Uh-oh

WSJ: Health insurance makes people fat?

A commenter at Megan's

I really love that logic. They'll get fat if we give them benefits because they know they can afford to actually see a doctor! If we just made sure they didn't have those benefits, they'd go exercise! And if we took away unemployment benefits and social security, they'd work really hard not to lose their job and make sound long-term financial decisions!

Obviously he's being dismissive. But, actually, yes, if he means they'd work relatively harder and plan relatively sounder. That's the magic of individual responsibility.

Which is why I have to laugh at liberals who think free/cheap health-care is some right that every person should be entitled to and thus be better off in every respect. Life doesn't work that way. There are always trade-offs to subsidizing benefits. You might even call the undesired ones unintended consequences. (gasp!)