This is a great question. It’s great because I think many people ask it for all different reasons! These are my general thoughts on the topic.
With regards to this question, the most important answer is ‘work’. This is important for a number of reasons, but mostly because it is important to learn the value of working hard, budgeting, and contributing to the world in a meaningful way. Our parents try to teach us this because it is vital to being a member of society. We work, get paid, then buy the things we need and want, then give some away to others.
To ask this question a bit differently, should someone be given something for free when they are not willing to work and pay for it? They either need to have it given to them as a gift (someone else works a job and pays for it on their behalf) or they steal it (illegally downloading, sharing, etc and the creator pays out of their income). Although stealing is probably the most popular approach in magic, I read that the OP is talking a plan within legal and moral boundaries.
You can ask this question about anything. Food, vehicles, gas, big screen TV’s… Should I be given a big screen TV because I don’t have enough money to pay for one? What if my reason is good? I have a special need son who comes with a lot of medical costs. So can I get a TV magic, food, or anything else for free? Although it would be nice, and we certainly have been given some things as gifts, we are not entitled to them, and we are so so so thankful for those generous individuals. We are also grateful that there are plans in place to help us financially to cover the costs (We live in Canada and have amazing medical coverage), but WE PAY FOR IT. We still work our jobs and pay taxes to enjoy that coverage. It’s not free, but very helpful and we are very thankful for it. Should that same support be there for luxury items or hobbies?
All that said, magic is an amazing thing, and there ARE wonderful ways that we can give it away. As a creator, you can choose to share your creations. There are many organizations that choose to use magic to help others. I remember that penguin had (do they still?) a program to help teach magic to kids in hospitals to help empower them. So awesome.
And we are blessed to have a bunch of ways to learn free magic – much of it high quality material.
First, many different magicians give away free magic if you sign up on their email newsletters, One of the most prominent has been Jay Sankey. Even if you don’t like his style or presentations, you will learn some important key moves, sleights, and concepts there. He now is using YouTube to share his ideas. From his channel alone, you could easily pull together enough quality material to use for a paid strolling gig. Aaron Fisher used to send emails with great performance tips and some tricks too, and other magic websites give away free tricks that are excellent. But there are many. In this same way, many magicians give their ideas away for free or very little here on the Market here at Theory 11. And don’t always judge them because they are free or inexpensive. There have been some amazing and creative ideas given away for free or only a few dollars. Make use of it!
Then there is the treasure trove. The Shangri-La of magic. The place where tricks and knowledge are free in hoards. THE LIBRARY. Yep, head to your local library and pull out every single book on magic you can find. You will learn so much. And the best part is that you will learn so much that when you see the latest $40 trick come out, you can better choose if that is the right effect for you, because you will have a wealth of starting knowledge to give you wisdom.
By the time you go through all that FREE material, you will probably have gotten a job and worked enough that you will be able to purchase the ‘latest and greatest’ ideas when they come and when they fit your style. (because let’s be honest, there are LOTS of great ideas that just keep coming out of the magic community!)
That was long, but it is a great question! That’s my three cents.
