• dual_sport_dork 🐧🗡️@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    43
    arrow-down
    2
    ·
    edit-2
    5 months ago

    No, it’s just what the usage/power/maintenance is. It’s not $1.99 times anything. $1.99 doesn’t enter into it anywhere. $1.99 was made up out of the whole cloth.

    • akilou@sh.itjust.works
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      7
      ·
      5 months ago

      Right this is what I really mean. It’s a trivial cost in the grand scheme of things for a municipality to provide public drinking fountains. This shouldn’t be outsourced to a for profit private enterprise.

      • KazuyaDarklight@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        5
        ·
        5 months ago

        It’s going to sound like I’m defending them in some way, which I’m really not because the whole thing is stupid, but they’re not charging for the drinking fountain they’re charging for the cold filtered water, which is going to incur some kind of power and maintenance cost that’s while negligible at scale is beyond the norm. Room temperature tap water is still free here.

      • fine_sandy_bottom@discuss.tchncs.de
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        1
        ·
        5 months ago

        Sorry I really hate this line of thinking.

        I also hate privatising costs for social services so we’re in agreement on that…

        … but no cost faced by the municipality is trivial. They correct taxes to pay for it. You can go to the meetings and have your say in how it’s spent. More water fountains means more money.

        If it were up to me we would increase taxes so we could have all the fountains.

      • intensely_human@lemm.ee
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        2
        arrow-down
        2
        ·
        5 months ago

        I don’t think the thing costs only $2 to install? $2 price per liter of refrigeration on your water does not imply the the system costs $2

    • KazuyaDarklight@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      2
      arrow-down
      4
      ·
      5 months ago

      Refrigerant and filter systems need to be powered, replaced and maintained, that DOES cost money. What math, if any of substance, was applied on top of that cost to reach the subscription price is debatable. Though perhaps ironically, if they didn’t expect many people to actually bite, then the cost per user would end up being abnormally high.

      • dual_sport_dork 🐧🗡️@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        12
        arrow-down
        1
        ·
        5 months ago

        Refrigerated water fountains have been existing in parks, schools, libraries, and public buildings for decades with no on-demand cost to their end users. Our tax dollars paid for them easily and the cost is obviously trivial compared to everything else your local or state government spends money on.

        There is no valid justification for this. It’s just greed.

        • Promethiel@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          6
          ·
          5 months ago

          Thank you for stating the obvious. I fucking hate this future where even the basics of the past are starting to seem unreal. Little gray cubes with a wide bar you push and out comes cold water from a spout at the top; used to be everywhere outdoors growing up.