From Harvard Magazine:
Wimpy, Popeye’s portly friend with a voracious appetite but small exchequer, made famous the line, "I’ll gladly pay you Tuesday for a hamburger today." Wimpy nicely exemplifies the problems of ‘intertemporal choice’ that intrigue behavioural economists like David Laibson. "There’s a fundamental tension, in humans between seizing available rewards in the present, and being patient for rewards in the future," he says. "It’s radically important. People very robustly want instant gratification right now, and want to be patient in the future. Now we want chocolate, cigarettes, and a trashy movie. In the future, we want to eat fruit, to quit smoking, and to watch Bergman films."..
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