[MUSIC PLAYING]
All right, so in this negotiation scenario,
we're peers.
We're both on a local city council.
You are a longtime public servant.
You wanted to be in city council ever since you were a teenager.
I, on the other hand, and some businessmen
who recently sold this business, made a lot of money,
decided I want to give back to the community,
got myself onto the city council.
You, being a longtime public servant,
believe in the importance of infrastructure.
Roads, bridges, infrastructure.
The businessman is into education.
I am into education.
$50,000 has become available for appropriation.
It can't be split.
And you and I have to talk about how we're going to vote,
whether or not we want a deal for your infrastructure
projects, or my education projects.
Any questions?
No.
All right.
So Pam, we got a challenge in front of us.
$50,000, a lot of money.
Right, we could use it.
It could do a lot of good.
Mm-hm.
I know that I seem like some Johnny-come-lately do-gooder
who doesn't know anything about government.
I was out busy running round in the private sector,
probably ripping people off, making my millions.
And after I sheared people and did all this stuff
that they do in the private sector, and I cashed out,
here I am, trying to tell everybody else
how to live their life.
Seems pretty ridiculous, doesn't it?
[SNICKERS] Yeah.
Actually, yeah.
It does.
And I show up late, and you've been dedicated
to this your whole life.
And I'm trying to tell you what to do,
and I'm trying to tell you how to run the world.
And I just got here, I'm an intruder, I'm an invader.
I don't know what the hell's going on,
and I think I want to go run off with this money.
Yeah.
Exactly.
So, what do you think?
How do we work our way through this?
Well, I think that the city needs to spend
$50,000 on infrastructure.
Our roads are a disaster.
The bridges are coming down.
I'm getting phone calls about how people's property
values are going down.
So people are worried about the current state of affairs
because the government hasn't been doing its job?
Right, yeah.
And now it's time to pick it up, and for government
to finally step up and do its job.
Right.
So to throw a Band-Aid on it.
Well, I wouldn't say a Band-Aid.
I would say to repair.
Repair the roads, repair the bridges.
How does that build our future?
Well, people's property values are going down.
If we can get more people to come here,
property values go up, property taxes go up.
And then we can get more income.
If property taxes go up.
The roads are neglected, OK?
So we're looking for a solution
that actually sort of continues to reinvest upon itself.
Because you said it's important that we find a way to help
bring property taxes, or bring in more income for the city.
Right.
And so we're trying to bring more value to the city,
and we got to decide where that value is.
Right, yeah.
What's the value of human capital?
Well, there is no value on human capital.
Right?
Well, jobs.
People who make more money, pay more taxes.
That's true.
Is that a ridiculous idea?
No, it's not a ridiculous idea.
So we have a tough call here.
What is the greatest return on investment?
And without question, infrastructure is a problem.
Spend $1 on infrastructure, and $1 on a road,
and it takes care of it till forever?
No, not forever.
Roads, constant upkeep.
See, I think the overall health of the community
is really important, that you wouldn't
have done this for this long if you didn't actually
care about your community.
Yeah.
That's probably a very unappreciated position.
Well, I think so, yeah.
It is.
I did.
I sacrificed a lot for this town,
but it's because I love it and I want to see change happen here.
And I want this to be a great community.
Well, we've got problems today that have got us concerned.
Well, I haven't gotten any phone calls
about the school or educational.
I haven't received any complaints about that.
Right.
So it's really, what's the squeaky wheel here?
Again, I'm going to seem very selfish.
I would offer to you that the best investment
for our community is the investment in human capital,
and bringing in more people that will pay higher taxes,
to bring it a year over year return on our investment.
I'm sure that sounds very selfish.
Well no, it doesn't sound selfish at all.
I mean, I guess it does make sense.
If we have better education, then more people
would want to live here.
But it sounds like you still have misgivings.
I do.
I have a few misgivings about it.
I don't know exactly how that money's going to be spent.
At least when you say, I want to put this money into fixing
the road, and then the road is fixed,
and you know that money's been spent wisely.
Well, you know the money's gone
to fix a problem that is going to recur.
Well, that's true.
Yeah.
So it's a tough call, because we
both got people that want to hold us accountable year
after year.
What's it going to look like in a year?
What's it going to look like in five years?
How do we want things to look in five years?
I mean, in five years, we need to get the roads redone again.
The roads are still going to be a problem.
The real question is, what's our capacity
going to look like to pay for the roads in five years?
And are we willing to pass that up?
No, I'm not willing to pass that up.
And we can establish a collaborative relationship,
so we can continue to work together
to solve the community's problems that keep them
from recurring in the future.
Make an investment in the future so that next year
looks better and the year after that and the year after that.
We have more of a capacity to deal with the day
to day problems.
Sounds to me like you're not opposed to that.
I'm not opposed to that, no.
So can I ask, with your permission,
we'll invest in the education.
OK.
So throughout this, I know that I'm
going to try to make a case for a different view on how good
the money's going to be.
Mm-hm.
And I've got a pretty good idea where I want to go,
and I want you to feel the least amount of coercion possible.
Right.
So my question to you is, did it
feel like a collaborative discussion?
Yeah.
It felt like-- well at first, I thought it was interesting
because you were disarming.
You were like, I know you think I'm a jerk.
I'm some guy coming in here doing this, doing that.
But I felt like I was softening up,
because my whole goal was just in the beginning
like I want to win.
I don't care what it is, I want my thing
and you can't have yours.
And so then, as you kept talking and I was like, well, no.
And then I was like, well, I guess this is silly.
I guess that does make more sense.
And yeah, OK, I could see it.
I don't know why I felt like I did come around to it.
And I was like yeah, it does make more sense
to put the money there.
All right, very good.
Yeah, I wanted you to feel involved.
Yeah.
You didn't feel like you lost.
No.
And I didn't feel like I lost.
But I was just like, oh, that does make more sense.
OK, yeah.
All right, excellent.
Exactly what I was hoping for.
[LAUGHS]