This old piece of economic wisdom—most famously popularized by economist Milton Friedman—is more relevant than ever. At its core is a simple, often forgotten truth: nothing is truly free. If you aren’t paying, someone else is. And even when no money changes hands, time, effort, labor, or other resources surely have.
Yet we live in an age where more and more things appear free to us. Largely because we’ve grown accustomed to the benefits of a welfare state. Public services—healthcare, education, libraries, roads, parks, and sports facilities—are available to everyone, usually without any direct cost to the user. But there are always expenses behind the scenes. The public coffers don’t fill themselves. They’re funded through tax revenue—through work, entrepreneurship, and consumption. The government takes a share of all of it, so we have something to redistribute and keep the wheels of society turning.
Shared resources tend to suffer when no one feels ownership over them. Park benches, flowerbeds, playgrounds, trash bins, and street signs—these often fall into the “someone else’s responsibility” category. That makes them easy targets for frustration. Vandalism, littering, and neglect often stem from this misconception: “I didn’t pay for this, so I’m not responsible for it.” But the truth is, we all are. Most of us have paid taxes, and every one of us benefits from the public services and infrastructure those taxes fund.
The common good doesn’t create or maintain itself. It takes ongoing effort. Every overturned trash can, defaced wall, or broken bench sends a message that someone doesn’t feel a sense of shared responsibility. Every extra euro spent on cleanup or repairs is money that can’t be spent elsewhere.
That’s why it’s especially important to keep the idea of shared responsibility and the value of tax-funded services in mind when new public programs are being developed at the local level. A great example of this is the town of Pieksämäki’s new summer pilot program, which offers free warm lunches three weekdays a week to children and youth aged 0–17. It’s a generous and much-needed gesture—but even this isn’t truly a “free lunch.”
The ingredients and preparation of those “free” park lunches are paid for with taxpayer money. In other words, the people of Pieksämäki have worked, started businesses, spent money, and paid taxes to make this pilot project possible.
The goal of the program is to reach children and teens who might not otherwise have reliable access to a hot daily meal—not to offer just another lunch option for those who already have one at home, at a café, or at a restaurant. Targeting and genuine need must be central to these kinds of efforts.
Hopefully, the park lunch program in Pieksämäki finds its audience and proves its value. If it does, it could eventually grow into a permanent and impactful addition to the city’s already diverse range of services—all funded by that same shared pool, with contributions from us all.