Saturday, December 12, 2009

Look what I found

Rates are horrible bloody things. They pay for cutting-edge, contemporary art galleries that a handful of the intelligensia patronize; and for men in orange vests to come and poison pretty plants on my property and other living things they swore they would not; and for the grandiose designs of idiots who think an old bus barn should have millions spent on its preservation as part of our 'unique heritage'.

So reducing part or all of the burden of rates would be a wonderful thing to do. I have recently discovered there is an especial term for it. Derating.

But how to achieve such a thing. Stand for council next year? No. My political ambitions are well and truly dead and buried.

Then I stumbled across just the thing.

A derator. Not sure what relevance cakes have got unless it is some oblique reference to Marie Antoinette's "Let them eat cake" which pretty much captures the attitude of those setting and imposing rates.

Now I just have to figure out how it works. But for $2 what have I got to lose??

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Who cares how it works as long as it works thats what matters.

Putting the brakes on the rating ambitions of the Tararua District Council would put the icing on my cake this festive season.

Dirk.

PM of NZ said...

Hear, Hear, Dirk. Cannot fault that ethic on derating.

And as for your Derator, Lindsay I suspect a prime example of Chinglish.

KG said...

Perhaps if you filled the squeeze bag with fast-set concrete and inserted it into councillor's suitable orifices...?

Shane Pleasance said...

With rates on my properties due to go up to more that $7k over the next few years, I will happily take KG's suggestion to the Invercargill councillors...

Mind you, every week is like an episode of Dallas with these lovelies right now.