Ayn Rand accepting government aid was not hypocritical

He presented a very compelling case that Ayn Rand accepting government aid was hypocritical. However, the resolution is still valid. I will start this round with a rebuttal via quoting my opponent's arguments directly, and then move onto some additional arguments.1. Him: "'There can be no compromise on basic principles. There can be no compromise on moral issues. There can be no compromise on matters of knowledge, of truth, of rational conviction­. ”~Ayn RandWell Ayn Rand had the choice to put her money where her mouth was and she clearly didn't. " Me: Ayn Rand advocated individuals their pursuing self interest. She held the conviction that one ought to have the freedom to live one's life with their own happiness as the highest virtue, as long as it does not hinder other to do the same. From this, one can conclude that Ayn Rand was against compulsory taxes, and thus against government aid. However, one has to remember that when Ayn accepted government aid, the act had already happened. Ayn Rand was a staunch supporter that private citizens should keep what they earn. It is foolish to think that Ayn would be against giving back a stolen car to the owner, so why isn't it equally foolish to think Ayn Rand would be against receiving government aid after she had paid into it for years? The reason that the latter is under dispute is because people are confusing two things: one being government aid via compulsory taxes, and the other being the act of government aid itself. Ayn Rand would not have been against the government giving aid if it could somehow do so without drawing upon the fruits of another's labor (and in this case, Ayn's 'fruits' were being used because she had paid her taxes for years)2. Him: “Doctors cost a lot more money than books earn and she could be totally wiped out” without the aid of these two government programs. Ayn took the bail out even though Ayn “despised government interference and felt that people should and could live independently…" Me: Ayn Rand would favor a situation in which one is taxed but also provided for by the government, as opposed to a situation in which one is taxes but not provided for. The latter would be the worst of both worlds, and Ayn was not foolish. She saw that she was not hypocritical by accepting government aid; it's just a shame that so few others do, too. 3. Him: "She was a heavy smoker who did not believe smoking caused lung cancer, and was eventually afflicted by lung cancer in an ironic twist. She knew that the costs of doctors for lung cancer treatment were more than her earnings from her books, and she was faced with a choice of bending her philosophy or sticking through with it. Considering how she was already accustomed to violating her philosophy by paying her taxes "reluctantly" to fund government programs that she was disdainful of, the choice may have been easy. " Me: First of all, Ayn Rand was not in violation of her philosophy by paying taxes. Do you really expect that she go to jail for the rest of her life to make a point -- and a futile one at that? Does that sound like the actions of someone who supported the notion that one's own happiness is the greatest virtue of one's life? Ayn Rand paying taxes wasn't in violation of her philosophy for an even simpler fact; Ayn was against the implementation of tax because it contrasted with her philosophy that one should act in one's own best interests, and the pursuit of one's individual happiness is the greatest virtue. Going to the jail for EVER seems like 'at least' as much of a impediment to one's life as paying taxes. It was not hypocritical of Ayn to pay taxes because Ayn would not have expected everyone to go to jail for the rest of their life, either. How can one be hypocritical if one never expects anyone else to do it? Second, if Ayn didn't think smoking caused lung cancer, why would she expect to become a burden to the tax payer any more than if she didn't? This is an invalid point. 4. Him: The argument may seem compelling, but her taxes were used by the federal government in defense, medicare, social security, infrastructure, education, and other programs like with any other citizen's taxes. Her taxes were used to fund part of the nuclear weapons arsenal of the US to deter the Soviet Union during the Cold War, fund NASA's programs, and build new roads, city buildings. Her taxes were used to provide safe consumer goods, and fund the education of the Nation's future. If that wasn't hypocritical to Rand's philosophy then I don't know what is, since she clearly got a lot indirectly or directly from paying her taxes. (. http://www.wheredidmytaxdollarsgo.com......) Me: I can tell you have not read nor are familiar with Ayn's work because you site examples of government programs (excluding military, low-courts, and police), that Ayn explicitly said should be left to the free market. Don't expect Ayn to be grateful for the things you mentioned. She'd much rather use the money she had taken from her that funded the social programs you mentioned and used it to pay for the things she wanted. Ayn Rand even went as far as to say all infrastructure should be left to the private market (yes that means roads). One does not have to believe in the philosophy of Ayn Rand to see how ridiculous this is. Analogy to Ayn Rand accepting government aid (to make it more concrete). Also note that this situation is from Rand's perspective, because that of any one else would be irrelevant) : - Imagine ten people are to pick and process their own food on a farm, and Ayn Rand is one of them. No one has any obligation to anyone else, but can choose to give another food if he or she chooses. Along comes the government, and decides that 20% of the food people produce will be complied together and distributed amongst the rest of the people when one does not have enough food. Over the course of a week, Ayn is taxed 20% of all the food she makes (totaling 50 lbs), and receives 30 lbs from the pool. Ayn Rand is strongly against this, and tells everyone that the taxes are wrong and should be repealed. One day, Ayn gets sick, and cannot work for a week. The government offers to give her food to keep her going, and she accepts. Everyone calls her hypocritical for taking the food -- I mean, she did express her strong disapproval of it. Ayn Rand laughs at the others, because she knows her actions are not hypocritical. In conclusion, Ayn Rand was only against others advocating that they should get government aid, not against people accepting it once it was already taken from them. She paid into the system for years, so why would she refuse to get any of it back if she advocated that she should have kept all of it in the first place. And thus, the resolution is proved.