By KATE ZERNIKE
The writings of Friedrich Hayek, the 20th century free-market enthusiast and Nobel laureate, have long been a favorite of libertarians, who have used them to argue that government programs like Social Security and Medicare put the nation and its people on what Hayek called “The Road to Serfdom.”
With the advent of the anti-stimulus, anti-big government Tea Party movement, he has enjoyed fresh affection — protesters quote him on their signs at rallies, and Ron Paul reports that people no longer go blank when he mentions Hayek’s name. (For those needing a primer on the differences between Hayek and John Maynard Keynes, who is enjoying fresh antipathy among the ranks of Tea Party supporters, there is a useful rap video.)
But critics like to point out that Tea Party supporters and libertarians are perfectly happy enjoying big government when it works for them. And now it appears that Hayek himself was encouraged to enjoy the benefits of government retirement and health care programs — by one of the country’s most prominent libertarians, the billionaire industrialist Charles Koch.
According to a series of letters brought to light by The Nation , Mr. Koch wrote to Hayek in 1973 asking him to be a scholar in residence at the Institute for Humane Studies, a libertarian group founded by Mr. Koch. Hayek declined, saying that he recently had had surgery in Austria, which made him anxious about “the problems (and costs)” of falling ill far from home.
An associate of Mr. Koch’s wrote back to suggest that Hayek could take advantage of the generosity of Social Security if he came to this country (and noting that it would be prohibitive to secure him private health insurance here.) Mr. Koch followed up with another letter, enclosing a brochure on the benefits of Social Security, and noting that while in this country, Hayek (who had become eligible for government benefits because of his earlier employment at the University of Chicago) would also get free hospital care.
This was more than a decade after Hayek (who died in 1992) had written against Social Security in “The Constitution of Liberty,” calling such safety net programs the pathway to social and moral decay.
Mr. Koch went on to finance several institutions and organizations whose primary mission is to work against government spending and regulation. One, Americans for Prosperity, has given money to Tea Party groups, which surged in membership as they fought against legislation that would expand health care coverage to millions more Americans. (Americans for Prosperity sponsored a bus tour against the legislation.)
The Nation obtained the letters through the Hayek archives at the Hoover Institution at Stanford. “Nowhere,” the magazine notes, “do they worry that by opting into and taking advantage of Social Security programs they might be hastening a socialist takeover of America. It’s simply a given that Social Security and Medicare work, and therefore should be used.”
Charles and David Koch built an distortion machine to do their dirty work for them. Through think tanks, academic research, political donations and conservative media, the Koch brothers have steamrolled Americans into believing things that are false and into supporting policies that benefit the Koch brothers' profits.
Social Security has long been among the brothers' favorite punching bags, but new reporting by the Nation shows Charles Koch praising, advocating -- practically begging an ultra-free market economist and mentor to participate and enjoy Social Security benefits.
That Charles Koch would promote and grow Social Security is at odds with his efforts and donations to politicians and think tanks to destroy Social Security, as our Koch Brothers Exposed campaign has proven.
In one letter cited by the Nation, Charles Koch's colleagues at another think tank, the Institute for Humane Studies, detail a loophole whereby the Austrian-born and ultra-laissez faire economist Friedrich Hayek could opt into Social Security. Soon after that letter was shipped off, Koch wrote a personal appeal extolling the benefits of Social Security to Hayek. He brought up Medicare too. Koch said the program would cover Hayek's medical needs even further.
He sends Hayek a Social Security brochure along with the note: "You may be interested in the information that we uncovered on the insurance and other benefits that would be available to you in this country... you are entitled to Social Security payments while living anywhere in the Free World."
The Koch brothers have donated $28.4 million to think thanks that aim to destroy a social safety net for middle class Americans, and Hayek pioneered that ideology in many ways. Through the Tea Party and Americans for Prosperity, the Koch brothers have found a new audience for Hayek's philosophy.
Not only could an Austrian-born crusader against social safety nets draw entitlements from American taxpayers, but according to Koch, Hayek could do so while residing (and paying taxes) in the U.S. or any nation on Earth. This is a dramatic leap of faith from Koch orthodoxy, where government and public service are problems that hamper the Koch brothers' $100 billion business.
As the Nation rightfully points out, when Texas Governor Rick Perry says Social Security is a "Ponzi scheme," that sentiment stems directly from the Kochs, who through their wealth have given Hayek a resurgence of popularity through the brothers' echo chamber and billion dollar distortion machine.
The Nation wonders why Charles Koch didn't offer some of his own money to treat Hayek's health issues. The reason is because the Koch brothers are selfish. Indeed the Koch brothers, and how they spend their wealth, is transforming selfishness into an American virtue.
With the advent of the anti-stimulus, anti-big government Tea Party movement, he has enjoyed fresh affection — protesters quote him on their signs at rallies, and Ron Paul reports that people no longer go blank when he mentions Hayek’s name. (For those needing a primer on the differences between Hayek and John Maynard Keynes, who is enjoying fresh antipathy among the ranks of Tea Party supporters, there is a useful rap video.)
But critics like to point out that Tea Party supporters and libertarians are perfectly happy enjoying big government when it works for them. And now it appears that Hayek himself was encouraged to enjoy the benefits of government retirement and health care programs — by one of the country’s most prominent libertarians, the billionaire industrialist Charles Koch.
According to a series of letters brought to light by The Nation , Mr. Koch wrote to Hayek in 1973 asking him to be a scholar in residence at the Institute for Humane Studies, a libertarian group founded by Mr. Koch. Hayek declined, saying that he recently had had surgery in Austria, which made him anxious about “the problems (and costs)” of falling ill far from home.
An associate of Mr. Koch’s wrote back to suggest that Hayek could take advantage of the generosity of Social Security if he came to this country (and noting that it would be prohibitive to secure him private health insurance here.) Mr. Koch followed up with another letter, enclosing a brochure on the benefits of Social Security, and noting that while in this country, Hayek (who had become eligible for government benefits because of his earlier employment at the University of Chicago) would also get free hospital care.
This was more than a decade after Hayek (who died in 1992) had written against Social Security in “The Constitution of Liberty,” calling such safety net programs the pathway to social and moral decay.
Mr. Koch went on to finance several institutions and organizations whose primary mission is to work against government spending and regulation. One, Americans for Prosperity, has given money to Tea Party groups, which surged in membership as they fought against legislation that would expand health care coverage to millions more Americans. (Americans for Prosperity sponsored a bus tour against the legislation.)
The Nation obtained the letters through the Hayek archives at the Hoover Institution at Stanford. “Nowhere,” the magazine notes, “do they worry that by opting into and taking advantage of Social Security programs they might be hastening a socialist takeover of America. It’s simply a given that Social Security and Medicare work, and therefore should be used.”
See Charles Koch Flip Flop on Social Security [VIDEO]
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robert-greenwald/see-charles-koch-flip-flo_b_988111.htmlCharles and David Koch built an distortion machine to do their dirty work for them. Through think tanks, academic research, political donations and conservative media, the Koch brothers have steamrolled Americans into believing things that are false and into supporting policies that benefit the Koch brothers' profits.
Social Security has long been among the brothers' favorite punching bags, but new reporting by the Nation shows Charles Koch praising, advocating -- practically begging an ultra-free market economist and mentor to participate and enjoy Social Security benefits.
That Charles Koch would promote and grow Social Security is at odds with his efforts and donations to politicians and think tanks to destroy Social Security, as our Koch Brothers Exposed campaign has proven.
In one letter cited by the Nation, Charles Koch's colleagues at another think tank, the Institute for Humane Studies, detail a loophole whereby the Austrian-born and ultra-laissez faire economist Friedrich Hayek could opt into Social Security. Soon after that letter was shipped off, Koch wrote a personal appeal extolling the benefits of Social Security to Hayek. He brought up Medicare too. Koch said the program would cover Hayek's medical needs even further.
He sends Hayek a Social Security brochure along with the note: "You may be interested in the information that we uncovered on the insurance and other benefits that would be available to you in this country... you are entitled to Social Security payments while living anywhere in the Free World."
The Koch brothers have donated $28.4 million to think thanks that aim to destroy a social safety net for middle class Americans, and Hayek pioneered that ideology in many ways. Through the Tea Party and Americans for Prosperity, the Koch brothers have found a new audience for Hayek's philosophy.
Not only could an Austrian-born crusader against social safety nets draw entitlements from American taxpayers, but according to Koch, Hayek could do so while residing (and paying taxes) in the U.S. or any nation on Earth. This is a dramatic leap of faith from Koch orthodoxy, where government and public service are problems that hamper the Koch brothers' $100 billion business.
As the Nation rightfully points out, when Texas Governor Rick Perry says Social Security is a "Ponzi scheme," that sentiment stems directly from the Kochs, who through their wealth have given Hayek a resurgence of popularity through the brothers' echo chamber and billion dollar distortion machine.
The Nation wonders why Charles Koch didn't offer some of his own money to treat Hayek's health issues. The reason is because the Koch brothers are selfish. Indeed the Koch brothers, and how they spend their wealth, is transforming selfishness into an American virtue.
No comments:
Post a Comment