'Would you care for some whine with that pat & eacute;?'

"There ain't no such thing as a free lunch" is a term popularized by Robert A. Heinlein in his 1966 book, "The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress."
Apparently the science fiction writer never hung out with Ohio officials. He could use his 1988 death as an excuse, but it's a flimsy one at best.
A recent review of food purchased by the state Office of Budget and Management, conducted at the request of Gov. Ted Strickland, discovered that about 3.9 million of taxpayer dollars were spent by state agencies, boards and commissions during the last two years for "meal-related expenditures."
The governor recently ordered state agencies, boards and commissions to immediately discontinue spending money for meals, food expenses and supplies related to hosting meetings, seminars and conventions held for official business through April 5.
Those seeking exceptions to the ban have to justify the expense.
I'm assuming lobster dinners for a meeting of an agency's board of directors would be a no-no under Strickland's ban.
Between now and April 5, OBM will develop "clear guidance to ensure the appropriateness of such expenditures," according to Strickland's directive on this issue. Until then, Strickland's directive suggests alternatives such as, gasp!, "brown bag lunch."
Strickland says the freeze isn't meant to discourage meetings and conferences, adding that "such communication is necessary, valuable and should be continued."
But how can any government work get done if state employees talk about official business while eating turkey sandwiches or leftover meatloaf they brought from home?
The timing of this couldn't be worse for me as I head to Columbus on Monday for three days meeting with various state officials and to report on Strickland's first State of the State address.
Fortunately, legislative, judicial and elected office are exempt from Strickland's directive. That's because those offices are not under the governor's jurisdiction. They should, however, take a look at the amount of taxpayer dollars being spent for "meal-related expenditures." I'm sure there's plenty of money being wasted for food.
The governor says the state is operating under a very tight budget and wasteful spending needs to be eliminated. The state spends about 25 billion a year.
"It is troubling that such a large amount was spent over the last two years, even as we face such a difficult budget environment and our state faces such great needs in education, job creation and healthcare," Strickland said.
Troubling? Strickland's being too polite. It's obscene.
In comparison to the state's budget, 3.9 million is a drop in the bucket, but every little bit helps. Also, the state could find much better uses for 3.9 million than food for public employees.
Outrageous
This isn't a Coingate scandal, but it's outrageous that state agencies, boards and commissions can rack up nearly 4 million in a two-year period on meals.
I cringe at the thought of how much was spent for food by these same groups over a longer period of time.
The Department of Education is among the worst offenders with 357,753 in meal costs during the past two years. The department hosts hundreds of meetings a year to inform teachers about important issues, according to a spokesman.
It's safe to say those attending these meetings aren't eating turkey surprise or some of the other strange concoctions served to kids at public schools.
What makes it even worse is parents or guardians have to pay for mystery meat for kids while also forking over tax dollars for state employees to dine on finer foods.