Read the Book

Texas Governor Rick Perry (R), recently seen floating the secession of Texas as a valid response to domestic policy differences with the Obama administration (but remember, Democrats hate America), has started citing Hayek as a reason to oppose universal health care.

"Read that book. Read this book," he says, gesturing toward the nearby table. I see something from Weight Watchers and a Harry Potter paperback--but the governor is referring to the "The Road to Serfdom" by Frederick Hayek and "The 5000 Year Leap" by W. Cleon Skousen. "Read Amity Shlaes's 'The Forgotten Man.' Amity's book is very eye-opening—scary—for me."

As it happens, Andrew Murphy has read "The Road to Serfdom". And on pages 120-21, Hayek has this to say about the state's role in providing social insurance:

Nor is there any reason why the state should not assist the individuals in providing for those common hazards of life which, because of their uncertainty, few individuals can make adequate provisions. Where, as in the case of sickness and accident, neither the desire to avoid such calamities nor the effects to overcome their consequences are as a rule weakened by the provision of assistance-where, in short, we deal with genuinely insurable risks- the case for the state’s helping to organize comprehensive system of social insurance is strong.

Read the book, governor.