A Boring Dystopia

Man, lotta vague libertarian energy here, but to answer your question:

Why nickel and dime everyone that is probably never going to even see the fountain instead of letting the people that want/need pay for it?

In general, the answer to this usually boils down to one of two answers:

1. choosing instead to directly nickel and dime people at the point of service comes with overhead and is wildly inefficient. You want to add an internet connection to every public water fountain? Or at the very least wire them with electricity to power some kind of vending machine system? Or perhaps have a person standing there to charge people? Someone will have to pay extra for any additional steps in what could otherwise just be, well, a simple faucet.

2. More often than not, the people that need things the most are not the people who can pay for them. These people still need to survive, because letting the poor suffer and die will still cost you and everyone else money.

And study after study shows that when we all pay a little to help people in general, we can all save a lot in, say, street sanitization, law enforcement, healthcare services, etc. Things that you have to provide especially if people can't afford it.

This is one of the most American comments I've ever seen.

I am afraid to ask, but why do you hate society and your fellow countrymen so much? If the idea of taxes being used to help people fills you with so much rage, then I hope you have access to free mental health so you can figure out why you hate people so much

Water is a basic human right. You think $20 is going to water fountains? Its probably half a cent of your taxes.

As for what was the op, its probably nothing in taxes as the company plans to make money off the chilled and filtered to offset the cost of installing the units. The government your taxes pay for probably mandated the free tap to let them install them.

Oh boy never look as the defense budget.

Because access to clean water is a human right. No one is gonna die if the water is warm but someone will die if they don't have water.

I understand this may come as a shock to you, but the world does not revolve around the comfort of individuals. Why do people like you throw such a hissy fit when your taxes goes to bettering people's lives around you? Where's your outrage for all the ways our Tax Dollars are actually wasted? Your selfish mindset does more to harm society than prevent any form of waste; you're just acting entitled over nothing.

What a crazy take

@[email protected], You need to legitimately check yourself. So many half-ass comments get put up without taking a second of researching before you spout off "knowledge".... I'm guessing you're considering this "Common Sense"? So you don't have to actually look into it and test your inner resolve to accept new information.

Make Public Drinking Water Fountains Great Again

A gallon of tap water from typical municipal water systems costs about half a cent, making drinking fountains the cheapest hydration source available in public spaces...

it remains far cheaper than the cost of bottled water, which typically ranges from $1 to $5 per gallon, or about 200 to 1,000 times more than tap water. (High-end bottled waters can be even far more costly.) These costs do not include the environmental costs of the bottled water industry.

A great side benefit: having to test and maintain public water sources for pollutants that residents might not know to report!

comprehensive testing of drinking fountains, implementation of standard protocols for fountain maintenance, and a nationwide effort to replace old water infrastructure, which can be the source of lead and other contaminants.

This is a ROI (return on investment) done right on a community level. Encourage the kids to have a reusable water bottle or give that junky plastic bottle a 2nd use. You do know that kids in a park will go through a water bottle right? Are you buying packages of plastic water bottles for 1,000x the price the fountain could give you!?!?!

I guarantee you, your neighbor, your friend, and your countrymen, that your community and children are saving money and the environment while taking a positive stance to educate and properly use our countries resources for it's citizens. Please stop spreading misinformation like the** 20$!!!!**(made up number in your head) and realize this is what taxes are actually for, things that actually help it's citizens and reduces the cost of living.

edit: formatting error

Freedoms are seeping out of your pockets, you should get that checked.