No Such Thing as a Free Lunch - How Quickly We Forget
In the midst of all these bailouts - investment banks, insurance companies, and possibly automakers - I ran across this quote from Lee Iacocca:
There ain’t no free lunches in this country. And don’t go spending your whole life commiserating that you got raw deals. You’ve got to say, ‘I think that if I keep working at this and want it bad enough I can have it.’
Wait a minute! Isn’t Lee Iacocca the same guy who engineered the “bailout” of Chrysler back in 1979? So, Lee, have you forgotten that you received the proverbial “free lunch”? Or, did you?
One of my favorite economic concepts is the principle of TANSTAAFL - There Ain’t No Such Thing as a Free Lunch. In other words, you might think it’s free, but you will pay for it, one way or another. This works for big companies who think they are getting a bailout, but everything (especially “handouts” from the federal government) comes with strings. Look out for those strings.
We have forgotten about good old hard work and ethics and all the things we Baby Boomers learned in school and taught our children. Maybe we all need to go back to school, or at least we ought to spend some time working in a homeless shelter or soup kitchen.
Tags: bailout, Chrysler, Lee IacoccaRelated Stories
POSTED IN: A Boomer Rant, Baby Boomer investors, Boomers Remember, Finance, Politics
4 opinions for No Such Thing as a Free Lunch - How Quickly We Forget
Alex
Nov 13, 2008 at 9:07 am
At least the government made a $660 million profit on the bailout of Chrysler. That fact has long since been forgotten. There is some good information about the bailout at: http://www.thebailoutblog.com
Suzanne Wells
Nov 13, 2008 at 11:36 am
I keep wondering what is happening to concepts like “delayed gratification” and “personal responsibility” as well as “self-reliance.” Especially with today’s teenagers. Most just have a cushy life. We need to revive these concepts and pass them on to our kids - or there won’t be any work ethic left.
Jean
Nov 14, 2008 at 5:56 am
I agree, Suzanne. Baby boomers are used to working hard; young workers have a huge sense of entitlement. Maybe they won’t be so spoiled after experiencing this economic upheaval.
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