As I scanned a community paper, one particular ad jumped out at it me. It was an ad to promote a ballot measure that voters will be voting on this November.
Specifically, the ad asks voters to approve a 20-year extension on an existing sales tax that pays for roads and bridges.
To help build support for the measure, the ad says: “This sales tax has historically been more than 65% paid on purchases by non-Douglas County residents.”
What is the ad really doing?
It’s appealing to our desire to get something for nothing. They are saying we can have nice roads and bridges and get other people to pay for them. How convenient! If only we could get other people to pay for all of the things we want and need.
Of course, isn’t this the same appeal credit cards use–this idea of getting something for nothing? Somehow, it never seems to work out quite the way we expect. Often we are in a worse situation than before we began.
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