by David Safier
Ayn Rand a secret socialist? Sucking at the teat of government welfare? No! No! No! It can't be! And yet . . .
Ayn Rand apparently was a willing recipient of both Social Security and Medicare benefits. And, in the interest of full disclosure in a hypocritical attempt to hide the truth, she used the name Ann O'Connor — O'Connor was her husband's name — to receive the government's socialist, ambition-destroying benefits.
But Rand had a reason why it was OK. See, she didn't make enough from her book royalties to pay for her medical bills. The greedy doctors who were charging whatever the market would bear, in good libertarian fashion, were going to bankrupt her.
What will we tell the children John Galt?