No free lunch

By Park Moo-jong

As a Korean proverb runs, "One would drink caustic soda, if it were free of charge." A joke of similar meaning also puts it that "if you like it for free, you'll become bald."

One of my foreign friends asked what the proverb means, saying, "You're kidding. Swallowing caustic soda or lye can cause death."

Actually, caustic soda, dubbed "yangjaenmul" in Korean, was a popular method of suicide for some people suffering from the hardships of life during the difficult times after the devastating Korean War that broke out June 25, 1950, 70 years ago yesterday.

I explained to him, "The proverb and the joke warn of getting something for nothing and quoted an English saying, "There's no such thing as a free lunch." A Russian proverb is reminiscent of this truth: "Only mousetraps have free cheese."

What the proverbs teach us is that we should not expect to get something good without having to pay for it or making any effort.

Until the nation entered the era of industrialization in the 1970s after the Korean War ended in an armistice in 1953, the jobless flooded the streets, here, there and everywhere. During the lethargic times, people used to like something, free things, producing a self-mocking jargon: "Is there anyone who doesn't like free stuff?"

The social trend of the time to wish for something for nothing generated rampant corruption among officialdom in that both are not the rewards for efforts, contributing to the spread of the "yangjaenmul" proverb.

This proverb, however, was gone after the 1970s thanks to the successful economic development the nation has achieved from the ashes of the Korean War to global admiration.

People have established a healthy social climate taking it for granted that sweating and working produces results, and South Korea has become one of the hardest-working nations in the world.

However, this social trend is going into reverse. It is not too much to say that the government is taking the lead in making the people like getting something for nothing without any effort.

All the political parties, either progressives or conservatives, were all out to buy votes with pork-barrel pledges in their April 15 general election campaigns without considering national finances or taking a lesson from the cases of Greece and Venezuela, for instance.

The highlight of the trend is the emergency disaster relief funds the government granted to all households (numbering more than 20 million of a 52 million population) to help them cope with the economic impact of the coronavirus outbreak.

Of course, my family of three members got the free money of 800,000 won (about $670). Like most other citizens, I spent it dining out, buying Korean beef, fueling my car, etc. It took only four days for me to spend all the relief money. Yes, it was something good for nothing. Who refuses free money?

By the way, the "generous" government's funds totaling 14.3 trillion won ($11.65 billion) is almost gone from the taxes people paid. The Bank of Korea announced "sad" news, in my opinion, that the Consumer Composite Sentiment Index (CCCI) rose to 77.6 in May, 6.8 percent up from the previous month; thanks to the emergency relief funds.

Will the government be able to offer the free money again if the coronavirus pandemic persists in autumn? There are already voices calling for payment of additional relief funds.

The series of "free grants" from the government, including the emergency disaster relief funds and unemployment compensation for young people and free education, to name a few, are something like a narcotic.

Addicts, especially youngsters, don't like working hard. They wish for unearned income. They lose the will to work. Actually, many employers complain that their young employees even demand "dismissal" to be on the dole.

Pork-barrel policies, no wonder, increase the national debt, forcing the government to issue deficit-financing bonds to finance the so-called welfare funds. Eventually, the growing generation will carry the burden of the snowballing national debt.

The government has no way but to rake in taxes excessively, probably causing tax resistance in the worst cases. The government needs to mend its current policy designed to strengthen its intervention in the private sector with the people's money.

Everybody knows it will be impossible for the government to push ahead with a welfare policy to distribute cash with debt. The (free) emergency disaster relief money the people are now spending is the tax they paid and they will have to pay for it later.

People have to keep deep in mind that there is no such thing as a free lunch. But, unfortunately, there are many people in our society, especially politicians and public officials, who still enjoy free lunches.

Park Moo-jong (emjei29@gmail.com) is a standing adviser of The Korea Times. He served as the president-publisher of the nation's first English daily newspaper from 2004 to 2014 after working as a reporter since 1974.

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