THE GIMME MORE FREE STUFF CROWD GOES ON THE RAG.

It is a truth universally accepted that there is nothing the lunatic left can't argue ought be paid for by somebody else.  The latest:  Common Dreams contributor and poverty hustler Cara Brumfield, taking a shot in the dark.

Access to menstrual products and other basic necessities is too important to the wellbeing of our society to leave up to corporations. We should use this opportunity to start treating menstrual products like what they are: a public good.

I have trouble thinking of a product I'd rather have its use being exclusive and rivalrous than a tampon.  But we don't expect diversity hustlers and poverty pimps to be conversant with the discourse practices of political economy.  Heck, Robert Reich committed that error.  "That litany of public goods conflates 'government provision' with 'collective consumption' (read 'nonexclusive and nonrivalrous'; perhaps Mr Reich should familiarize himself with the terms of art of political economy before he writes another column.)"  So, too, with Ms Brumfield.  Bring on the socialist propaganda!

Price increases for essential goods are tolerated by consumers not because they can afford them, but because they cannot go without basics like tampons, diapers, toilet paper, and toothpaste (all products sold by Procter & Gamble brands, by the way). While everyday people struggle to make ends meet, corporations like Procter & Gamble pull in massive profits, much of which is funneled to shareholders through stock buybacks.

I suppose you could create a schedule of goods whose production ought to be subsidized in order that everybody could have access.  That's worked so well with roads.  Moreover, don't put it past Procter & Gamble to rent-seek off such a subsidy, the way Moderna and Pfizer have with those corona shots.  "Period poverty—the lack of access to sanitary products due to financial constraints—is a public health crisis deserving of a coordinated response that profit-driven private corporations are neither motivated nor prepared to provide."  Oh, I don't know, isn't a government contract to buy the stuff motivation enough?  That is, until you run out of other people's money.

Or perhaps, if we're going to come up with a schedule of "essential goods," mightn't we be able to find money in the budget elsewhere: subsidized college and university tuitions, the various national endowments, the Essential Air Service: regressive transfers all.

Perhaps, though, she should sneak into the boys' room.

All students should have access to free menstrual products at school. Tampons and pads should be as commonplace in public restrooms as toilet paper.

I recently resumed my mid-day, three days a week swim routine at the university.  They still refer to the men's locker room; it is still possible to stand to pee in the adjacent loo (unlike in the administration building, where a Hefty bag is a virtue signal); and there is now a basket of ... feminine products ... that appears to have been untouched for the duration of the semester, unless somebody has the responsibility of keeping it stocked and is assiduously doing so.

Apparently, though, if you're a poverty hustler, seeing in spot shortages of Tampax the final crisis of capitalism is the way to become a more influential voice.

Scotland recently became the first country to offer menstrual products to anyone who needs them free of cost. The U.S. should follow suit.

We must also ask ourselves why we have supply chains that are so vulnerable to price shocks. We need resilient supply chains that can be relied on to get basic necessities into the hands of the people who need them—and that will surely require public investment and accountability for powerful corporations.

That would be sad, but for the fact that I buried the lede, which is the way the lady started her lament.

Tampons have been more difficult to come by in recent months especially if you live in certain states, like West Virginia, or have a preferred brand, which many people do. With headlines about tampon shortages, many are looking for answers.

Like businesses in other industries, Procter & Gamble—which owns Tampax, America’s most popular tampon brand—has blamed rising prices on supply chain challenges and rising costs for raw materials, like cotton. But this appears to be only partially true. Smaller brands, such as LOLA, say they haven’t experienced product shortages or raised their prices since the pandemic began. Kotex—the third most popular brand—has reported the same. Supply chain issues are undeniably part of the problem. But Procter & Gamble has been consistently raising prices for years.

Silly me, thinking that shifting my consumption away from Procter products might produce the sort of "accountability" she thinks.

Fortunately, a few people have taken the time to register at Common Dreams and mock the column, so that we don't have to go over and do so.