Memories of the 28th Century

Recently I have noticed that some words have peculiar meanings. Actually there's nothing new in that, but the word "free" used to seem quite straightforward. Languages often change as results of abuses of the language, and that might be going on, but it might also be that some people have trouble understanding what "free" means. I don't recall the exact mater that got me interested, because there are many things for which no direct payment is taken, and some people erroneously refer to any such thing as "free".

Free means that here is no payment of any sort required for it. Air is free; we don't have to pay for it; it is part of life on Earth. I live in an area that is served by a pre-paid transit district. That means that one can ride most of the local buses without paying. Many people speak of "free busses", but the busses are not free; they are largely paid for by taxes. The University of Massachusetts is in the area, and that pays for busses for its students, which are also parts of the system, but these still are not free. The bus fares are "prepaid", not "free", and that isn't a matter of splitting hairs.

The transit system is something that I pay for, so I realize that I have no reason to make any additional contribution (as some people think they might do) or to feel thankful about; it's something that I pay for. There are many government programs that provide something with no direct charge, and some people erroneously think these are free. In some cases people do get things that they haven't paid for in any way, but more often they are like the public schools that do not charge tuition, because the families that send children to them generally have paid for them. Yes, there are people who may not have made any payments, yet, but they will. And there are others who resent public schools, because they paid but didn't get anything; that's how it is with taxes.

Another term that I sometimes run into is "entitlement program". I was (and still am) unclear on the meaning of this term, so I searched for a list of "entitlement programs". Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid were the ones listed. Social Security is a retirement programs that most U.S. workers pay into, so that they can receive the money back with interest after retirement. I have calculated that it would take 140 years for me to get back what I paid plus the interest, and I expect to get it. Medicare is similar to Social Security in that it was funded from payments that workers have made. I haven't calculated it, but I expected that I would have to have a huge number of transplants for the costs to amount to what I have put in plus interest. Medicaid is an extension of Medicare for people who need it. Yes, these are programs to which people are entitled because they have paid into them. There are people who can collect one or more of these even though they have never contributed. That makes these "free" to them, and it may be a mistake for them to get something for nothing.

The Ancient Romans provided bread and circuses to the people of Rome at no cost to those people, but the bread and circuses were paid for by the politicians and others who did not want the people of Rome to rise in rebellion, which they did fairly often anyway.

Think of anything that was "free" and see if you can figure out who paid for it and then you might want to figure out why they provide something at no cost to the consumer. There are many common reasons, but to encourage people to pay for the e=same thing in the future is a common reason. When it comes to government programs where something is provided at no cost it is usually because the consumers have already paid for it, or someone in government wants to look good. The flip side is that when something provided at no cost starts to make the government look bad, then there is an excellent chance that the program will be eliminated; examples are the old town farms and insane asylums; they were better than nothing, and they provided services that are not being supplied any more to clients who had needs that still exist. Maybe they should be brought back.

Sometimes there is a lunch that I don't have to pay for, but someone paid for it. Then there was "free sex".