The Laura Index
With all due apologies to Harper's. Please don't sue me.
Two incomplete lists…
Things I have been asked to donate money to in the past month:
NPR and PBS
National, international, and local independent journalism outfits
NPR and PBS via my local alternative monthly paper
Legal defense funds for illegally deported immigrants
Food pantries
Individual fundraisers for people suffering crippling medical bills (and the income they’ve lost to their illnesses)
Colleges and universities I attended
Arts organizations
Libraries
Things to which I have not been asked to donate money (beyond the taxes and bills I already pay):
Highway maintenance
Wastewater treatment
Garbage, recycling, and compost collection
Military and police equipment
ICE
Urban and rural electrification
Traffic cameras
AI powered surveillance systems in schools
Subsidies to big ag farmers and ranchers
If you are not of the opinion that libraries, educational institutions, and affordable healthcare are public goods on par with safe highways and clean drinking water, nothing I say here is likely to convince you otherwise.
If you are frantically entering credit card information or PayPal passwords or sending checks to support the former category, well, yes, that’s probably about all we can do at the moment. Heck, I do it too.
Years ago Ira Glass used to do a lot of spots for Chicago Public Radio fund drive week in which he talked about how beautiful it was that public radio was the one medium completely funded by its listeners, and how wonderful it was that we could support this medium all on our own. It always made me want to scream. Yes, public broadcasting has come to rely more and more on private donations over the years. I think that is a bug, not a feature.
Public goods are meant to be paid for by us all and used by us all, whether they are solid bridges that don’t collapse, arts education in schools, public libraries, or healthcare that keeps everyone safe, healthy, and able to participate in the world.
Perhaps you think ICE is a public good. I disagree—but if you want to argue that it is, I hope you think long and hard about just what other services you’re willing to give up. Enjoy your sewer sludge.
