Cheap price not always best price
A cheap price is not always the best price.
A case in point: The Blaine County Board of Commissioners recently went
shopping for a law firm to provide defenses for individuals charged with felonies who
cannot afford a lawyer.
One commissioner said the board was concerned with getting the best
price for the taxpayers in Blaine County.
A local law firm said it would do the job for $180,000 a year. A Nampa
law firm said it could provide services for $163,000 a year.
The local firm argued that the Blaine County Commissioners should take
into account that the local lawyers are part of the community. As residents, they pay
local taxes and support local causes.
The local firm was right, and the board awarded it the contract.
It doesn’t always turn out that way.
The quest for the best price occurs over and over in Blaine County
every day. In too many cases, government boards, businesses, nonprofits and residents
mindlessly decide that the cheap deal is the good deal.
Yet, the same groups and individuals who opt for the "cheap
deal" are often the same ones who solicit donations for local causes from the very
businesses or professionals whose products or services they rejected as "too
expensive."
They prevail upon the good nature and good will of local businesses and
professionals to "give back" to the community. They run guilt trips on the
social conscience of local business people and professionals.
Too often, the cheap deal group doesn’t see the irony. They just
don’t get it.
The cheap-deal group is also often found demanding that local
government, whose funds are directly related to local prosperity, spend more on local
projects.
What’s wrong with this picture?
Blaine County businesses pay higher wages than other areas of the
state. They also pay higher rents and property taxes.
Workers use the higher wages to pay costs of living that are higher
than other areas of the state. They also pay higher local property and sales taxes.
Yet local business operators and local workers are also generous
voters. They have a history of being willing to tax themselves for better schools,
recreational facilities and roads.
They are generous donors to local nonprofit groups from Little League
to St. Luke’s hospital.
There’s no getting around the fact that some local prices on goods
and services are higher than elsewhere in the state. Local businesses and professionals
understand all too well that in a free market they must be competitive to survive.
However, local consumers would do well to understand that their own
well being—their jobs, their communities and their pet projects—are all
inextricably related to local prosperity.
No one can be blamed for shopping—that’s how free markets
keep businesses honest and prices in check. However, when local organizations or residents
find themselves tempted to buy the cheap out-of-area deal, they should remember that in
the long run, it may turn out to be a lot more expensive.
