Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

People Break Down The Things That Should Be Free For Everyone

I understand how the world works. I am a fan of capitalism and commerce.

And no, everything from cars to clothes shouldn't just be handed out like a lollipop at a doctor's office.

But there are some things in life intended for everyone to have access to.

At the rate we're going, I just know some fool is trying to figure out how to charge us for the air we breathe.

I like capitalism, I despise greed.

Redditor Xanduh wanted to make a list of all the things that really shouldn't be monetized, they asked:

"What should be free?"

And for the things we do and should have to pay for, let's lower some of those prices. Do you really need to make 1000% profit? Where you going? Space.

Necessities...

Fake Id GIF by Why Don't WeGiphy

"ID cards issued by the government. Especially since you need them for almost every aspect of daily living." ~ DeathSpiral321

Afterlife

"Dying." ~ Dumb_Vampire_Girl

"I say this every time this discussion comes up. In the middle east, people are buried the day of or the next day after death. There is no casket, you are only buried in a white shroud. In my country burial is free, you can make a donation to the mosque for the service (as part of daily prayers), the transport of the body to the grave is free. You pay for the grave plot. Done and done." ~ CorianderSuuucks

That's My Spot

"Parking at hospitals." ~ WeCantKeepDoingThiss

"I once read a Reddit comment about hospital parking not being free and they explained that in some large cities, it actually makes sense to charge for parking. Patients and visitors could get their parking validated and the fees waived. This way, the parking lots weren’t full just from people parking to go downtown for whatever reason. Makes sense to me now. I’m from a smaller city, so I’d never been to a hospital that had paid parking." ~ NotActuallyFamous

Save a Life

"CPR lessons. ***edit: thank you for the upvotes and award. I’m new to commenting (digital shyness hahaha)." ~ Odd_Cake_5670

"I was taught that in cases of cardiac arrest, the impact of CPR is incredibly low... something like a 12% chance of survival improvement. Using an AED, automated external defibrillators, raises that percentage somewhere closer to 80-85%. If CPR training is happening, there needs to be AED training too. It is not hard to do." ~ ManThatIs*ucked

Flying Easy

michael jackson damnation GIF by South Park Giphy

"Picking your seat on an airplane when booking online for coach seats." ~ IamDuckieee

"And if I do pay for this privilege, I should get the seats that I selected and not some random ones on the other end of the plane." ~ RDEnergizer7000

Don't get me started on airlines. To think about what it used to be like to fly even just 10 years ago. I'm surprised the toilets aren't pay as you go.

911 Issues

ambo GIF by St John AmbulanceGiphy

"Ambulances. Or at the very least, they shouldn't be as expensive as they can be now.." ~ xXWolfyIsAwesomeXx

Clean in Expensive

"Drinkable water." ~ I_Love_Small_Breasts

"Yeah, I'm a municipal drinking water plant manager, tap water in my town is 'free' as in we don't meter and charge by volume to residents. But we have to gather money to keep the lights on and equipment running, so we charge a flat water tax rate worked into property tax."

"Our medium sized plant (produces 2 million US gallons or 7.5 million liters per day), which services 5500 people costs about $450,000-550,000 per year to operate (varies from year to year based on what breaks/needs replacement and chemical costs fluctuations)."

"Clean drinkable water isn't cheap to make, but it shouldn't cost what it does in many places, we don't operate for profit, just to keep going, the amount of tax charged to residents is adjusted each year based on cost trending as required." ~ Amidamaru717

I Gotta Go!

"Peeing/pooping in 'public' restrooms. Not sure wether this is a common thing around the world, but here in the Netherlands, almost all toilets are paywalled. Almost all establishments require purchase or payment. I somewhat get this, i somewhat don't. I'd assume sanitizing toilets is in the staffs duties?"

"Obviously restaurants/bars don't want to deal with the crap of non payers (pun intended), on the other, foot traffic is foot traffic, a handful of crap is peanuts compared to current day adds. I specifically don't get McDonald's deal with the quarter in lady. What really baffles me is the literally gated off toilets on the massive stations."

"For one, fondling a machine while having to catch a train is annoying, second, the station probably costed hundreds of millions, yet the toilet costs a buck. At least i get a discount on my next crap. No wonder the alleyways in the cities smell like fermented pee." ~ Nekrosiz

Chronic Issues

"Insulin (slightly biased T1D here)." ~ Jef171

"I’m not diabetic but y’all should definitely get that for free. & syringes. & test strips. & monitors. & pumps. The whole condition should be free to have. You got it for free, you shouldn’t have to pay for the add ons, it’s not DLC." ~ ghosts-go-boo

"I understand needing to pay for some of the new pumps and med-tech getting brought to market because they took a lot of time/$ to develop. But yea, Actual insulin, needles, test strips are all necessary to live, cost pennies to produce, and could easily be provided free." ~ Jef171

Help Me

the office therapy GIFGiphy

"Therapy and in general mental health help." ~ ApprehensiveStatus13

"I agree with this but I also think therapists should be pay very well. They go to 6+ years of higher education for this and in the U.S. have to get over 3,000 working hours to even be licensed. Plus they have to listen to trauma and things like that everyday." ~ rainydayinmay9

Spaces

"Parking at the college you go to."

simplexseason

"Parking was absolutely awful at my college. If you had classes in the middle of the day, you had to show up at least 90 minutes early and stalk other students walking through the lots. It got worse ten they got rid of the largest parking lots to build more dorms. They tried to implement some kind of valet system for a couple months, but that was an even bigger s**t show."

CaffeinatedCannoli

Speak Up

"Hearing aids. They don’t cost too much, relatively. Research shows that if you need a hearing aid and you go without it, you raise your risk of developing Alzheimer’s. I’m 67% deaf but even government insurance doesn’t cover hearing aids. It will cover dental and Alzheimer’s up to a point. The cheaper option would be to cover the hearing aid and try to prevent Alzheimer’s if you can."

happyhomemaker29

But we Breathe

"Air for your tires."

tmartinez1113

"In my state it's required to be free. The machines will gladly take your money, but you can go inside and ask, and they'll turn it on for free!"

thegreatpotatogod

"Half of the gas stations charge a few quarters for 2 minutes worth of air, and their pumps are usually rusted and beat. The other half provide free air from nice digital pumps. Guess which gas stations get my business?"

PoopsExcellence

Take me Away

commuting abbi jacobson GIF by Broad CityGiphy

"Public Transportation."

unpickedusername

"The Netherlands has free public transport (either in the weekend or during the week. Not both) for students. It's an absolute blessing to have. Otherwise traveling to university would cost me more than I'm paying for university."

ThePotatoSauce

Safety

"Any and all forms of contraception."

throw-away-hlpplz

"Preach!!! Money toward preventing kids since there are not enough programs to support children living in poverty."

sdmh77

For the Girls!

"Menstrual products."

Mars_Bars21

"Hear, hear! And gynecological care!!!! So many people who menstruate don’t receive appropriate or adequate care. It makes my heart sad to know that some folks suffer through gynecological issues that can often be treated with proper knowledge and care."

dhawkins331

Smile

"All medical dental (not cosmetic). Like filings, wisdom tooth removal, cleanings."

kingblobf

"This, or at least a lesser payment. My dentist said it would cost 500 per wisdom tooth an expected me to pay 2000 dollars to take out all 4 at the same time. I'm on disability and I'm struggling to find work, even part time, I can't afford that."

1BoiledCabbage

Help Me

Teddy Bear Cartoon GIFGiphy

"Health care. All levels and types."

Umpire

"My dad died from one of the most survivable cancers there is because he didn’t have health care. Over 90% of people survive melanoma and I’m convinced the 10% that don’t are impoverished Americans."

armedo

Healthcare is a right not a privilege. Will we ever be a society that agrees on that? Sad. Mental health especially.

Good list.

More from Trending/best-of-reddit

Donald Trump
Mark Mirko/Connecticut Public via Getty Images

Trump's Commencement Speech Claim That The U.S. Is 'Hot' Right Now Turns Into Hilariously Brutal Self-Own

President Donald Trump's attempt to smear the Biden administration turned into a self-own while he spoke at the commencement ceremony for the U.S. Coast Guard Academy this week.

Trump spoke as several hundred protesters gathered outside Coast Guard Academy campus in New London, Connecticut. During the nearly hour-long address to cadets and their families, he alternated between praising the graduating class of 2026 and revisiting familiar themes about what he described as the country’s recovery after a period of decline.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshots from @tiktoktimmay8's TikTok video
@tiktoktimmay8/TikTok

Dad Brutally Reviews Perfumes During Daughter's Birthday Party At Ulta In Hilarious Viral TikTok

For those who did not know, having a birthday party at Ulta Beauty is now a possibility. Complete with skincare sessions, mini-makeovers, discounts, and goodie bags, it's kind of perfect for teens and tweens who are enthusiastic about makeup and skincare.

But while the birthday party is going on, what is a bored parent to do?

Keep ReadingShow less
Redditor imfrom_mars_'s photo of a textbook that includes a ChatGPT prompt
u/imfrom_mars_/Reddit

ChatGPT Response Appears To Make It Into School Textbook—And We're Doomed

Students are being actively discouraged from using ChatGPT and other AI-generation tools, as they are expected to learn their educational concepts and be able to put them into practice. They are also not supposed to use these tools while writing papers or during at-home tests.

Given how expensive grade school and college textbooks are, it is reasonable that educational writers and content professionals should be held to the same standards. Wouldn't it make sense for them to use the knowledge of their field, rather than what's been fed into ChatGPT, to make a textbook a worthwhile purchase for students?

Keep ReadingShow less
Kacey Musgraves attends the 2026 ACM Awards at MGM Grand Garden Arena.
Taylor Hill/Getty Images

Kacey Musgraves Sparks Backlash With Dismissive Response To Criticism That Her New Clothing Line Isn't Size-Inclusive

Kacey Musgraves' new Walmart collaboration was designed to bring her signature style to shoppers nationwide, but not everyone is feeling included. Shortly after the collection launched, critics questioned its size range—and Musgraves' response has since become a controversy of its own.

Reflecting on the partnership, Musgraves explained:

Keep ReadingShow less
Jack Osbourne
@jackosbourne/Instagram

Jack Osbourne Responds To Trolls Who Claim He Looks 'Grossly Underweight' With Fiery Clapback Video

Content Warning: body-shaming, weight-shaming

Some people really wouldn't be able to recognize Bruce Wayne and Batman, or Clark Kent and Superman, as the same person, and that fact has never been more evident than with the internet trolls who are thrown off by a haircut.

Keep ReadingShow less