Current Events > Fun fact: there's no reason menstruation products shouldn't be free

(+) Yeah! (+)

Grischnak posted...

Lets list all the things that "should" be free:

Toothpaste/toothbrushes/mouthwash/etc
Shampoo/soap/etc
Clothes/shoes/etc
Transportation/houses/etc
Food
College

Am I missing anything? Basically just give everyone everything except entertainment/recreational stuff. How does that work logistically? Ehh...details...details...

do you think were suggesting that everyone should get the absolute topline products of all those things for free? no, and in fact most of the population would still pay for products that are of a higher quality/preference above the subsidized versions. it would not be free loreal shampoo. it would not be a free state of the art electric toothbrush for everyone. no 5-star steaks for everyone in the country. this post is so absolutely worthless i have to wonder if you were actually dropped on your head as a baby or just bonked a few too many times

---

It should probably be framed as better care for the impoverished rather than everything is free. Those are two different things.

Out of curiosity, what is your educational background?

---

Squall28 posted...

Out of curiosity, what is your educational background?

out of curiosity = i hope he gives an answer i can have a gotcha for

respond to the topic or dont

---

Bananana posted...

do you think were suggesting that everyone should get the absolute topline products of all those things for free? no, and in fact most of the population would still pay for products that are of a higher quality/preference above the subsidized versions. it would not be free loreal shampoo. it would not be a free state of the art electric toothbrush for everyone. no 5-star steaks for everyone in the country. this post is so absolutely worthless i have to wonder if you were actually dropped on your head as a baby or just bonked a few too many times

Oh wow. You legit think all of those things should be free. Good luck with that champ.

Bananana posted...

out of curiosity = i hope he gives an answer i can have a gotcha for

respond to the topic or dont

So it is a gotcha. Figures.

---

we should just give poor people more money

---

What type of trolling is this? Is there a name for it? Concerned trolling? Moral trolling?

Crescente posted...

What type of trolling is this? Is there a name for it? Concerned trolling? Moral trolling?

is this the first time you're hearing someone say menstrual products should be free? you know scotland just did this bro

---

Balrog0 posted...

we should just give poor people more money

I was thinking this seems like the better option as well

---

Balrog0 posted...

we should just give poor people more money

replace give with fundamentally change the structure of our society so those born without certain privileges arent doomed to be out on the bottom for generations and you got a deal


---

Balrog0 posted...

is this the first time you're hearing someone say menstrual products should be free? you know scotland just did this bro

Bananana posted...

sure, but that doesnt rile angry strangers online the same way

---

Bananana posted...

replace give with fundamentally change the structure of our society so those born without certain privileges arent doomed to be out on the bottom for generations and you got a deal

lol no deal my man, I actually have some real issues with some of your logic itt, specifically the idea that we're going to stratify things so the poors can't get l'oreal shampoo and steaks. I really can't imagine a more classist thing someone who thinks they aren't being classist could say

---

now, we need to radically restructure society

but don't get me wrong, not everyone will have an electric toothbrush

the fuck

---

i think he was just looking at things from a cost standpoint i dont see what's so incongruous there

Balrog0 posted...

now, we need to radically restructure society

but don't get me wrong, not everyone will have an electric toothbrush

the fuck

im not saying that, im saying that people afraid of changing these issues seem to think that theyre going to pay for everbody to have an electric toothbrush

the goal is for everybody to be able to afford an electric toothbrush

but until that shift happens, can we at least give the disenfranchised something as opposed to nothing?

i dont think we disagree, even if i did express my beliefs in a less-than-obvious way

---

Neckhomachus posted...

i think he was just looking at things from a cost standpoint i dont see what's so incongruous there

I'm not saying it's incongruous, I'm saying I have an issue with it. The current system lets poor people get grade A steaks free (through SNAP benefits for instance), and that is a good thing

---

Ensuring disenfranchised people are given a standard toothbrush, cloths, soap, shampoo and money to food, rent, bills etc so they have money to get themselves out of poverty seems the base level of human empathy to me. I'd have no real issue making it fancy things, or giving them the option to get these, but that'd rile people up even more. So... not seeing an issue with it now.

---

Balrog0 posted...

I'm not saying it's incongruous, I'm saying I have an issue with it. The current system lets poor people get grade A steaks free (through SNAP benefits for instance), and that is a good thing

ah, ok.

Funkydog posted...

Ensuring disenfranchised people are given a standard toothbrush, cloths, soap, shampoo and money to food, rent, bills etc so they have money to get themselves out of poverty seems the base level of human empathy to me.

its an incredibly bizarre line of thinking to me

I would rather you give me money and let me choose how to spend it than tell me I can have government grade gruel and then I can buy steak if I get a job

---

Balrog0 posted...

its an incredibly bizarre line of thinking to me

I would rather you give me money and let me choose how to spend it than tell me I can have government grade gruel and then I can buy steak if I get a job

It's largely how it's done here in the UK. If I were on Universal Credit, I get money in my bank account that is intended for rent etc, but I can choose how to then spend it however I want. Plenty of issues with our benefit system though.

I simply think that along with this, certain things should be given for free for those in that situation and if they want better? They can spend their benefits/money on it. But they don't have to make the choice of "Food or hygiene" to begin with.

---

Funkydog posted...

certain things should be given for free for those in that situation and if they want better?

yeah, but this is a lot different from saying that things shouldn't cost money at all

---

like, if we take all menstrual products out of the market and use tax revenue so that government can create and distribute them, the distributional impact is ambiguous. It might be a net progressive transfer of wealth, but it's hard to say because people in every income bracket use period products.

If we just give poor people money, the impact is much more clear.

---

Or we just make it like condoms and you can get a basic standard brand of them from various places like your GP and then pay for brand stuff if you want.

---

The idea that stuff like toilet paper and other toiletries being something that is doled out on government ration rather than a natural aspect of of our consumer society strikes me as very unappealing.
---

op is based

---

Crono99 posted...

Problem is logistics. How do you prevent bad people from taking all the stock and reselling it? How do you allow a woman to get more than usual if she needs it? How do you get companies to keep spending money to manufacture them if there's no profit, and how do you ensure quality?

Perhaps a tax credit for women that covers the cost of those products might be better than them being free.

But then again with all the debate today about gender issues, a "tax credit for women" opens a can of worms the size of Australia.

I find it hard to believe youre authorized to practice law


---

Funkydog posted...

Or we just make it like condoms and you can get a basic standard brand of them from various places like your GP and then pay for brand stuff if you want.

lol, fair enough, though with condoms the idea is more that people don't use them even when they should, not as much that people can't afford to use them when they'd like to


---

Pink tax is a thing

---

Everybody needs money
Money should be free

See how that stupid that sounds

---

Balrog0 posted...

like, if we take all menstrual products out of the market and use tax revenue so that government can create and distribute them, the distributional impact is ambiguous. It might be a net progressive transfer of wealth, but it's hard to say because people in every income bracket use period products.

If we just give poor people money, the impact is much more clear.

"giving poor people money" is, functionally, the government giving money to the corporations that sell period products. the corporation is an unnecessary middle man

---

Funkydog posted...

Or we just make it like condoms and you can get a basic standard brand of them from various places like your GP and then pay for brand stuff if you want.

This. Make a cheap version that just works so everyone has some level of access, and you can still sell better products for those with the extra money to spare.

Crono99 posted...

Problem is logistics. How do you prevent bad people from taking all the stock and reselling it? How do you allow a woman to get more than usual if she needs it? How do you get companies to keep spending money to manufacture them if there's no profit, and how do you ensure quality?

Perhaps a tax credit for women that covers the cost of those products might be better than them being free.

But then again with all the debate today about gender issues, a "tax credit for women" opens a can of worms the size of Australia.

What in the hell are you talking about? Do you have the same concerns for the free condoms at health clinics and universities? Have those practices led to a decline in quality or bad people scooping all the stock to create scarcity?

Your argument reads like you've just finished first semester economics and you're flexing to your friends.

---

averagejoel posted...

"giving poor people money" is, functionally, the government giving money to the corporations that sell period products. the corporation is an unnecessary middle man

Giving poor people money isn't functionally giving money directly to period product corporations (I'm not saying we should give people vouchers for period products). A lot of the money given to poor people might ultimately be captured by corporations, but only when poor people get to use it. Having government taking over period product production and giving them out for free would let women spend more of their money on other things, which would also theoretically be captured by corporations

Of course I understand that you think nothing should be bought and sold, but I'm of the opinion that has its own issues

---

Everything should be free.

---

Proto_Spark posted...

This. Make a cheap version that just works so everyone has some level of access, and you can still sell better products for those with the extra money to spare.

The quality of menstrual products, and the materials used, actually matters a lot more than you may think. Cheaper napkins, tampons, cups, etc. actually do more harm than good, as they are less environmentally friendly and contain various chemicals and toxins. Organic/natural products are all around much better, but they can cost up $35 a box, and you can be sure that the government would never want to supply those for free.

---

Crono99 posted...

Not really, I mean I'm not worried about certain things being free in particular contexts like health clinics or universities. My worry is more like an across the board law that every single menstruation product everywhere would be free. Obviously that would cause issues that need to be dealt with, no?

NES4EVER posted...

Your argument reads like you've just finished first semester economics and you're flexing to your friends.

As has been said many a time, making these free would simply be done in the way condoms are, or how Scotland's implemented it. It simply helps people who either got stuck and need them, or (as many are suggesting) gives those who are struggling financially a means to afford necessary hygiene products. Dreaming up some panic to something that won't happen is just a boring argument.

---

Crono99 posted...

Hmm idk maybe I phrased things in a weird way or something? I'm not sure I really understand

What are these "issues" you think would arise from giving everyone the means to a base product, or those financially struggling aid?

Condoms are already free available (in any sensible country) and hasn't caused even a blip to companies profits who makes them as not like you can get anything more than the basic free. Having sanitary products free would largely be the same. People don't like the basic, they want better and will spend for it still.

Crono99 posted...

But condoms aren't free, are they? I see them for sale all the time at pharmacies

...Exactly. You can get a free version from the doctor or wherever, and then better versions from shops if you want to spend money.

---

Crono99 posted...

But condoms aren't free, are they? I see them for sale all the time at pharmacies

Once again I express concern that youre allowed to practice law and affect peoples lives.

---

Should they be free?

Oh boy another "CE doesn't understand scarcity" topic

---

Orchestrion posted...

Once again I express concern that youre allowed to practice law and affect peoples lives.

Or be a (Moderator).

---