There seems to be a trend around the world of reduced services for citizens due to budget shortfalls in local governments. For example, Birmingham in central England is the second largest city after the capital London. This city, with a population of over 1.1 million, declared de facto financial bankruptcy in September 2023. Bankruptcy means taking measures to deal with it. Birmingham has begun to increase local taxes and drastically cut expenditures. First, it cuts the salary system of civil servants. The union opposed the city’s plan to cut, and went on strike. In Birmingham, a union strike at the end of March left 17,000 tons of garbage uncollected. As a result, reports of rats and pests increased, and concerns about hygiene grew. Ultimately, the British Deputy Prime Minister, who is in charge of the region, sent a logistics team from the British Army to the area to handle the garbage.
Something similar is happening in Japan. Sagamihara City in Kanagawa Prefecture is a government ordinance-designated city with a population of 725,000. Sagamihara City was hit by a rapid deterioration in its finances. To achieve this, a reform plan was developed to achieve sustainable finances. First, existing public facilities were thoroughly reviewed. 27 city facilities were considered for abolition or transfer to the private sector. In addition, Sagamihara City has also reviewed 66 subsidies to various organizations. In addition to the review, Sagamihara City has “frozen” new projects in principle in the initial budget for fiscal 2020. In fiscal 2021, a tight budget was compiled with almost no new projects implemented. In the face of a financial crisis, a thorough review of expenditures has been carried out. However, reducing expenditures alone will result in a decline in services to citizens. With limited finances, measures were also implemented to increase the attractiveness of the city while utilizing the power of the private sector. As this reform plan was implemented, the city’s finances recovered rapidly at the end of fiscal 2022.
Sontoku Shrine is located in Odawara City, Kanagawa Prefecture. This shrine enshrines Ninomiya Sontoku. His success story in Sakuramachimine serves as a model for reconstruction even today. Even in a ruined rural area, there is latent productivity and the ability to make a profit. Even in the ruined Sakuramachimine, there are fields with potential for production, and if the villagers exert their efforts, there is hidden potential to increase productivity. However, if you consume beyond your finances (income), you will gradually become poorer. Wasteful spending that exceeds the village’s financial resources should have been refrained from. Understanding finances and striving to live within those limits is the wisdom of enjoying abundance.
