It’s hilarious – and also a bit sad – that Tan and his ilk assume that someone must be paying me to write. They apparently cannot imagine any human motivation beyond money. It does not occur to them that a person could simply be inspired to action because they care about things like community, democracy and truth.

See also: “if people weren’t under threat of unemployment ruining their lives, they wouldn’t be motivated to work.” Many right-wingers seem to have no conception of being motivated to do something because it’s good to do.