The argument is that it’s not billionaires causing the primary issues with affordability.
It’s almost entirely the pyramid scheme that is the 8.5 trillion dollar real estate market, which is majority owned by the average Canadian citizen, not corporations and billionaires.
I mean feel free to eat the rich at the same time, but if we want to make things affordable and our economy competitive again for anything, we NEED to reduce property values.
Currently, my home consumes approximately 45% of the combined wages of my wife and I, and we’re lucky enough to have it half paid off already. If we dropped the cost of housing significantly, it would hurt the equity of everyone, but also it would mean that I could work for a lower wage, and still take home more disposable income.
An 80% drop in real estate values could mean paying me 30% less and me still being ahead financially, especially once you account for the multi-stage effects where most of the things I buy are made using land and labour, both of which would now be cheaper, so the prices of most products (like food) could drop too.
All of that would need significant government regulation during the transition period to ensure companies play nicely, but it’s totally possible.
I’m confused - are you arguing for lower property values as a driving method to reduce COL, or for trying to redistribute housing prices?
The argument is that it’s not billionaires causing the primary issues with affordability.
It’s almost entirely the pyramid scheme that is the 8.5 trillion dollar real estate market, which is majority owned by the average Canadian citizen, not corporations and billionaires.
I mean feel free to eat the rich at the same time, but if we want to make things affordable and our economy competitive again for anything, we NEED to reduce property values.
Currently, my home consumes approximately 45% of the combined wages of my wife and I, and we’re lucky enough to have it half paid off already. If we dropped the cost of housing significantly, it would hurt the equity of everyone, but also it would mean that I could work for a lower wage, and still take home more disposable income.
An 80% drop in real estate values could mean paying me 30% less and me still being ahead financially, especially once you account for the multi-stage effects where most of the things I buy are made using land and labour, both of which would now be cheaper, so the prices of most products (like food) could drop too.
All of that would need significant government regulation during the transition period to ensure companies play nicely, but it’s totally possible.