Who says there’s no such thing as a free lunch? At least in downtown D.C., they’re not hard to find. Just go to a reception at a think tank and chow down. But this is not without its hazards, as one guy learned at my Cato talk:

As I wait, what seemed like years in the long buffet style line, I discovered that lunch translated over to heavily-packed animal flesh sandwiches + chips! So I wait for the next tray. More slaughter sandwiches! “Excuse me, are there any vegan options?” I ask the help. “Not sure let me check” Five minutes past.[sic] “Here you are”. A cucumber wrap LOADED with cheese. “I’m sorry, anything without cheese” I begged. “Just pick it off, that’s all we have!” Only at the CATO Institute.

Hmm, does this mean that if I become a vegan, I can count on a free lunch wherever I go, as long as I avoid the Cato Institute?

I’ve long worried that free lunches at libertarian events send the wrong message. But it’s worse than I realized. Not only do free lunches undermine the message that “There’s no such things as a free lunch”; they even make people forget the far more basic lesson that “Beggars can’t be choosers.”