In “How Much Is This Column Worth To You”?, NY Times OPED page this morning, Murry Frymer has a point.  The point is that we pay the same despite the service offered. Seeing a specialist does not always involve the same therapy but it requires paying for the same block of time.

For instance, Frymer makes excellent sense when he notes that all you can eat restaurants should charge nibblers less than gorgers.  Carol and I know a restaurant that charges by the weight of the food on the dishes you carry away.  I think this is sensible.

I have one personal observation in support of Frymer’s article, including the “insert” on the page which claims conversely: “To Whom More is Given, More Must be Charged”. When I do exercises in the hot pool in Parkway Hospital Michael, the leader, uses the same pace set for the slowest of the other occupants of the pool.  These are generally very lovely women of certain ages who know slow, deliberate and graceful movements are best.  I however am ever impatient and want to get it over with and need to speed things up.  I also bore easily and the slow deliberate example only spurs me to see if I can do two leg movements to the leader’s one.  And I can, and I do – every time, despite pleas for me to slow down to the correct tempo. The picture people see is me bobbing twice to the beat of everyone else – therefore, can I claim I am getting twice the value for my money soaking and exercising in that hot pool?

I agree with Frymer when he says that overlarge persons should pay for taking more room than the standard seat provides.  Taller people who obscure vision of those sitting behind should pay more. (The converse of this is that very small people should pay less for using less of the standard seat).

Fryer also correctly points out that the huge tubs of popcorn sold should be charged the price of a seat, and I agree. We are not created equal in the space we take but the owners of that space always charge the same.

Carol’s Evaluation: 9 out of 10