Table of Contents
This is one of the most basic facts you should learn in life. But, amazingly, some people honestly believe that if they are told something is free then it is. They seem to lack the power of comprehension to understand otherwise. Everything has to be paid for by someone, either through direct purchase or through a subsidy. Unless you’re bartering an exchange of goods then money must come from somewhere to complete a financial transaction. It’s a fact of life.
In order to get something you believe to be free, someone has to offer it. If the person offering it understands the truth then that person is hoodwinking those to whom it is offered. ‘There’s no such thing as a free lunch.’ Tell students that and the reply will be ‘Yes there is: we have one every day.’ That answer should surprise no one because they’ve probably never been taught otherwise.
Understanding what is and what isn’t free should be taught early on in the education curriculum. That begs the question as to whether today’s teachers (most of whom reside on the left of politics) are competent to teach it. Just this week the entire population was given a ‘free’ offer, from the leader of the Labour Party. Capping fares on public transport…
Needless to say, this so-called ‘free’ offer was headline news. This was like Christmas come early and Chris Hipkins is Santa Claus – or at least that was the impression they were trying to give. This was on the same day Christopher Luxon was making much more meaty announcements at the agricultural Fieldays, but, no matter, free rides on public transport was the media’s top pick. There was nothing ‘free’ in what the PM was offering but he was offering policy to improve the economy, monetary wise, while Hipkins was offering to drain it. We shouldn’t expect a journalist working in a newsroom today to be cognisant of that fact either.
Nevertheless the ‘sausage roll kid’ got himself to Auckland and his friends in the media were there to film him hopping aboard a train giving a cheery smile and a wave. No, this freebie is NOT free: it has to be paid for by you and me, the taxpayers. For Mr Hipkins’ information, it’s called a subsidy.
The fares are capped at $20 in metro areas and $10 elsewhere. If you’ve spent that amount then your rides for the rest of the week are free. But they’re not. If you’re on a low income but are a taxpayer you’re subsidising (paying for) your own supposed ‘free’ ride. In truth, you are being taken for a ride by Hipkins. This sort of ‘across the board’ (not targeted) nonsense is why the left always trail the right when it comes to trusting who are the better managers of the economy. Capping fares is hardly fair.
The left’s inherent desire to be ‘do-gooders’ is always at variance with economic realities. Where will the money for this unaffordable piece of lunacy come from? Evidently, from the Land Transport Fund. Apart from the fact that it’s still our money, it means the building of roads of National Significance will once again be deferred, while this type of infrastructure is badly needed. Instead we’ll have people riding around on public transport thinking it’s free. The mind boggles at the stupidity of it all.
I’m no Albert Einstein but even I can recognise a con idea when it is put in front of me. Sadly others can’t and these are the people Hipkins is appealing to. The irony is these people are already in his camp. These are the ‘happy campers’ of the left who are easily bought off because they lack the wherewithal to question or think through what their leader tells them.
The truth is there are no free lunches, no free fees at universities, no free visits to the GP and no free bus or train rides…but there are free elections. On November 7 make sure you don’t vote for this type of idiocy. It’s designed to help the poor when, in reality, it makes us all poor because, instead of urgently fixing roading infrastructure, we have people joy riding on public transport.
On election day, make sure he gets our free offer – another three years on the opposition benches. Come to think of it, that’s not free either. We have to pay for him to sit in his well-upholstered green leather chair while he dreams up his next ‘free’ economic nightmare. You can’t win, can you…
