Don't grudge Munir his lunch

Was it a free lunch that Field Marshal Asim Munir got from Donald Trump? We in India would like to believe so. Let's admit it—we're a spot peeved that a guy who lost a four-day drone-and-missile war to us got into the reckoning of the world’s most powerful man, so much so as to get a lunch coupon.

- R. PRASANNAN

Narendra Modi, too, got an invite to the White House when he was in Canada for the G7 summit, but no lunch card attached. Modi sent a regret note, saying he had to catch a flight to Croatia. Wise move!

Whether we like it or not, what Munir got wasn’t a free lunch. First of all, as economists say, “There ain’t no free lunches.” The saying originated in 19th century America (where else do you get a double negative?) where saloons offered free lunches to tipplers. They made the food so salty that customers ended up buying more and more beer.

The point is—no one offers anything free in this big bad world hoping to get an entry pass into paradise. There are hidden costs behind any good or service offered free.