I contend that the word “Really,” followed by a question mark, is one of the most powerful thought-provoking words in the English language and I encourage you to use it frequently as your truth detector, especially whenever you hear the word “free.”
For instance, TV advertisements frequently promise free shipping when purchasing their product.
Really?
Do those delivery people really work without pay?
Then there is “Buy one, get one free.”
Really?
That second item really has zero production costs?
Really?
Politicians are particularly adept at using the word “free.”
Bernie Sanders continually rails that in-state community colleges should be tuition-free.
Really?
Does that mean the instructors and support staff work for free?
And who pays for the maintenance and upkeep for the facilities?
Sen. Sanders also proposed his “Medicare for All” bill to “fix a dysfunctional healthcare system,” claiming that “your taxes may go up but this would be more than offset by overall household savings on health-care costs, premiums, and copays.”
He makes it sound free.
But is it?
Really?
Not to forget Kamala Harris who espouses free rent for certain families as proposed in her “Rent Relief Act.”
Well, almost free once the subsidies kick in.
Really?
I wonder who foots the bill for the subsidies.
Please remember, always beware of someone offering free stuff, especially if that someone is a politician.
Because free stuff is never really free. Someone has to pay for it.
And that someone is usually you.
Really!
Dick Pilling,
Port Angeles
EDITOR’S NOTE: Pilling is the former chairman and present state committeeman for the Clallam County Republican Party.