The case of the $74,850 chairs to replace the old 1960s seating in the City Hall members lounge is clearly a case of the spending of Other People’s Money. This is an often repeated and seldom avoided folly of public servants and others who have authority to spend OPM. In this case, the designer chairs were wearing a little thin and so it was decided replacements were needed. Those responsible were apparently untouched by the Rob Ford method in such things. Instead, they commissioned a whole set — 30 of them — of designer made and finished chairs. The man who had final say on this has since resigned and he did so for reasons unrelated to the chair fiasco. There is understandable outrage over this at City Hall but the reasons behind it are little understood. The tendency of people to spend OPM more freely than their own is rooted in our DNA. It is truly a Darwinian flaw. Think about it. If the money does not belong to you, are you more inclined to let it go more freely. Yes, you are. Every office should have a sign on the wall that says “OPM.” Toronto Sun on the chairs
