This columnist, Mr Savage, is well named.

He's right about many Americans not understanding that all those government services are not free, but he's absolutely wrong to criticize these girls for giving away lemonade. Maybe they didn't pay for it themselves (but then, maybe they did, out of allowance money or small jobs they did), but their parents allowed them to give it away, and that should be that. Certainly the more valuable part of the lemonade - their labor - was provided by them.

What's more, the traditional American system that worked so well was not just about making money - it was also about community, and helping each other out in hard times. Giving away cold drinks on a hot day is a great example of that, and besides being a nice thing to do is sometimes good business sense as well ⚠️ ↗. The main part of all this is that it should be voluntary. Paying government agents to take money from your neighbor to give to yourself doesn't count as voluntary. Giving away lemonade of one's own free will, does.