OPINION: Why there's no 'free' lunch

I remembered a response from a state legislator questioned about the appropriateness of him being wined and dined by lobbyists: “I am not going to be influenced by a $20 meal,” he said. That’s a refrain you hear frequently.

It’s also probably a lie, even if it’s not intentional. For most of us, when someone does us a favor, we feel compelled to do something in return. That’s why doctors who are given free trips, perks or other gifts by pharmaceutical representatives are much more likely to prescribe the drugs the company sells. A study showed that a waiter who brings you a check with a mint will, on average, get a 3.3-percent higher tip than one who brings the check sans mint (a bold waiter who produces a second mint, looks the customer in the eye and tells him the mint is specifically for him, can get 20 percent more tip!). We are programmed as children to reciprocate when someone does something for us.

It’s a positive thing, to return favor for favor, kindness for kindness, kind of a take on the Golden Rule that spreads goodness throughout society.

But smart salespeople, corporations, nonprofit groups and lobbyists know how to take advantage of that rule. Why do you think companies send you those address labels you never asked for? They know — to the percentage most likely — how many of us will feel guilty about not responding to the gift with a contribution. Lobbyists don’t take Frank Ginn and Tommy Benton to lunch because they’re great conversationalists, but because they want to influence how they vote, and an hour of face time and the rule of reciprocity greatly increase their odds of getting support for (or opposition to) legislation.

A high percentage of Americans believe that corporate and special interests have bought Congress, but it doesn’t take a $500,000 contribution to buy a favor from a legislator. Tickets to a ballgame or a $20 gift might just do it, not because the legislator is “bought,” but because he or she feels obligated to reciprocate.

You might say, there’s no such thing as a free lunch — or free mint.

Mark Beardsley is the editor of The Commerce News. He lives in Commerce.