Sunday, May 07, 2000
Shopping 101
Preventing buyer's remorse
We are going shopping again. Do we have a grocery list? Are we remembering not to go to the store hungry? Let's be careful we don't end up with something we won't use. Or don't like.
If you're shopping for a car, you want to know what kind of mileage to expect. Is this the luxury model? What about service? A warranty? How about cup holders and a CD changer? Will those be extra? Slam the doors. Kick the tires. Toyota won't deal? There's a Buick dealer down the street.
Maybe you're building a house. Will it look anything like the model? Do you get a garage? Or is that an upgrade? What kind of neighborhood will this be?
The big question, of course, is what you can afford. If you buy the steak, does that mean beans the rest of the week? If you buy the Mercedes, will you still have enough money to make payments on your kid's tuition? If you put a fireplace in the family room, can you afford a carpet upgrade?
This is not, as they say, rocket science. This is Shopping 101.
The residents of Cincinnati are not really shopping. We have designated personal shoppers — our elected officials. The city is on the verge of buying a department store. A wonderful department store. Nordstrom. The hitch is a $50 million price tag, which will include mostly public money.
Taxpayers have the right to expect a plan — something better than putting a couple of drugstores cheek by jowl and a Hustler store where there used to be a perfectly good restaurant.
And whether you live in Anderson Township or Monfort Heights, you have a stake in this. Who'd want to live next door to a dilapidated city, a city that spent itself into poverty. Sooner or later, that could rub off on you.
And, besides, part of the money for the Nordstrom deal is supposed to come from a low-interest loan from the state of Ohio. That's your money.
We need a grocery list. What's on the menu for the future? Everybody agrees Nordstrom is a nice company. But there's a chance they might build a store in Mason. As long as we're not buying exclusive rights, should we spend our retail subsidy on something less expensive?
Or just create such a demand for consumer goods downtown that retailers wouldn't need to be subsidized. How many people do you need to live downtown before they start demanding a grocery store and a place to shop?
What's the grand plan? The real shopping list? What won't we be buying if we spend tax money on Nordstrom? Councilman Jim Tarbell wants housing. Where and what kind? Councilman Todd Portune said he'd think about limiting the subsidy. Maybe a lesser subsidy won't attract anything we'd like to have. Do we have a fallback postion?
Councilman Phil Heimlich, decrying the lack of a long-range plan, suggests putting development in the hands of an independent development commission. Professional shoppers, you might say.
OK. I'm sorry. I have probably tortured this analogy beyond your tolerance. It's not a can of soup or an SUV or a tract house. It's a department store. Today. Yesterday it was stadiums. What about tomorrow?
You wouldn't go to a builder, no matter how reputable, no matter how many lovely homes he has built and say, “Here's my money. Surprise me.”
And if you're on a budget, you wouldn't go shopping without a list.
E-mail Laura at lpulfer@enquirer.com or call 768-8393.
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