2020 (36)
Democratic determination
By Li, gongshang
In one of old city reconstruction programs, one of local government in China, tried to install elevators for all residential buildings of the cities without an elevator installed for free. These buildings mostly built in the 80’s of last century while building policy: below the six-story apartments, did not install elevators. The representative of government advised the dwelling owners in TV and websites that the decision was made in order to improve the lives of the masses, bringing people convenience, and after a proven viable, had drew attention to the consideration and approval of the local Congress, of course, all costs are borne by the local government.
Unfortunately, the resolutions could not be implemented, because the installation of elevators engineering required all households of each building signed before work began, whereas many of the owners didn’t agree to install a lifts. Why?
The reason was simple: lived on the first floor of the tenants complained that they live on the first floor, installing the elevators won’t do them any good, but have to bear the noise from construction and inconvenience. Besides the government and lived upstairs to get the convenience of the residents not to give them the compensation, so they should definitely refuse to the installation.
If only the household lived on the first floor didn’t agree the plan, the government workers thought it to be relatively easer for trying to persuade them thinking about more the interests of upstairs residents, but lived on the first floor of the residents agreed to sign the construction document as the government agreed to install alarm systems for their house as reimbursement, when live on the second and the third or even some of the forth floors tenants were firmly opposed.
Lived on the second and the third floors of the residents owned their accounts: If not installing the lifts, the floor is on the second floor of the building is the best, easy to go up and down, good lighting, out of soiled environment as the bottom floors are. The first floor is less good than the second, but is much more convenient and better than other floors, then the third, the fourth floor. Obviously the sixth floor then the fifth floor is the worst.
If the lifts are installed, the building became the fifth floor would be the best, then the fourth floor and sixth, the third worse, and had the best of the second and first floors, became the worst floors.
For instance, if the house is to be sold in the building, the base price is 1 million Yuan, when there is no elevator, the second floor were worth 1.2 million Yuan, and after installing the elevators, the fifth floor would be worth 1.2 million Yuan, the second floor is only worth 900,000Yuan.
That is: installing the elevators, the fifth floor, then the sixth, and the fourth floor benefits most, which means they get the most subsidies, whereas the first floor, the second and the third floors relatively disadvantaged. The reason for the fourth floor some tenants did not want to install the elevators ware pretty strange: even though installing elevators, we are also not going to get the most benefits, and we nor the worst deficient without elevators. We couldn’t be the best, rather than the original worst floor to be the best.
So…… the local government marveled at the result of the democratic determination by the selfishness of the masses at the same time, felt that this was consistent with the principles of Economics and human nature and then just forget about it.
So far the story didn’t come to an end. The people who lived on the sixth floors, the fifth floors, even the fourth or the third tier, once encounter and down the stares ware not convenient, would brawl, offend and even wrangle with the tenants lived on the first and the second floors. Gradually, the harmony among neighbors in the past was gone.
After some time, some of the tenants want to move away caused by the bad relationship between neighbors, they surprised to find that the buildings without an elevator installed were not worth so much money as they expected.
January 16th 2016
