There Is No Such Thing as a Free Lunch

I've been involved in two different conversations this week regarding people who think something should be "free."

Ultimately, if something takes some effort on the part of someone who provides a service or product it is NEVER free.  It always costs someone something.  Could something be "free" to you if you don't have to pay for it?  Perhaps, but it still isn't free.  It actually costs the person who provides it.  They put time, effort or some kind of cost into it.  So it still isn't free.

There are people who seem to think some things should come to them free as if by magic.  Well there is even a show on TV the last few years where the saying is, "Magic always comes with a price."  That is just as true for the magic services and products some people seem to believe they are entitled to receive.

They believe they should get free healthcare, free food, free TV, free internet, free college, free (you name it).  Why?  Because they are entitled.  These things should not be only for the "rich" you know.  The problem is that none of these are EVER free.  They always cost someone something because magic comes with a price.  The people that provide these things are working for a living and trying to support their own families and meet their needs.  They do that by EARNING some income and paying for the things they need.

Every free service or product comes at the expense of someone else.  The person who wants the free thing believes themselves to be deserving and that the person who is going to pay the price should get "nothing for something."  In civilized society that is the mindset of the people who stick a gun in your face and demand your money because they want it and you should just give it to them.  Why?  Because you have it and they want it.  Hey, you have more than you NEED and they want more than they have so that's the way it should be.  Right?  They think so.

It is a good thing to voluntarily help those who are in need.  It is robbery to have your money forcibly taken from you whether it is at the point of a gun or through taxation without representation.  It is not the purpose of a government to play Robin Hood.