I Vote ‘NO’ for Free Swimming and Bus Rides

The end of free swimming for some and the beginning of free bus rides for kids are topics before the Sioux Falls City Council.

I am against free swimming and bus rides for anybody. When something is given away, it loses value. The person receiving the freebie begins to expect it and is some cases demand it. A sense of entitlement is created. That's bad for developing self-worth and bad for the taxpayers.

A few weeks ago the City Council approved free bus rides for kids under 18 all summer. The purpose was to allow children to move about the city to libraries, parks, swimming pools, and other places to keep them occupied.

That's code for out of trouble.

By the way, is our city so large and unsafe that kids can't ride bikes where they want to go?

Last week the Parks Department proposed an end to free swimming for the poor and increases in swimming fees for everybody.

Add to the equation is an upcoming proposal to raise fares to ride mass transit, affecting everybody.

If these proposals appear to be in conflict with each other, you are seeing things clearly.

Most of us want to help the poor, especially children who are poor through no fault of their own. We want to make sure there is enough food and safe shelter. We also want all children to enjoy being a child. In the summer that means fun, mixed with some responsibility commensurate with their age.

If you are not ready to have me run out of town yet, or have not labeled me a mean, grumpy person, please read on.

Everybody should have to pay something for city services which normally have a fee. When you pay for something, you make an investment and a commitment. As humans we have a tendency to take care of things when we pay for them. A sense of responsibility and ownership develops.

My proposal is simple: the minimum fee for any child swimming in any outdoor city pool should be a quarter a day. The exception would be those pools which by deed can't charge a fee. If a child swims three times a week during the summer let's say 10 weeks. the child would pay a total of $7.50. A quarter at a time.

The same for riding the bus. During the summer, a child should pay a quarter to ride the bus all day. A wrist band could be attached with the first ride. A different color or pattern could be used daily over the course of two weeks. If a child rides four days a week that's a dollar. During the 10 week summer, that's $10.00.

Why have kids pay? Because swimming and riding the bus have value, to the child, his/her parents, and the community.

For the record, I was not born with a silver spoon in my mouth. Jobs in my life have included cleaning toilets at a university, washing dishes for the students at the same school, loading turkeys into semis on their journey to become thanksgiving dinner, and manually unloading freight cars while in college. I did chores at home and at my dad's business to earn a little of my own money. Bought my own bike with those earnings.

I empathize with the poor. It is a hard struggle. Offering free things at every turn, does nothing to motivate people to get out of the situation they are in.

Sioux Falls leaders have a chance to acknowledge the struggles of the poor and at the same time, make sure the services they offer continue to have value. Paying for those services, even with a modest amount is the right thing to do.