The Tragedy Of The Cheap Asshole In The Commons
I wrote about what I called "the tragedy of the asshole in the commons" in "Good Manners for Nice People Who Sometimes Say F*ck" -- a takeoff on Garrett Hardin's "Tragedy of the Commons."
This describes how, as I noted in the book, "in a space owned by nobody and shared by many, the piggy can take advantage by grabbing more than their fair share of resources..."
Private property is a solution to this problem.
But dreamy socialists have this kumbayah, bring your unicorn over to graze notion of how life would be in more communal arrangements.
Well, rubber, meet road -- and motor on down to Australia, where this notion isn't working so well in restaurant form.
Eliza Barr writes for the Daily Tel/Australia about a vegetarian restaurant, Lentil As Anything, with a "pay what you can" policy. (Not surprisingly, this seems to be working out as "pay as little as you can get away with.") As Barr reports:
LENTIL As Anything's future is under threat from cheapskates taking advantage of the Newtown restaurant's charity by paying less than $3 a meal.Since opening two years ago, the vegetarian restaurant has invited customers to pay what they can to enjoy a delicious meal, have a chat and listen to some music in a warm, safe space.
It is a haven for those who have fallen on hard times - but restaurant manager Rose Piyarach Kiatsiri said the restaurant's ability to lend a hand is at risk when those who can pay, do not.
"Lentil As Anything is a place for everyone to come in, because we believe everyone has the right to eat at the table," Ms Piyarach Kiatsiri said.
"But people are taking advantage of what we're doing here and forget about how we run, and the fact that we need support."
On average, Lentil As Anything's Newtown customers contribute $6 or $7 per meal - and in two years, the average contribution has never reached $10.
Right now, the average contribution is less than $3.
Many vegetarians eat that way as a "moral issue."
So, don't eat the nice cows and bunnies, but hah -- screw the lady who's dumb enough to put food out without requiring any particular price be paid to eat it?
Meanwhile -- check it out: Companies are raising wages without the government forcing them into it. (McDonald's, Wal-Mart, Gap Inc., JPMorgan Chase & Co., and Starbucks are some of them.)
via @Mark_J_Perry
Whenever I price out something to a client, even when it's a service that SHOULD be cheap because it takes almost no time.....I mark it up by alot.
The reason? I do not want to attract cheap fucks.
Cheap fucks tend to be entitled pieces of shit who make your life a living hell and demand you be grateful for the pennies they throw at you. My worst clients (tend) to be the ones that bring the smallest revenue.
I guarantee you this restaurant is finding this out. BTW a Jesuit Priest my parents are friends with.....drilled this into my head. The poor people that go into his church for free food make gigantic scenes whenever they don't get free stuff. He said illegal immigrants were about the only poor people that were grateful but they would only last a week (tops) because most found employment. The rest of the poor? Nah they would last generations.
Ppen at August 29, 2016 12:59 AM
Do not give people free stuff!
They act like entitled twats!
Ppen at August 29, 2016 1:01 AM
Whenever I price out something to a client, even when it's a service that SHOULD be cheap because it takes almost no time.....I mark it up by alot.
Just because it's easy for you doesn't mean it can't be hard on your clients.
The rest of the poor? Nah they would last generations.
You get more of what you subsidize.
I R A Darth Aggie at August 29, 2016 5:36 AM
Poverty, at least in this country, is learned behavior.
And, Isab is right about getting more of what you subsidize.
Conan the Grammarian at August 29, 2016 5:58 AM
Whenever I price out something to a client, even when it's a service that SHOULD be cheap because it takes almost no time.....I mark it up by alot.
Smart, PPen. I tell Gregg this.
Amy Alkon at August 29, 2016 6:07 AM
If the MSM really cared and were actually intelligent instead of brainwashed they would recognize that this is normal human behavior. This point would be made in every "news" article.
The first English colonists had trouble w/this behavior and changed their charter to one that let those that worked hard prosper over those that did not.
Bob in Texas at August 29, 2016 6:15 AM
Do not give people free stuff!
They act like entitled twats!
Ppen at August 29, 2016 1:01 AM
___________________________________________
I know this all too well - and I'm not talking about running a business. Or dealing with strangers.
That is, I used to believe in the Golden Rule when it comes to helping friends in dire need. Now I'm not so sure. Even when it's made clear that you're only lending them your resources, it won't be long before they start acting and talking as though YOU should be grateful to be helping THEM. Of course, they have no sense of gratitude to you. It doesn't matter what types of families they come from, either. If they don't grovel from the very beginning, watch out - they're not the types who really know what gratitude is or why they should feel any.
lenona at August 29, 2016 6:55 AM
"I do not want to attract cheap fucks."
Tradespeople around here have told me similar. They say that the people who complain the most about prices are also the ones who have little understanding of carpentry or plumbing or wiring and get irate when the tradesperson can't produce instant miracles, like just taking all of the bearing walls out and having the roof stand without any support. And some of the builders are just as bad, harassing them about things like inspections that fail because the builder called for an inspection before the work was finished.
"He said illegal immigrants were about the only poor people that were grateful but they would only last a week (tops) because most found employment. The rest of the poor? Nah they would last generations. "
Some time ago I posted a link here to a study that showed that the first six months on welfare is highly predictive of whether the person will be on welfare long term. If I remember the numbers right, of the ones who got off of welfare within six months, less than half of them ever went back on welfare within the next ten years. However, of the ones who remained on welfare past six months, something like 80% were still on welfare ten years later.
Cousin Dave at August 29, 2016 7:21 AM
There was a fascinating study published a few years back, where a guy who provided bagels-and-cream-cheese service in office break rooms on the 'honor system' tracked payment and default data in minute detail, for hundreds or thousands of locations, for years at a time.
I can't be bothered to look it up right now but the analysis and conclusions, about why people pay and don't pay on the 'honor system', were quite revealing.
It's pop-up farm stand time here in Michigan - Haslett peaches, yum! Interesting to note the differences between the honor system in rural locations (where the chance of being seen or caught behaving dishonorably = very low) and in suburban areas (where the chance of being seen or caught behaving dishonorably = quite high). In the country - money goes in Mason jar on table. In town - locked steel cashbox, bolted to trailer. The fear is not that you won't pay, or won't pay the right amount (after all, who's checking?) but that you'll steal the whole takings.
When I do welding side jobs for cash, every now and then, I get a customer who tries to - adjust - the price after the work is done. It's a sneaky trick - you can't unweld a repair very easily :-). I always tell such people 'You can pay the price we agreed, and take your stuff, and we'll be square. Or you can take your stuff, and pay me nothing - but I will tell everyone I know, and their good dogs too, that you stiffed me after the work was done. Your choice.' They always pay the agreed price. Public reputation trumps $$$, every time.
llater,
llamas
llamas at August 29, 2016 7:27 AM
""Lentil As Anything is a place for everyone to come in, because we believe everyone has the right to eat at the table," Ms Piyarach Kiatsiri said."
And there we have the key to the issue: a person who does not understand that rights are a social fiction upheld solely by the population's assertion of them, paid for by the exercise of the commensurate responsibility.
Radwaste at August 29, 2016 9:16 AM
Other approaches work. When I last visited Austin, a friend took me to a restaurant, not in the best part of town, but delicious. The owner charges reasonable prices for her food. She also serves a lot of homeless folk for free out the back door.
If you can afford to pay, you go to the front door. If you show up at the back door, you'll have to explain why you're destitute. The pricks who take advantage of well-meaning folk are almost certainly too full of themselves to go to the back door.
a_random_guy at August 29, 2016 10:52 AM
Some years back there was a restaurant like this in Salt Lake City, not vegetarian though. The owner told me that on average, the customers paid more for their meals than she would have charged them if she had set prices. The only problem she ever had was with some high school students that were eating for free (they were not destitute). She had a word with their principal, who had a word with them about taking advantage of people and the problem went away.
Also, I am involved with churches that provide meals to the poor. About 10% of the guests actively seek out ways to help, 80% of the guests are pleasant and grateful and 10% of the guests are demanding and entitled. Of course it is the last 10% of the guests that stick in the memory.
Observer of People at August 29, 2016 11:09 AM
That 10/80/10 rule applies to a lot of stuff Observer. 10% of your workers generate 90% of the added value. 10% of your workers cause 90% of your headaches. The funny thing is who is in that 10% and who is in that 90% changes over time. 1% of Americans pay 45% of the income taxes. Same issue, it is a different 1% every year.
Ben at August 29, 2016 12:16 PM
Part of my job is supplying medical supplies to people on Medicaid. In my experience some of my worst, most demanding customers are Medicaid customers who want their "free" stuff. Paying for stuff makes you appreciate what you are getting and appreciate the people helping you get it.
Shtetl G at August 29, 2016 1:44 PM
The original pilgrim colony was communal. They nearly all starved. When they reverted to private ownership of farmland, there was a surplus of food.
As Thomas Sowell is quick to note, the fundamental insight of economics is that everyone's wants exceed the supply of stuff. Without prices or ownership, something else will sort out this incongruity, such as restaurants going out of business or countries (eg Venezuela) going out of business.
I had a customer for a smallish consulting job (software). He was an optometrist who took a pay cut to be a professor. He expected me to charge less because he had chosen to work for less. ?? No deal. Not how it works.
Craig Loehle at August 29, 2016 2:34 PM
Most of the problem is their target market - vegan leftie idiots. Because this group are totally clueless about economics, they probably think they're paying fairly. "Hey, it's just a bowl of lentils and curry spices, I could buy that at the supermarket for 25c!" Never mind rent, staff, equipment, etc...
I live in an equivalent suburb in a different Australian city. There was a similar restaurant down the road from me a few years ago. It lasted six months. I'm genuinely surprised Lentil As Anything have made it as long as they have.
The Greens (and most of the clientele for a place like this will be Greens voters) are a serious political force here - they have about 10% of Senate seats. Their support base is largely inner city professionals (or brainwashed students planning to be such). And yet one of their constant mantras is that 'the rich' don't pay enough tax. I've lost track of the number of people earning in excess of $100k a year I've had tell me that our problem is that the rich and the multinationals don't pay enough. They genuinely believe that they're hard done by.
Ltw at August 29, 2016 5:16 PM
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