Dear Economist,
I suffer ridicule from economist friends when visiting a local restaurant. The restaurant supplies complimentary tissues and toothpicks to customers. My friends freely use them and even take some for later use. I feel this is wasteful and not “playing the game” but their arguments seem more logical – there’s no extra cost to taking more, it is included in the costing for the meal, and I’m the mug subsidising everyone else. How can I overcome my hang-up and become a maximising consumer?
Stuart
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