Hammers are ready

PAY & SIT: the private bench (HD) from Fabian Brunsing on Vimeo.

Pay & Sit Park Bench Is A Libertarian Dream

Whenever we write about investing in bike lanes or sharing the road, drive-by commenters invariably complain that they are paying road taxes and they will share the road when cyclists and pedestrians contribute. Let's ignore the fact that cyclists and pedestrians subsidize drivers since road taxes only cover a small portion of the cost of maintaining our highways and roads, and suggest that in these tough times, everyone has to share the load. After all, any Tea Partier would tell you that nothing in the Constitution says that it is the job of the government to, say, provide a pedestrian with a place to sit.

That is why German photographer/ designer/ artist Fabian Brunsing has such a good idea with his Pay & Sit.

It is the perfect libertarian bench; supplied by private enterprise, it has spikes sticking up that make seating distinctly uncomfortable. Stick in a coin and the spikes disappear, for a set period of time. Then an alarm warns the sittee that the time is almost up and the spikes rise again. The owner of the bench would pay rent to the municipality, reducing the need for other taxes; everybody wins.

If this ends up being a reality and someone has the gall to install them, hammers and chisels will be drawn and the bench will "hammered into a plowshare."