#Spending and saving are only relative……. Mitch owns a pizza shop. Everyone says the pizzas are top quality and you get to choose 3 toppings! But at $8 people lately have been concerned at the price of his pizzas, so they go across the road to Gordon’s Pizza shop. His pizzas cost $5 but you don’t get a choice of toppings. LeBron a local, used to visit Mitch’s shop, but grew tired of the price. Being a pizza lover, LeBron is used to having cheese, olives and mushrooms on his pizza at Mitch’s shop. He begins to visit Gordon’s outlet and soon complains to Gordon – “I don’t like just onions and anchovies, where’s my choice?” Gordon replies, stop complaining, I’m $3 cheaper plus onions and anchovies are good for you” Mitch realises he needs to do something. People are annoyed at paying $8 and looking forward, the cost of his ingredients are going to rise from next year. He is also frustrated because the cost of making the pizza is actually $14 but people don’t realise this. Fortunately he owns the building and has someone flatting in the house upstairs to subsidise costs. Meanwhile LeBron and others are getting grumpy as Gordon’s Pizza shop is producing only what Gordon thinks is best in a pizza. Mitch one day turns around and has a look outside his window, then realises the paddock out back can actually grow most the toppings for his pizza. “Because I can grow my own toppings then I can pass on the saving of not buying in the ingredients to my customers” Now Mitch’s Pizzas are selling for $5 and you now get a choice of 4 toppings. Reducing rates (or no rates one day) is about investing in assets that will give us other sources of income. Mitch now only charges $5 because he has found other ways to make money. Within our district its easier said than done of course. I want us to be open minded with our approach and engage the people in our area that see opportunities. Cutting wasteful spending and living within our means goes without saying (and needs to be looked at) but growth is the key to keeping value and the choice of services that our council provides. Looking outside our back yard, just as Mitch did, could ratepayers be a part of what make our local economy strong? Bring on Mitch’s pizzas.
Posted on: Mon, 29 Jul 2013 20:03:10 +0000
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