For Free?

We were taken by surprise when we checked in at Atlanta airport and were told that we had to pay $20 for one luggage per person and pay 30$ for the second luggage. We were not prepared for it. You know, when we went to US, we only had two luggage with us and when we left Atlanta, we had 3. Go figure. LOL. That was uncalled for, indeed. I mean the fee for the checked in luggage (not the third one). They started this 3 months ago, they said. So, I was thinking, probably this was one of the ways to alleviate the income for the airport people due to economy breakdown. But still, it was a lot for a luggage fee.

Another surprise was when we were in LA and we met with my Lola. She drove a 2-year old C300. In LA. How cool was that? Anyway, we were not surprised she drove a car like that. What surprised me was they don't pay road tax in the US. Or probably it only applies in LA? In Malaysia, you have to pay an annual road tax and depends on what car you have, you pay according to the type of car. One of my family members drives a Mercedes and he has to pay 2,000RM + annually just for road tax. Now with a free road tax in the US, I wonder if one can get a free life insurance quote too?

Another free thing in the US is when you're a veteran and you're stripped of your home in some point, the government gives you a place to stay, for free. All the medical expenses are for free too. With a lot of homeless people I saw on the streets in LA, I was hoping they would get their own place for free too. But that would be a tall order for sure.