“I’d rather spend resources complaining about healthcare than getting healthcare.” Signaling costs *are* costs

The fight over health insurance coverage is driven by the desire to send a signal about compassion for others. However, this signal comes at a cost. In an example of graffiti on a healthcare building, the vandal wanted to convey the importance of free healthcare for everyone, but in doing so, he diverted resources that could have been used for purchasing health insurance or providing medical care. His act forced the healthcare provider to spend money on cleaning the graffiti instead of using it to deliver healthcare services. This demonstrates that signaling costs are real costs, as resources spent on signaling cannot be used for actual healthcare provision.