Quote Of The Night

"There's no such thing as a free lunch."\

Dunno who first coined the phrase but here's a little background into it.

In economic theoretical terms, it basically says someone else will always pay for your free meal. Politicians use trickery to skate around this basic, but all too easily forgotten, reality. Citizens, voters are only shifting mirrors around when they fool themselves into thinking and believing they're getting something for free.

"..Free lunches, often cold food but sometimes quite elaborate affairs, were provided for anyone who bought drink. This inducement wasn't popular with the temperance lobby and was also criticized for the same reason that others in the 20th century later introduced the TANSTAAFL idea to economic thinking, i.e. saloon customers always ended up paying for the food in the price of the drinks they were obliged to consume. Indeed, some saloon keepers were prosecuted for false advertising of free lunch as customers couldn't partake of it without first paying money to the saloon..."

"...Paul Mallon, a Washington journalist, responded to Wallace's article with a critical piece, published in several US papers, including The Lima News, January 1942:

"Mr. Wallace neglects the fact that such a thing as a 'free' lunch never existed. Until man acquires the power of creation, someone will always have to pay for a free lunch.

The first record I can find of the precise phrase there's no such thing as a free lunch, comes following year, in an editorial in The Long Beach Independent, October 1943, again referring to Wallace:

"Some people say there is no such thing as a free lunch, but you listen to a fireside chat from Washington, and the voice will tell you all about it, and how you can make something for nothing."