A while back, Dome bought a new washing machine.
Although we would have liked to reduce our water usage and cut our monthly utility bill, we had just moved and a front-loading washer was beyond our budget.
That decision cost us and the city. Front-load washers save up to $100 per year in energy costs and use half as much water as traditional machines.
Still, as an economist once said, we all live in the short run.
So here's our second idea for promoting water conservation: Subsidize front-loaders.
At a special sale one day a month, the city could agree to pay the difference between a traditional washer and a front-loader. (Roughly $250, by our estimate.)
In exchange, buyers would sign an agreement allowing the city to levy a $20 fee on each month's water bill for one year. The repaid money could then go toward subsidizing more front-loaders.
The publicity might even move more buyers to pay for front-loaders from their own pockets.
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Re: Dry Idea No. 2
OK, here's your free-market alternative:
Sign up for a store credit card the day you buy your washing machine. In many cases, the cards have a one-year no-interest plan for purchases made that day. Pay off the $250 difference each month for a year.
— RTB