“Flags Up” at the 63rd Conference on World Affairs at the CU campus in Boulder. At the first panel, I attended, I overheard someone say, “It’s nice this is all free.” The event’s publicity even states, “All Events Free and Open to the Public”. Don’t kid yourself. Nothing is free. Most of us are being coerced by government to pay taxes for the use and maintenance of the buildings at CU, the gas to heat the buildings, the lights to see the speakers and the sound system to hear them. Someone, most likely you, produced something, someplace, and was paid for your production and that wealth was transferred to others, to make this event ultimately happen.
On the other hand, there are corporate and individual sponsors who donated funds, un-coerced by government to allow this “free” event to take place. I thank them. They underwrote the transportation for the speakers. They provided the speakers food and a place to stay. They gladly gave their wealth in return for something of value, the speaker’s ideas and time. The better model for a free society is the later. People freely giving their wealth to make a wonderful event like this happen. There is a proper role for government, that of protecting individual rights, not holding “Free Events, Open to the Public." Perhaps this is why so many feel entitled to your money, it's free.
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