Thursday, August 14, 2014

Doofus Of The Day #782


Today's award goes to columnist and blogger Jessica Valenti for this suggestion.

For too many girls, the products that mark “becoming a woman” are luxuries, not givens. And for young women worldwide, getting your period means new expenses, days away from school and risking regular infections. All because too many governments don’t recognize feminine hygiene as a health issue.

We need to move beyond the stigma of “that time of the month” – women’s feminine hygiene products should be free for all, all the time.

There's more at the link.

For a start, personal hygiene isn't a sickness:  therefore it's not generally classified as a health issue.  I can sympathize with those who argue that cleanliness is essential to ward off disease, but in that case, why not argue that soap, water and towels should also be free?  After all, they're even more essential to personal hygiene than tampons or sanitary napkins.

Next, please tell me, Ms. Valenti:  who's going to pay for this?  The taxpayer's already burdened with government spending that's spiraled so far out of control that national debts across the First World (not to mention the Third World) are at dizzyingly high levels.  Why should taxpayers have to shoulder yet another burden?  As for medical insurance policies, if they have to cover such normal routine expenses, everyone's premiums will go up accordingly.  Why should I and other policyholders have to pay more to cover an expense we wouldn't normally bear?

This isn't just feminist, it's also socialist.  "Give us another free benefit at your expense!"  Sorry, Ms. Valenti.  I've heard that far too often to believe it any more.  If you, out of the goodness of your heart, want to sponsor feminine hygiene products for the poor, that's entirely your right.  If you want to assist with efforts like this one in India, where women are empowered to manufacture low-cost hygiene products themselves, that will be a blessing in many parts of the Third World - and I'll gladly join you in donating (freely and without coercion) to such a cause.  However, when you try to force me, as a taxpayer, to subsidize such needs, you've crossed a line.  You have no more right to do that than I have to force you to subsidize men's razors.

Peter

12 comments:

Sunnybrook Farm said...

I don't know about her idea but I suspect that if we provided free toilet paper, that would be more money than even the federal government could imagine. Well based on my experience with just 2 girls anyway.

JMD said...

It just never ends. There isn't an issue or non-issue that the left doesn't support someone else's money to pay for. :-P

Jess said...

She must pay too much for her feminine hygiene products. She might try Walmart or some other outlet and look for sales.

Old NFO said...

Never ends is right... sigh

Anonymous said...

OK, I'll be the first to admit that I prefer to use not-so-inexpensive feminine supplies. I also do not expect anyone but me to pay for them.

Amazing what these pampered activists think is a human right.

LittleRed1

ASM826 said...

Food is a health issue. Watch this, it's the logical extension of the thinking that gave up the healthcare bill.

Rev. Paul said...

There's no end to the demand for free stuff from the collectivists.

tweell said...

Hey, they got free birth control, so why not keep pushing?

Windy Wilson said...

Free health care
Then free sanitary products
Then free soap and water and towels
Then free food
Then free --
Everyone will work for all the stuff they buy now, except they won't have the choice of what specific things to buy. I really don't want 50's era European toilet paper, or 60's era Soviet toilet paper (Maybe there's an argument that the rougher stuff is healthier in terms of hemorrhoids. After all, I just read an argument for why women's sanitary products should be paid for by the government).

What makes her so sure that the competitively awarded napkin, tampon or pad will be to her liking? It's got to be approved by a committee after all, not each individual special snowflake.

Paul, Dammit! said...

I would be OK with free sammiches. Every 'free' thing out there goes to someone else. Just once, I want to get the GD gummint cheese, instead of constantly paying for it.

Actually, I don't want it at all. I have the solution, anyhow. Those feminine products are a perfect medium for advertising. They can be given out for free by selling off the space for use with hypoallergenic ink.
"Visit Scenic Sheboygan!"
"Trust Dr. Scholls"
"Radio Shack: We're still a thing."

Well, you get the idea. And StayFree can get a tax write off for shipping them at cost.

Anonymous said...

Maybe she thinks these are costs that should just be absorbed...

Antibubba

On a Wing and a Whim said...

Who wants to be she simultaneously believes in getting all this extra time off mandated, no matter how much an individual women does or doesn't need, and yet still will chant for equal pay?

Give it a few years, and when she discovers babies are not cute sleeping angels, but drooling, snotting, explosive diarrhea machines, she'll be calling for free diapers worldwide.