The entire “free test” controversy is a combination of absurdity and incompetence.

A few weeks after ridiculing the idea, the Biden administration decided to not only embrace it, but to apologize for not embracing it sooner. 

There are a whole bunch of problems through beginning with the fact that the tests, free or not, are actually not terribly reliable and were never meant for at-home use by people who aren’t infected.

I’ve had to go through the ritual a few times for business or family reasons. Some of you probably have too. Except that all the tests do is provide a false sense of security for people who want to get together without feeling like they’re being irresponsible and for businesses who want plausible deniability.

As for making them free, Amazon still offers free tests (in limited quantities) and local pharmacies have them. They’re not very expensive, though for anyone on a budget who has to test regularly for work, the costs will add up. And it’s the mandates that are driving test demands.

In New York City, the epicenter of testing insanity where nannies and housekeepers working in apartment buildings are being expected to provide vaccine passports (they can still be illegal aliens as long as they’ve gotten a shot), there’s testing sites and tables set up everywhere.

Reducing abusive mandates would increase testing availability for those who want the tests, not those who are forced into it by vaccination or testing mandates. 

And finally, nothing is free. You’re paying for it.