Completely! I see the same technocratic blinkers at work in both cases

Yes to free transit, funded by powerful progressive taxation! Also yes to funding transit, enforcing the bonds of social responsibility, and tethering the merely-well-off to the rest of society in the meantime, because as those bonds erode, tackling the problem of wealth gets harder, not easier

If you are coming here to say "you idiot transit should be free", may I please refer you to these immortal words

This has of course worked very well over the past two decades! Lots of excellent real-world evidence to support this eternal quest

Indeed

rough use of this one wild and precious life, but whatever you gotta do I guess

I am aware of how US transit systems are funded. I would prefer systems that are fare-free and funded from the tax base. I also live in this world in the interim and would like to see these systems function and expand, not fail.

Who will fund my academic party game?

see now that becomes appealing again! 2 words per author, put them in random order, then decide whether to publish as physics, poetry, or cryptography, or whether to roll again.

Universities are assembling larger and larger teams to deal with academic integrity issues--mostly focused on AI--while simultaneously holding AI "writing" contests, AI-themed events, "hey, come play with these fun tools!" The messages are so mixed, it's criminal. Because AI is bloated with money.

just one more, I swear

paging the great Gil Masters! He spent many summers of his retirement island-hopping through the Pacific offering pro-bono designs for replacing each island's diesel or fuel-oil generators with renewables.

Would love to hear how students respond if/when you do!