Lynch Pen

There is no truly ‘free’ lunch

Does anyone really believe you can get something for nothing? There is no “free lunch.” The question that always goes unanswered is who actually pays for it. And the well publicized situation at UCA (University of Central Arkansas) should be an eye-opener to every citizen of the United States. We should be awakened to the reality of how costs of education can get out of hand along with other areas of our day to day living expenses.

If you have read the articles you know that $700,000 was going be “donated” to the university to make improvements to the president’s house. As it turns out, there was one minor detail left out of the official announcements - renewal of a service contract for seven years.

It doesn’t take a Harvard MBA to determine that comes out to $100,000 per year. There have been many details of the renewal contract in the headlines and I might have missed something, but my money goes on the probability that the “gift” was built into the immediate cost increases upon renewal. Would anyone argue that the cost would be passed on in coststo the student? The university might get something “for free,” but the increased student expenses pay the price of the renovation in the long-run.

Someday we need to make people accountable for their actions with something more than a slap on the hands and a finger wagging that says “naughty, naughty.” Positions such as university presidents generally get their applicants from people with great name recognition and the proper educational abbreviations for the degrees (MBA, PhD, etc.). Their contracts most frequently provide for a generous salary, expense package and retirement benefits. Maybe we should start writing penalty clauses in contracts for people in positions where their decisions pass on the cost of dumb decisions to society. Just asking someone to resign after they have become part of a scheme to obtain “something for nothing” at (in this case) the students’ expense seems inadequate.

Too much of this smacks of politics like we see in Washington. We will never know where the problem begins - the initial request can come from buyer or seller. What bothers me is how little we know about the process that puts individuals in positions of authority. The student body doesn’t elect a university’s president nor do the parents of the student. An appointed board most frequently has this authority and responsibility and they should be held accountable as well as the person they select.

And you and I should pay much closer attention to who we allow to represent us in Washington. This is in no way an accusation of anything, but $700,000 is an insignificant number in Washington where millions and billions are at stake.

Yet we continue to allow politics to be a popularity contest where name recognition and the ability to raise campaign funds opens the door to party nominations.

The UCA situation concerns me because I fear it is indicative of how easy it is for respected individuals to use their positions as decision makers to appear to be doing a great thing. If Aramark was giving the money to the school and not wanting the contract for the service, that would be spectacular. To sweeten a proposal with a renewal clause is a purely business deal which some could confuse with a bribe. Do our politicians work similar deals to bring back earmarks to satisfy large campaign contributions? My guess is probably many do.

I realize there is no litmus test for integrity and our system can never guarantee perfection. However, we seem to make a habit of responding to the political party’s choice in most cases and don’t take chances in changing things by sending “outsiders” to Washington to say “no” to business as usual. I would like to see people in positions of authority - decision makers, if you prefer - who make the best possible decision after gathering all the facts and omitting the personal gain. Is that asking too much of our leaders?

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Editor’s note: Leo Lynch, a native of Benton County has deep roots in northwest Arkansas. He is a retired industrial engineer and former Justice of the Peace. He can be contacted at prtnews@ nwaonline.com.

Opinion, Pages 4 on 09/14/2011