An Idea Whose Time Is Long Overdue
By Mitch Berg
This is from a piece of constituent mail, reprinted on a Minnesota legislator’s facebook page:
What do you think about replacing the word “free” to read “Taxpayer Funded” in all goverment paper and documents? Like instead of schools “Free” lunch program, it would read “Schools Taxpayer Funded Lunch Program”. It would be more truthful.
I say submit the bill and run with it, hard.
November 19th, 2014 at 6:14 am
“Taxpayer Funded” is more accurate, but far too long. (“Entrepreneur” is also too long).
I suggest “Taxpaid”, sort of like prepaid, and short enough to be used instead of “free”.
School taxpaid lunches.
There’s no such thing as a free lunch — but there’s plenty of lunches paid for by others and free to the eaters.
(There’s no good short word for entrepreneur. “Firm founder”?
November 19th, 2014 at 10:58 am
I think the word you are looking for is – producer, or perhaps maker
November 19th, 2014 at 11:07 am
Tigger, I would respectfully disagree. The American public is in dire need of education as Jonathon Gruber so eloquently reminded us. I believe that reliance on multi-syllabic words would serve to retard the active ignorance inducing in which government and the media engages.
November 19th, 2014 at 12:21 pm
I read a story last May where all children 18 and under would get 2 free meals a day over the summer in Faribault (and this occurs elsewhere). Funded by the federal gov’t.
Now, I have been to Faribault. I have never seen any starving kids, sitting on the streets with their ribs showing, trying to get a handful of rice to sustain them through the day. But I have seen a lot of fat Minnesotans there.
So how about “we are borrowing billions from the Chinese so we can give free food to fat Faribault residents”.
November 19th, 2014 at 12:35 pm
When bills like this are routinely hundreds to thousands of pages long, I don’t think I’m going to quibble with the eleven extra letters for “taxpayer funded” vs. “free.” It is more accurate and sends a message.
For that matter, it would be a nice change if legis-critters of both parties would automatically vote “no” on bills with bu**sh** titles like “Affordable Care Act”. (my name for that is, again, “Health Insurance Deform Act”)
November 19th, 2014 at 4:46 pm
Adrian – you shouldn’t use the word “retard” because the ignorant people will think you’re talking about mentally challenged individuals. Other problematic words include gay (meaning happy & carefree), niggardly (meaning miserly), or a host of others readers of this blog could cite.
November 20th, 2014 at 11:26 am
My gay feelings are retarded by my being forced to pay for others “free” stuff…you know…because I’m niggardly…