Stop me, before I shower again

I will never be accused of poor personal hygiene while living in this country.  Like back home, I shower every day and often twice per day.  In hot weather I shower pretty much every time I get home.  (I hate the feeling of dried sweat.)

Considering that the water I'm using to wash off is desalinated these showers are expensive.  Except, that they are not.  The government heavily subsidizes water and electricity.  The highest water bill I've had is $9 in one month.  The government sent out this flyer in the monthly bill:

It makes the point that Emiratis pay nothing for water and electricity is heavily subsidized.  Ex-pats like me pay about 50% of the cost of water/electricity.

The result?  I shower more often and take longer showers than I should.  If I were paying the full price I would think twice about a long shower, like I do in the US.  But here I know I can have that long, relaxing shower and pay $9/month for water and $30 for electricity (in the non-hot months.)

When it does get hot I could stay in a small room and try too only that room or I could stay in my large front room with two air conditioners blasting.  Given the subsidy from the government you can guess which one I choose.

I'm not a horrible person; I'm rational.  When governments subsidize an energy source it leads to it being overused. So the letter appealing to the masses to avoid over consumption may make me think twice before my next shower but it probably won't stop me.

The country would be better off if they paid everyone a little more and didn't have any subsidy.  I would then conserve and be happy with my savings.  The country wins because it doesn't need to build more expensive desalination plants.  It would be win-win and it will probably never happen.

Tomorrow:  Another inefficient subsidy I appreciate.  (I know, you're waiting on the edge of your seat.)