Yes, it's “free” as in “freeway”. Most people understand that most government services are paid for using tax revenue — it's not enlighting to highlight this, especially when it's a tiny fraction of overall government spending and the average taxpayer will see far more benefit from this than, say, an F-35. Right now, lots of people have to worry about whether activities are safe or they should seek medical care — these tests are not perfect but if used they will definitely reduce spread and do so in a way which is less stressful than inefficiently polling CVS stores.
If I test myself tomorrow four times "for free" - how did that benefit anyone?
wouldn't it much better if the tests went to people that actually needed it? Giving out "free" test is basically a massive waste, most test are not used when needed.
1. Testing yourself before meeting friends or family because as a responsible member of society you don't want to risk infecting them. Since spread is possible before being sick and some people, especially when vaccinated, never have strong symptoms, and people can get infected between taking a sample for a PCR test and showing up in-person, this is a great move for peace of mind.
2. Test whether or not that runny nose your kid has right now are in fact allergies before sending them to school. Smarter school districts require this (“test to stay”) so improved test availability is great for parents.
3. Get a result faster than a PCR test when you're deciding how seriously to take symptoms you currently have. A negative test doesn't mean you're in the clear but a positive result does at least mean that you can stop wondering and start making disruptive changes to your plans.
Don't forget, this is not a permanent forever program but a reaction to a raging pandemic. If we had high enough vaccination rates to keep COVID patients from overwhelming the medical system, that would drive the stress down to something like influenza levels and we could relax measures accordingly.
All these people who want this testing should be asking themselves what changes in the treatment of their viral infection if they know it was Covid instead of some other common respiratory virus? For the vast majority of the public the difference in treatment for Covid is the exact same as any other respiratory illness: stay home, get rest, and drink lots of liquid.
Does "it's not free you pay for it from your taxes" really need to be said? "free" in this instance means no charge on top of the taxes funding it. For instance, Amtrak is partially tax funded but charges fares.
My impression is that they are fully aware but they don't want, for whatever reason, to come right out with the "taxes are theft" framing. The astounding irony of posting these messages using a set of technologies and infrastructure originated via taxes collected and then used by the government makes my head hurt.