This is the Cato Daily Podcast for Friday, February 10th, 2012. I'm Caleb Brown.

What's more important, sending a loud signal about your own compassion or actually providing the benefits that you want people to have.

In the fight over health insurance coverage, Cato's Michael Cannon has found a parallel between those members of the Church of Universal Coverage and Petty Vandals.

During the Occupy Oakland protests, a photojournalist for the Associated Press captured an image of some graffiti that one of the protesters had put on a Kaiser

permanente building.

Kaiser permanente is a health plan that's present mostly on the west coast.

And what this vandal had written on the offices of Kaiser Permanente

in spray paint

were the words in all caps, free health care for everybody.

And I tried to read the article that accompanied this photo

in the Washington Post, but I had a hard time doing it because it occurred. article that

article that accompanied this photo in the Washington Post but I had a hard time doing it because it

occurred to me that that photo really encapsulates the ethos of what I like to call

the Church of Universal Coverage.

This is that movement that has been present in American politics

and really around the world for at least 100 years

to create a government guarantee of access to health care for every. a graffiti wanted to send a signal about how much he cares about other people.

I mean he wants to provide health care to everybody.

He also was willing to spend resources sending that signal.

He spent resources purchasing the spray paint, I assume he purchased it. He also used his time

spray painting this on other people's property and he probably felt better about himself for having

sent that signal about the importance of providing health care for other

...