Rights or Wrongs

In today's Cafe Hayek, Dr. Boudreaux references an article he wrote for The Christian Science Monitor about health care. With regard to the notion that healthcare was a right, he wrote:

Sounds noble. But not everything that is highly desirable is a right. Most rights simply oblige us to respect one another's freedoms; they do not oblige us to pay for others to exercise these freedoms. Respecting rights such as freedom of speech and of worship does not impose huge demands upon taxpayers.

Healthcare, although highly desirable, differs fundamentally from these rights. Because providing healthcare takes scarce resources, offering it free at the point of delivery would raise its cost and reduce its availability.

He then went on to explain that the government is inept and would bungle the process and make it too costly.

Well, there is some truth to that perhaps, but one often weighs the cost of government provided services versus no services. If you are a successful professor of economics at a prestigious university, your perspective may be somewhat different from a poor, single mother or a poor, elderly person. My response was:

Interesting argument.

Now substitute "education" for "health care".

Now substitute "social security" for "health care".

It's beginning to sound very 18th century. "Let them eat cake."

Oh, by the way, Dr. Boudreaux's university is state supported!