Palaver | Jeff, I think you should pay for my health care, college, and housing.

Jeff, I think you should pay for my health care, college, and housing.

Jeff Miller writes:

People demonstrating at Wall Street are holding up signs with slogans like, “Housing is a right,” and “College is a Right,” and “Health Care is a Right.” To much of America, these signs read: ”You need to pay for my housing,” and “You need to pay for my college,” and “You need to pay for my health care.” These are demands I would never make upon my closest family and friends. Would you (generic you)? Would you tell your best friend, “You need to pay for my housing.” Would you tell your parents that they need to pay for your college? Would you tell your children that they need to pay for your health care? If you wouldn’t express these as demands from those closest to you, can you understand how complete strangers might be put off by this? Those demonstrating at Wall Street don’t see this, and this is awful for their cause.

I’m going to ask Jeff to pay for my housing, health care, and education. Actually, I don’t have to. He’s already doing it.

Well, he’s not paying for my health care—but only because he lives in a different state. He is paying for my housing—because I’m sure as heck going to take a mortgage interest deduction on my taxes. (Thanks for the subsidy, Jeff! It’s a stupid subsidy … but hey, it makes me pretty happy around tax season.) Jeff gets off the hook on my college—but somebody else already paid for that. However, I am sitting on a hefty, unused, and vested education award paid for with Jeff’s taxes. Jeff will probably be paying for me to learn Spanish. Or, rather, he already paid for me to learn Spanish—and I might get around to actually using that money. My healthcare, housing, and education were all, in large part, paid for by other people.

I’m picking on Jeff—because he just did something kind of obnoxious (probably by accident.) The protestors are saying, “Health care is a right.” Jeff (or, rather, “much of America” as channeled by Jeff) assumes that the protestor holding up that sign doesn’t have health care. The next deduction, presumably, is that the protestor must be poor—or at least a bad capitalist. Probably lazy too. And greedy. That protestor is not the kind of person you should take seriously.

So let’s put it this way: I pay federal income taxes. I’ve got more housing, healthcare, and college than I know what to do with. I still think those are rights—and I’m willing to pay for them so others can enjoy the same comfort.¹ When Jeff says he’s not, much of America hears, “Screw you, suckers. I’ve got mine. You’re on your own.”

At least, I think housing and healthcare are rights. College? We can talk about that later. I’m for it—but maybe not unconditionally. ↩