Money doesn't just talk, it dictates

When you are trying to bring about beneficial changes in society, it helps to be aware of the major role money investments play in all aspects of society. You might be thinking only of making the quality of life better for yourself and others, but for any change you want, there are financial winners and losers involved who will have strong interests in what you want to achieve. Businesses and people who benefit financially from keeping things the way they are now, may work against you and against the changes you want, but businesses and people who are losing money from the situation as it is now, may be useful allies to you as you seek the desired changes.

For example, you may want to bring about a reduction in the number of dogs kept in your neighbourhood, a worthy aim which would dramatically improve the quality of life for your whanau and all your neighbours. So before you begin, think about who benefits financially from dog ownership, because these people will want as many dogs in the community as possible, and will most likely oppose your efforts. These will include manufacturers and sellers of dog food, dog accessories, dog health products. Who else? And how do they work to influence us all? Advertising? Lobbying politicians? Making dog ownership look cool, or useful?

Then, who loses money from large numbers of dogs in your neighbourhood? Actually, the biggest financial losers are the dog owners themselves, it costs a lot of money to keep a dog. If you are a dog owner in Rotorua, can you tell us how much you spend on your dog in ‘one off’, and ongoing costs?

Who else loses money from large numbers of dogs in your neighbourhood? Maybe our tourist industry?

Also would anyone benefit financially from a reduction in the number of dogs? Maybe more people would buy house alarms, so the manufacturers and sellers of house alarms might be supportive of your aims. Who else?

Whatever beneficial outcome you are trying to achieve, check out the financial winners and losers, and think about how they will affect your project, as part of your planning for change.

Frugal Living

>>It’s good for the planet

>>It saves you money

>>It deters burglars
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If a burglar looks in your window and only sees an old computer with a chunky monitor, a collection of old lounge chairs, none matching, a small TV, and a dinosaur of a fridge, they will be thinking there isn’t much to steal in your place.
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Poor people, of course, can achieve this look without any special effort, however you can do it too, if you follow the basics of frugal living. Keep on using your appliances until they are really on their last legs. If you need something new, buy recycled whenever possible. Downsize your TV, the ads will look just as pretty, and a small TV is cheaper to run. Downsize your car, and buy second hand, and as well as saving money on the purchase, and the petrol, you will find it slightly less upsetting if it gets scratched by supermarket trolleys. If you live like this, always trying to create less waste, and consume fewer resources, you will save money, and you will feel good about doing your bit for the planet. And as an extra bonus, all these measures mean that your belongings are far less attractive to burglars.
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Christmas gift suggestions

For the person who needs more enemies:

>> A barking dog – and if it barks at night, it will add double, triple, or even more enemies than a dog which only barks during the day

>> A skill saw – make enemies while pursuing your hobby woodworking projects


>> A drum kit – guaranteed to turn your neighbours into enemies at the mere sight of it


>> A stereo with jack hammer quality bass-boomer and room sized speakers – entertain the crowds at Western Springs while making enemies of your entire Rotorua suburb


>> A mini motorbike – for making enemies over an even larger area

Christmas present suggestion for the person with a barking dog:


Make a nice CD for them, recording the animal they love so much barking its head off, and suggest to them that they play it all day in their work place, to enjoy the same connection with their beloved pet which their neighbours experience all day while they are out.

Kennel fried dog

Summer's here, and I can tell
Caged dogs are frying, by the smell
It's not so much like barbeque
More like heated doggy doo

Moving in to a new neighbourhood

So you’re moving into your new home, full of hopes and dreams about your life in this new neighbourhood. You’d really like to get on well with the neighbours, and hope they are going to like you too. So you begin by smiling in a friendly way whenever you see them. So far, so good.

However, from our observations, you also need to be very cautious. If some of your new neighbours are living a decadent lifestyle, with frequent parties, and/or drug taking, chances are high that they will quickly try to include you in their lives. Why? If they can involve you in these bad behaviours, they will feel much safer around you, because if you are also doing bad things, you will not complain to the authorities about them, and if you get upset at them, they can threaten to get you into trouble with the authorities, to keep you under their control. So be friendly, but keep your distance from all your new neighbours until you have had a chance to assess what kind of lifestyle they have.

Everywhere a woof woof

Here is a little social maths sum for you to do.

You live within hearing range of 20 dogs. Five of these dogs you only hear barking occasionally, not every day. Ten of them each bark for half an hour a day, none at the same time. Three bark for three hours each day, none at the same time. Two more bark off and on all night.

How many hours of barking do you hear each twenty four hours?

How angry/upset/ stressed out/sleep deprived are you?

Retaliation

Retaliation – Don’t go there.
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It is so, so tempting, isn’t it, at 6.30 am in the morning, when the noisy party finished at 4 am, to point your own speakers at the offending party house, and play a rousing rendition of the 1812 overture, or even to give them a wake up call of several hours practice on badly played bagpipes. So, so tempting.

Well, don’t. Do not go there! Yes we know you so badly want to give them a taste of their own medicine, to see how they like it when people do the same to them as they do every week to you, but it will not work. You think they should get the message – ‘this is how nasty it is to be treated so badly by a noisy neighbour’, but their interpretation is more likely to be –‘the standard here is that loud music is okay, so next time we’ll crank up our stereo even louder’. Instead of moving them in the direction of the peace and quiet you really want, you will just make things worse, and you will also annoy your other neighbours and become, in their minds, part of the problem, not part of the solution.

Remember: Two wrongs don’t make a right