the communist system of the U.S.S.R., which obviously galvanized her beliefs on free markets, politcal and economic freedom and a celebration of human achievement.

Look at today's New York economy. It's filled with all shapes and sizes of brokers, paper pushers, hawkers of advertising... and very little real innovation. That's being done in California, Texas, Colorado, Boston. Nothing is really made in NYC anymore. Financial services, tourism, trendy clothes.

Look at the US economy - government spending as a % of GDP is close to 40%, the highest since World War Two. The only way to pay for that is for taxes to rise, entrench more government workers (and voters), dampen innovation. Think about this the next time you're at the post office - 40% of the economy is now controlled by the government.

Paul ryan is a real good pick for rommney,..paul is worshiped by almost all his republican peers...

He uses his Ayn Rand worship to distract from the fact that social security payments put him through college. Sort of like those hardcore Marxists from elite private schools who really just feel guilty about all their privilege.

Ed from Larchmont, Ryan's a statist who uses Ayn Rand rhetoric to disguise the fact. He is for bailing out the big banks and Wall Street, militarism, drones, the Patriot Act, and endless wars.

Ayn Rand is radical, of course, but Paul Ryan is a pragmatic politician not strictly wedded to her ideas.