A Genuine Free Lunch
Share this article
ADVERTISEMENT
(comments below)
Comments
Comments
13 responses to “A Genuine Free Lunch”
-
Nothing in life is free. Everything costs something just because it doesn’t cost you doesn’t mean someone pays a cost. Even the act of breathing isn’t fee.
-
You do realize that this is true ONLY if you do not consider the increase in revenue/benefit as a result of making the initial expenditure. The word you’re missing is “investment”.
If you do not understand this concept, minimize your water expenditure by drinking your bath water.
-
-
So, Dick, tell us… which class did you enroll in, and did you enjoy it? A lot of readers may wish to follow suit.
-
Abby Hoffman explained in “Steal This Book” methods to attend college classes, obviously not for credit, without having to be concerned with even those 4 criteria.
It was a life hacks book that even had sections on homemade weapons for the anarchist before the beloved “Anarchist’s Cookbook” was published.
-
Good post! Thanks for the insight.
Minor technical detail: the class, if taken, is not free in the sense that there is always an opportunity cost–namely, what you could do instead of taking this class. You could make more money at your job or loll on your porch. But you always are giving up something when you take that class, hence, nothing is free in that ultimate sense that time is limited.
-
I like Dicks posts. He often files them late at night and they are ready to read first thing in the morning along with the news AND they are almost NEVER grievance-laden or race-obsessed RANTS!
But I don’t think ANYthing is really “free”. There is a cost to it and that cost is paid for somehow, by someone. And yes, this from a “progressive”!
For instance, some folks might argue that it cost taxpayers money to build the classroom and pay the instructor and some folks are paying their fair share with tuition and others not so it’s “free” to them but others pay for it or else it would not be there at all.
Having said that – I see “free community college” the same way I see “free public school K-12 education” – which we all know the cost of is a major part of most of our property taxes.
But, we also give seniors tax breaks – and that means others will pay more to cover it just like taxpayers pay more for other taxpayers that use tax expenditures (deductions).
So we make policy choices that, in theory, while they cost, do provide something of worth in return and it may actually accrue back to the same taxpayers that pay for it and in those cases, some characterize them as “investments” – as we do with education – which most would not argue, can produce taxpayers and higher GDP.
Now, is “free” community college for geezers an investment or a bennie/freebie/subsidy/etc? Probably more like Medicare and reduced property taxes for seniors… you paid taxes for upteen years, take a break.
-
What, give up the Netflix re-runs to sit in a classroom again? Was more attractive when I lived in the city, closer to VCU. To use a line from the film Breaker Morant, with a very different context, a slice off a cut loaf is never missed.
-
Oooh, ooh. Netflix. I recommend the dark comedy “Kill Me Three Times” with Simon Pegg. If you are a fan of “Passage to Marseille” and the medius res form, it’s well done. It’s not a great movie, but l’ll bet you’ll like it.
You may have to turn on subtitles and have an Aussie-English dictionary handy, but it’s a fun movie.
-
-
If anyone wants to quibble whether this is truly free, that’s OK. My main point is that this is a government benefit for a set of Virginia residents that does not cost them anything, aside from maybe buying a book or two, and does not cost the taxpayers anything additional. The class will be held whether or not I am enrolled. The instructor is going to be paid whether or not I take the class. No additional taxpayer funds are required, nor is any additional government expense involved.
-
I think it is a GOOD thing, however, even the College recognizes costs because they deny enrollment if the class is “full”. What they are doing is offering a slot IF there is availability that would otherwise not be used but still funds allocated for – like the professor – who is obligated to serve a certain number of enrolled , grading papers, etc…
I would see it as similar to an airline offering cheaper fares to fill in some unused seats or a retailer marking down items that are excess, etc… all perfectly valid.
And yes, have seen things given away – like hand sanitizer that I KNOW the store paid dearly for at the height of the pandemic!
-
As a note Larry, one of the last undergraduate courses I taught was a senior level required course in the spring. When I showed up the first night there were 15 seniors begging entrance. Despite warnings from the Dept Chair, I acquiesced.
Unseen Costs:
1) we had to steal 5 desks from neighboring rooms,
2) the ventilation system was overloaded,
3) it cost ME hours in grading, office, and class time.The college made money, lots of money.
-
Some costs are already “sunk” and so can be given away or sold for less. Other costs do come out of the hide of the professor and I suspect some professors would deal with paid-tuition grading different than not.
-
-
-
I agree with Dick on this one. As long as the individual enrolling in the class is not displacing anyone else, the cost to the higher-ed institution is effectively zero. The institution would have delivered the class regardless, and there is no marginal cost entailed with adding someone that the course was designed to accommodate in the first place.
-
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.