From the people who brought you the pay toilet

[Enrique]

http://dissidentvoice.org/2010/12/from-the-people-who-brought-you-the-pay-toilet/#more-26785

Although there are many (too many to list) superb categories in which the United States is undeniably “exceptional,” there are several important categories where we lag behind the world.

(...)

177 nations guarantee paid leave for new mothers; the U.S. does not.
74 nations guarantee paid leave for new fathers; the U.S. does not.
132 nations guarantee breastfeeding breaks at work; the U.S. does not.
163 nations guarantee paid sick leave; the U.S. does not.
48 nations guarantee paid time off to care for children’s health; the U.S. does not.
41 nations provide leave that can be used for child education needs; the U.S. does not.
33 nations provide paid leave to care for adult family members; the U.S. does not

(...)

Clearly, while the overwhelming majority of the world believes that it’s the government’s responsibility and duty to address certain universal phenomena — education, birth, sickness, death — the United States takes a different view. No matter how universal or inevitable the phenomenon, we consider the government’s involvement to be, at best, an unnecessary intrusion, and at worse, a form of socialism.

(...)

Not to be coarse or frivolous, but to take the premise to its logical conclusion, it was this impulse that led to pay toilets at the airport. It’s true. If there was going to be a way to make money off something as biologically imperative as a bowel movement, it was going to be an enterprising American who found it.

(...)

[T Wolf]

1. Pay toilets will lead to lots of peeing in the corner action. Let them deal with that! nt

[On the Road]

2. The Corner? That's Disgusting, Man!

You use the SINK so you can wash it down.

[bemildred]

3. It ain't really the pee that is the big problem. nt

[starroute]

7. What they actually led to was people handing off booths to the next in line

I remember when they still had them at the Port Authority Terminal in New York in the 70's -- and the the regular procedure was that one person would finish and hold the door open for the next person to go in without paying.

That's the way these things work. It's a lot like jury nullification. If a majority comes to believe that something is unreasonable, they'll find a way around it.

[randr]

4. What we need is a "family values" political party!

Oh, I forgot we have a pretend one already.

[AllyCat]

5. But we are the home of the free, right?

Free to be lorded over by our corporate masters. So that trumps any benefit we might otherwise get from that pesky government intrusion

[Kablooie]

6. We are free to die and decrease the surplus population. (It is Christmas after all.)