Follow The Money

In many aspects of our current society the phrase "Follow the money" holds true and usually proves out. No matter how revolting or unjust, money currently makes things happen. As I made the rounds through my usual websites today, news of the World Trade Center was again in the headlines. Much public outcry is being attached to the September 11th museum that is to be part of the completed sites downtown. People are angry that a $20-$25 fee will be charged for admission. It's really no surprise that people are doing a double take about this. Any mention of September 11th often comes with a great deal of emotional thinking.
In so much as I have written about closely related topics before, here are a few of my thoughts on the price of admission.

1. There is no such thing as free lunch.
Somebody somewhere is making the bread for the sandwich. That person needs to be paid. Somebody is serving the lunch. That person needs to be paid. The cafeteria the lunch is eaten in has electricity. That bill needs to be paid. No matter what the item in question may be, chances are it cost money to build, grow, deliver or ship. These buildings cost money to build. You want a cop standing a post to risk his life and protect you while visiting the place? Well, he needs to be paid. The painters and masons who labored to raise the walls need to be paid.

2. I'll not bore you with all the legal ins and outs of the World Trade Center site but the bottom line is this museum is private property. It is no different than your house or mine. Yes, the museum specifically is run by a non profit organization. That does not free it of costs, budgets and overhead. Granted, there is a very good chance the people running this particular non profit all have private jets and bloated expense accounts.
Not much different from the Red Cross and other places notorious for eating up 70 cents of every dollar donated, to cover the cost of fuel in the limousine fleet.

3. You would think with all the criticism in this matter, there would be no lines to get in and the place would be empty all the time. Somehow, I don't think this will be the case. If you are offended by the notion of paying to see this museum, don't go. If you find it offensive of them to ask for money to get in the front door, then don't visit. In so doing, you stand on your principals and perhaps if enough people do the same, the museum ownership will be compelled to revisit their cost structure and offerings.

As difficult as it can be to realize that money runs the world (for now), people must learn to harness that truth and use it for good. If a business fails to meet the needs of the community it hopes to serve, the business will fail. This situation is no different. If nobody bought a ticket for the first 90 days after the ribbon cutting, this place would cease to exist. New ownership would then be in a position to serve the public in a more appropriate way. Money is indeed powerful. Put a just cause and sound thinking behind it and great things can happen. Don't allow yours to be used incorrectly.
Some will say to compare this museum to any other business is not fair. I disagree. In fact, I believe given the  unique nature of this establishment, the way we choose to spend our money and patronize it, is all the more important. We should all decide what is really important here. Is it the memory of the people who died there and the lessons we learned? Or is a fancy building with marble floors and all the trimmings really what counts? Besides, do you really need a museum to remember what happened that day? I don't.