I understand how the world works. I am a fan of capitalism and commerce.
And no, everything from cars to clothes shouldn't just be handed out like a lollipop at a doctor's office.
But there are some things in life intended for everyone to have access to.
At the rate we're going, I just know some fool is trying to figure out how to charge us for the air we breathe.
I like capitalism, I despise greed.
RedditorXanduhwanted to make a list of all the things that really shouldn't be monetized, they asked:
"What should be free?"
And for the things we do and should have to pay for, let's lower some of those prices. Do you really need to make 1000% profit? Where you going? Space.
Necessities...
Fake Id GIF by Why Don't WeGiphy"ID cards issued by the government. Especially since you need them for almost every aspect of daily living." ~ DeathSpiral321
Afterlife
"Dying." ~ Dumb_Vampire_Girl
"I say this every time this discussion comes up. In the middle east, people are buried the day of or the next day after death. There is no casket, you are only buried in a white shroud. In my country burial is free, you can make a donation to the mosque for the service (as part of daily prayers), the transport of the body to the grave is free. You pay for the grave plot. Done and done." ~ CorianderSuuucks
That's My Spot
"Parking at hospitals." ~ WeCantKeepDoingThiss
"I once read a Reddit comment about hospital parking not being free and they explained that in some large cities, it actually makes sense to charge for parking. Patients and visitors could get their parking validated and the fees waived. This way, the parking lots weren’t full just from people parking to go downtown for whatever reason. Makes sense to me now. I’m from a smaller city, so I’d never been to a hospital that had paid parking." ~ NotActuallyFamous
Save a Life
"CPR lessons. ***edit: thank you for the upvotes and award. I’m new to commenting (digital shyness hahaha)." ~ Odd_Cake_5670
"I was taught that in cases of cardiac arrest, the impact of CPR is incredibly low... something like a 12% chance of survival improvement. Using an AED, automated external defibrillators, raises that percentage somewhere closer to 80-85%. If CPR training is happening, there needs to be AED training too. It is not hard to do." ~ ManThatIs*ucked
Flying Easy
michael jackson damnation GIF by South Park Giphy"Picking your seat on an airplane when booking online for coach seats." ~ IamDuckieee
"And if I do pay for this privilege, I should get the seats that I selected and not some random ones on the other end of the plane." ~ RDEnergizer7000
Don't get me started on airlines. To think about what it used to be like to fly even just 10 years ago. I'm surprised the toilets aren't pay as you go.
911 Issues
ambo GIF by St John AmbulanceGiphy"Ambulances. Or at the very least, they shouldn't be as expensive as they can be now.." ~ xXWolfyIsAwesomeXx
Clean in Expensive
"Drinkable water." ~ I_Love_Small_Breasts
"Yeah, I'm a municipal drinking water plant manager, tap water in my town is 'free' as in we don't meter and charge by volume to residents. But we have to gather money to keep the lights on and equipment running, so we charge a flat water tax rate worked into property tax."
"Our medium sized plant (produces 2 million US gallons or 7.5 million liters per day), which services 5500 people costs about $450,000-550,000 per year to operate (varies from year to year based on what breaks/needs replacement and chemical costs fluctuations)."
"Clean drinkable water isn't cheap to make, but it shouldn't cost what it does in many places, we don't operate for profit, just to keep going, the amount of tax charged to residents is adjusted each year based on cost trending as required." ~ Amidamaru717
I Gotta Go!
"Peeing/pooping in 'public' restrooms. Not sure wether this is a common thing around the world, but here in the Netherlands, almost all toilets are paywalled. Almost all establishments require purchase or payment. I somewhat get this, i somewhat don't. I'd assume sanitizing toilets is in the staffs duties?"
"Obviously restaurants/bars don't want to deal with the crap of non payers (pun intended), on the other, foot traffic is foot traffic, a handful of crap is peanuts compared to current day adds. I specifically don't get McDonald's deal with the quarter in lady. What really baffles me is the literally gated off toilets on the massive stations."
"For one, fondling a machine while having to catch a train is annoying, second, the station probably costed hundreds of millions, yet the toilet costs a buck. At least i get a discount on my next crap. No wonder the alleyways in the cities smell like fermented pee." ~ Nekrosiz
Chronic Issues
"Insulin (slightly biased T1D here)." ~ Jef171
"I’m not diabetic but y’all should definitely get that for free. & syringes. & test strips. & monitors. & pumps. The whole condition should be free to have. You got it for free, you shouldn’t have to pay for the add ons, it’s not DLC." ~ ghosts-go-boo
"I understand needing to pay for some of the new pumps and med-tech getting brought to market because they took a lot of time/$ to develop. But yea, Actual insulin, needles, test strips are all necessary to live, cost pennies to produce, and could easily be provided free." ~ Jef171
Help Me
the office therapy GIFGiphy"Therapy and in general mental health help." ~ ApprehensiveStatus13
"I agree with this but I also think therapists should be pay very well. They go to 6+ years of higher education for this and in the U.S. have to get over 3,000 working hours to even be licensed. Plus they have to listen to trauma and things like that everyday." ~ rainydayinmay9
Spaces
"Parking at the college you go to."
simplexseason
"Parking was absolutely awful at my college. If you had classes in the middle of the day, you had to show up at least 90 minutes early and stalk other students walking through the lots. It got worse ten they got rid of the largest parking lots to build more dorms. They tried to implement some kind of valet system for a couple months, but that was an even bigger s**t show."
CaffeinatedCannoli
Speak Up
"Hearing aids. They don’t cost too much, relatively. Research shows that if you need a hearing aid and you go without it, you raise your risk of developing Alzheimer’s. I’m 67% deaf but even government insurance doesn’t cover hearing aids. It will cover dental and Alzheimer’s up to a point. The cheaper option would be to cover the hearing aid and try to prevent Alzheimer’s if you can."
happyhomemaker29
But we Breathe
"Air for your tires."
tmartinez1113
"In my state it's required to be free. The machines will gladly take your money, but you can go inside and ask, and they'll turn it on for free!"
thegreatpotatogod
"Half of the gas stations charge a few quarters for 2 minutes worth of air, and their pumps are usually rusted and beat. The other half provide free air from nice digital pumps. Guess which gas stations get my business?"
PoopsExcellence
Take me Away
commuting abbi jacobson GIF by Broad CityGiphy"Public Transportation."
unpickedusername
"The Netherlands has free public transport (either in the weekend or during the week. Not both) for students. It's an absolute blessing to have. Otherwise traveling to university would cost me more than I'm paying for university."
ThePotatoSauce
Safety
"Any and all forms of contraception."
throw-away-hlpplz
"Preach!!! Money toward preventing kids since there are not enough programs to support children living in poverty."
sdmh77
For the Girls!
"Menstrual products."
Mars_Bars21
"Hear, hear! And gynecological care!!!! So many people who menstruate don’t receive appropriate or adequate care. It makes my heart sad to know that some folks suffer through gynecological issues that can often be treated with proper knowledge and care."
dhawkins331
Smile
"All medical dental (not cosmetic). Like filings, wisdom tooth removal, cleanings."
kingblobf
"This, or at least a lesser payment. My dentist said it would cost 500 per wisdom tooth an expected me to pay 2000 dollars to take out all 4 at the same time. I'm on disability and I'm struggling to find work, even part time, I can't afford that."
1BoiledCabbage
Help Me
Teddy Bear Cartoon GIFGiphy"Health care. All levels and types."
Umpire
"My dad died from one of the most survivable cancers there is because he didn’t have health care. Over 90% of people survive melanoma and I’m convinced the 10% that don’t are impoverished Americans."
armedo
Healthcare is a right not a privilege. Will we ever be a society that agrees on that? Sad. Mental health especially.
Good list.