> Taxes are not very high in the US. We have about 26.9% total tax revenue (which I will abbreviate TTR. TTR is measured as a percentage of GDP)[0][1]. So, 27%

> Taxes are not very high in the US. We have about 26.9% total tax revenue (which I will abbreviate TTR. TTR is measured as a percentage of GDP)[0][1]. So, 27% of the economy is shifted towards government, which is almost entirely consumption, not production... that's a massive amount of waste. I mean, it's 27% of the entire US economy! Of course, you probably interpret the utility of this shift differently than I do. No need to argue ideology here. > As much as hip, intellectual go-getters who read Ayn Rand would love there to be no government, it's simply not feasible. As an Objectivist (i.e. I agree with Ayn Rand's formal philosophy), it is not "hip." It's incredibly painful to be a small minority that is treated with disgust by people who can't even state what they actually disagree with. This is my experience living in a college town in the US. It's a perfect way to be ostracized. Even, say, Paul Ryan Republicans who claim to like Ayn Rand will tend to personally reject me, since I'm an atheist. > read Ayn Rand would love there to be no government This is just technically incorrect. Ayn Rand was actually a very strong defender of government over anarchy. You clearly have no idea what you're talking about. > I do know that most people who blindly latch on to some of her ideas don't truly understand her philosophy. It's true that this is a problem. But it's a problem with those people, not with her philosophy. > Half of that 'regulatory capture' you refer to is because of private interests lobbying for government restrictions. Yes, there are lots of evil businessmen who seek regulatory capture. In fact, a main character of Atlas Shrugged was one such. That's why we need to keep government out of the business of business. > I invite you to take a step back every now and then and reevaluate your philosophies. This is an intellectually irrelevant pretension on your part. I've spent ten years actively obsessed with figuring out philosophy.