Things That Are Free
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What follows is a partial list of things that are free in an economy.
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If you think I forgot the list, you'd be wrong. There isn't one. There's no such thing as free. There is such a thing as getting something someone else paid for, but there's no such thing as free. Here's an example.
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You're in a game show that has a $1,000,000 prize. You win it. Is that free money, or did someone other than you pay for it? If it was paid for by someone, anyone, then it wasn't free. It was of no cost to you, but it wasn't free because it cost someone.
Could it have cost you? Yes.
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Say you work for a company that advertises on that game show. That advertising money goes toward pausing the game show for 30 seconds so the people watching it can hear about what the company wants them to believe they can't live without. The money the company uses to pay for that advertising can't go into your paycheck or benefits. It can't got for better equipment. It can't go for business travel. It can't go for anything other that that advertising.
If that game show got advertising money from your company, did you pay for part of your winnings? Did hundreds, thousands, even hundreds of thousands of workers in companies advertising on that game show pay for your winnings? Or was it free; meaning no one, anywhere, paid anything so that you could win $1,000,000?
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Was it free? Was it no cost to you? Was it a small cost to you? When someone tells you they got something for free, was it free? Was it no cost to you? Was it a small cost to you? When millions say they got something for free, was it free? Was it no cost to you? Was it a big cost to you?
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Free means no one, anywhere, paid anything for it. If anyone, anywhere, paid anything for it, then it was a cost to them and you're likely one of them. It wasn't free.
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Consider this the next time you get excited about free shipping. Some people, somewhere paid for it. How likely are you one of those for every free shipping offer?
It's free to someone, if you pay for it and they don't. Do you think that's free?
Just a fellow American