Ok, this is just nonsense. Nobody but nobody with a couple of brain cells to rub together to generate the very most basic bit of thinking thinks that public goods are “free".

There’s a world of difference between free from profit and free. There are tons of cost saving programs, not for profit cooperatives, etc, on the private market that work much the same way as public goods that take advantage of government contacts and organizational structure to reduce costs and pay for via taxes.

There’s no real difference other than scope, yet the minute someone brings it up Conservatives fall into fits of apoplexy, start railing against the evils of socialism, and whining about all manner of kooky things. Why? Because if you save money, they lose profits.

My dad got a truck through just such a cost saving program through his employer’s corporation. He paid nothing “out of pocket" at the time the truck was delivered. It was not free by any stretch of the imagination, but the program saved him thousands. He lost no money making interest payments. All told he paid around $12K for a fully loaded Chevy pickup around 10 years ago. The funds were pulled out of his paycheck and set aside over 2 years just like social security.

Nobody screamed about socialism or communism. There were a lot of high fives, raised eyebrows (“how the…?”), and “Man! I wish my company would do that!”. Yet it was, in fact, a private or limited social program.

People, what gives?