[quote=@Vilageidiotx]
Free might be difficult to achieve, but it is entirely dishonest to suggest that how much something costs is a static thing and that all you ever do is shift the price. The difference between good economic policy and bad economic policy is that the former does make things all around more accessible. For instance, I don't think there would be much rising interest in single payer in the US if the cost of healthcare wasn't so out of control. If paying some more in taxes saves the average person from a crippling debt that they can't avoid later on, it's better for everybody all around. 


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Free isn't difficult to achieve, it is mathematically impossible to achieve. If a good or service was being provided at no charge there would be no incentive to provide it because there would be no possibility of generating a profit. When the left talks about 'free' services, they mean that the person using them doesn't necessarily have to pay at the point of use.

The difference between good economic policy and bad economic policy is that the former is good for the economy and the latter is not. If the objective of a policy or particular piece of legislation is to shift wealth around one way or another, it isn't economic policy to begin with, just the government playing Robin Hood, i.e. redistribution.