The phone rang a few minutes ago with a call from someone who said he was with Medicare. He wanted to update my address – and he wanted to send me something “free."
Because I’ve been to a chiropractor for back pain, he insisted that I needed a new, lightweight, comfortable, wrap-around back brace.
I said “No thank you” and got him really upset. He insisted that I really needed it. I replied that it would be a waste of money because I wouldn’t use it. It would sit on a shelf, taking up storage space in my home.
“But you don’t understand! It won’t cost you anything. It’s free!” I repeated the fact that I didn’t want it, and told him it was not free – "Government money," otherwise known as taxpayer money, would pay for it.
So he repeated himself… Somehow, I was supposed to understand that waste was fine, as long as it didn’t come out of my own pocket.
Finally I said “No, you don’t understand. You want me to take something I don’t need, don’t want, and won’t use, because it won’t cost me anything. But it does. It costs taxpayers and I’m a taxpayer. I don’t like it when the government throws away money and I’m sure not going to add to the problem.”
He kept on arguing, so I hung up.
Am I wrong to be annoyed by the whole idea behind this call?
Aside from the fact that I don’t need any more “stuff” cluttering up the house, am I wrong to turn down a “free” gift paid for with taxpayer funds? I could justify it by thinking about how much I pay for Medicare each month and the fact that I (thankfully) don’t use that insurance for anything except occasional visits to the chiropractor.
But – isn’t wasting taxpayer money still wrong?
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