Every body is ripping each other off.

On the front page of the local paper today was a picture and story of a man charged with a crime. It turns out he was paying another naughty man something like $100,000 a year to make sure that his firm got contracts from the local District Health Board. He got caught.

Right beside that story was a story about a Government minister who was stretching the letter of the law to make sure he got $32,000 extra allowance a year. He paid it back when questions were asked but there are still questions asked about $24,000 he got in earlier years. When the leaders of the country stretch the truth in their greedy pursuit for gain, it is no wonder people down the food chain do likewise.

I was asked a question by an Indian friend recently. He used to work in the United Arab Emirates. He asked this question. "When I worked in United Arab Emirates a filled roll cost me the equivalent of one New Zealand dollar. They have to import all their food from overseas. But when I buy the same thing in New Zealand, where the food is grown, it costs $5 - $6. How come? Who is ripping me off?" Fair question. I raised the question of overheads, rentals and labour costs. He just repeated the question. From his point of view, somewhere along the way someone was over-charging.

Another new settler to New Zealand asked the question, "Why does New Zealand meat cost less in the UK than it does in New Zealand?" He also pointed out that the New Zealand bought meat was a lower grade of meat. Who is ripping us off?

Yesterday I went to Alexandra in Central Otago. We went to a nice coffee bar which had an outside eating area, so that we could sit in the sun to eat our lunch. I looked at the menu. "Bacon and egg pie" sounded nice ($8).  I could get it with salad for $13.... why not? The food arrived. Salad was four little lettuce type leaves, four bits of sliced red peppers, three little bits of raw carrot and there may have been one cucumber ring. All for an extra $5! Good Grief.

I have paid more in parking costs than ever before. When I visited the brewery there was always some free parking areas near by. When I went to the post office there were short term free parking areas. When I went to the blood bank I could guarantee a free park in a street near by. Not now! They have increased charges in some areas and increased the number of charged parking areas. No where seems to be free any more! Who is ripping me off? (I guess they have to pay for the stadium some how? ... see below.) 

Do you get sick of people ripping people off? Around every corner we are ripping one another off. Sometimes it is dishonesty like expanded expense accounts, doing little "foreigners" in the boss' time, or stretching the truth one way or another. At other times we are just too greedy and want too much. The trouble is that with everybody being greedy, everything just keeps getting more expensive. We all have to pay but in the long run it is unfortunately the people at the bottom of the heap that suffer the most. Greed hurts people! Full stop! No wonder we get the frauds and cheats in our systems! We endorse it, we all do it if we can get away with it, it is often reinforced and encouraged. Stop ripping people off! ...Now! ....Enough!

I had to chuckle

We have in Dunedin a stadium being built. It is a controversial project. Some say it is a courageous step into the future. Others say it is not needed, that the money would be better spent elsewhere, and that it is all too costly for the Dunedin rate payer now and into the future. There have been court cases and appeals but it is going ahead. On the big white fence around the project someone had put a number of signs saying... "Building for future generations". I was not sure whether it was the city council that put these there or if it was a slogan of the building company. I suspect it was the council trying to convince the doubters that they are visionaries. I drive past it every day and a few days later I came past and saw a workman feverishly painting on these signs. He was painting out some words. Some very clever artistic person over night had added on each sign, in the same font and as neat as the original, the words, "to pay for!" They now read, "Building for future generations to pay for!" 

Whether or not you like the stadium, it was cleverly and meticulously done. The signs were taken down completely very quickly. The fancy slogans are gone and only small building company signs remain.