Mastodawn

They pay $34 for burgers. Should their fire department service be free? Opening a new fire department in one of NYC's richest neighborhoods has some of America's pettiest journalists asking silly questions in headlines again.🤡

The article acknowledges the fire department analogy, then blows past it.🤷🏿‍♂️

The solve for "Sometimes when a service like free childcare is available to all, marginalized communities get squeezed out," is "Address that racism."

It's not "Therefore waste incredible amounts of time and money trying to means test something that society should just make available to all.🤡"

Laura "Tegan" Gjovaag ⛈ 🐸15h ago

@mekkaokereke
When school lunch programs throw out the "who deserves to get free lunches?" and just provide for every child, the entire program is cheaper due to the lack of an enforcement layer, all children get fed, and children learn more and pay attention better.

Being overly concerned that someone might get something they don't "deserve" usually ends up screwing over the ones who need help most.

We're supposed to "promote the general welfare" of the public - not gate-keep who gets help.

Carolyn 14h ago

@realtegan @mekkaokereke Sigh. I really hate the mindset of “what if someone undeserving benefits.”

So what? Especially when it involves children.

@CStamp @realtegan @mekkaokereke

Most American thing is making 100 people suffer to avoid 1 freeloader.

@gbargoud But what if the wrong children get to eat? @CStamp @realtegan @mekkaokereke

Bruce Mirken 5h ago

@Thad @gbargoud @CStamp @realtegan @mekkaokereke This whole discussion is so silly because any perceived problem is easily solved in 2 simple steps: 1) Feed ALL the kids. 2) Tax the rich so they pay their fair share of the program's total cost. Was that hard?

Bruce Mirken 5h ago

@Thad @gbargoud @CStamp @realtegan @mekkaokereke And of course, the same principle applies to healthcare, child care, etc., etc. Not complicated with 10 seconds of thought.

@BruceMirken @Thad @gbargoud @realtegan @mekkaokereke Seems so logical.

Lukas Grossar 1h ago

@CStamp @BruceMirken @Thad @gbargoud @realtegan @mekkaokereke Yeah, but only if you're a socialist! /s

Bruce Mirken 1h ago

@tongpu @CStamp @Thad @gbargoud @realtegan @mekkaokereke Better that than a capitalist! 😂

Carolyn 21m ago

@tongpu @BruceMirken @Thad @gbargoud @realtegan @mekkaokereke Or decent human?

Rupert V/5h ago

@gbargoud @CStamp @realtegan @mekkaokereke More like making 10,000 people suffer to create one millionaire and blaming it on the 100 "freeloaders".

CassandraVert 4h ago

That's about 1/3 of the country on the far right. It's not everyone. 1/3 on the left would say let's feed all the kids in case one is hungry. And the 1/3 in the middle vascillate.

Pulchra, Impudica, Beata 2h ago

@gbargoud @[email protected] @realtegan @mekkaokereke That's very Finnish thing too.

Jennifer 17m ago

@gbargoud @CStamp @realtegan @mekkaokereke

Also, we'll spend way more money to check that no one is free loading than it would cost to just let those 4 people who don't strictly *need* it, have it.

@gbargoud @aj @CStamp @realtegan @mekkaokereke I remember hearing stories about Americans who, when donating an old coat to charity, would cut the buttons off first so that the charity recipient who got it didn’t feel too cocky about their new, unearned clothes