sbv @ sbv @sh.itjust.works

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2 yr. ago

Moderating

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Parker says the Green party and NDP in Ontario and nationally have put forward practical solutions to tackle different aspects of housing and why it's become unaffordable, including building non-profit housing on public lands, implementing vacant home taxes and using inclusionary zoning, which require private developers to include a certain percentage of affordable units within new, multi-unit housing developments.

Those all sound fine. The article doesn't dig too deeply into what those solutions would actually look like, but I don't think anyone would disagree that starting with them is a good idea.

Inclusionary zoning is interesting. The City of Ottawa has been doing that for a while (not really, but there are affordability requirements that builders will agree to in order to get zoning exemptions), and I haven't seen any stats or anecdotes saying it makes a difference or helps anyone.

Maybe they exist and I missed them. I hope that's the case.

Aren't non-primary residences already taxed in that way?

Minimally, requiring bids to be in the open would go a long way. And price history to be included in listings. And taxing sale profit as income.

There are so many little things that could lower prices.

When asked, Carney did not disagree with Robertson either. The Walrus has a really interesting analysis of Carneys explanation.

I would summarize it as "young Canadians may find it easier to buy houses over time" - but that doesn't mean soon. Nor does it mean they intend to push market prices down, rather they may be trying to stabilize market prices and hope salaries catch up, thanks to inflation.

I believe we've discussed this a few times, and I think we've drawn different conclusions from similar evidence.

Suffice to say: I really hope Canadians see a substantial improvement in housing costs before the next election.

It's more about how we see ourselves. Do we build strong services and utilities for our own population, or do we keep shoveling money and opportunity to our incumbents?

We used to have a pretty strong telecom industry. We had decent manufacturing and ship building, if you go far enough back. If there's decent infrastructure, tax codes, and investment incentives maybe we could have those again.

It feels like Carney is interpreting his mandate as reinforcing the status quo when it comes to winners and losers in the current economy.

When his housing minister was asked if house prices need to come down, he replied:

“No. I think that we need to deliver more supply, make sure the market is stable. It’s a huge part of our economy,” said Robertson on his way to the first meeting of Prime Minister Mark Carney’s new cabinet

So they are planning to maintain current prices, but there may be more choice, and they are promising to build some affordable housing (for sale? Rent? Who runs it? How affordable will it be?).

Not to be confused with the struggle bus.

The next day, after his final news conference of the campaign, Carney stopped by a cafe in Newmarket. There, he was approached by a woman who said she was a realtor, and who urged him to get rid of the Liberals’ increase to the capital gains tax. It was causing investors a lot of problems, she told him.

“I got rid of it. I know it was a dumb idea. As soon as they did, I was like, ‘This is a stupid idea,’” Carney told her. “And I’m sorry about that, but I wasn’t there so I couldn’t prevent it. But now I can.”

le sigh

Needs more blue tarps

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2025_North_Korean_destroyer_launch_disaster?wprov=sfla1

In his defense, he didn't try to seduce anyone.

I'm not sure it's reduced, but point taken.

“I decided I launched [sic] these tools in the first place as a project to build the tool that could be use by LEAs [law enforcement agencies] and PIs [private investigators.]”

According to the developer, they’ve provided the tool to cops in Portugal, Belgium, and “other countries in Europe.” They told 404 Media that the website is meant for private investigators, journalists, and cops.

It sounds like they're actively peddling it to cops.

We see ourselves as a progressive country. It's an absolute embarrassment that we invite people into our country and then treat them like this. If Canadians can't/won't so the work, then we should ensure that the people who come in to fill those jobs have the same protections that a successful worker world have.

My response was (is?) tongue and cheek.

Generally, I think it's best for the GM to give the players an accurate, understandable, and consistent view of the world. If the local townsfolk have said The creature up the hill turns people to stone when they gaze upon it! then this is a perfectly reasonable course of action, even if the monster doesn't have a gaze attack, so long as the PCs trust the villagers. The villagers just happen to be wrong in this case.

If the PCs have a reason to doubt their senses (in D&D/Shadowrun that might be due to a charm, etc; or in Cyberpunk/Shadowrun it could be cyberpsychosis) then it's also pretty reasonable.

Can the GM do it once to troll the players? Sure.

Would it be annoying if the GM made a habit of it? Probably.

Is it funny for a meme? Yes.

A flare as large as the Carrington Event (or bigger) could cause pretty severe problems.

I've always wanted to visit Killing Morocco.

finally, someone asking the right questions

According to Wikipedia

D-Link Systems, Inc. (formerly Datex Systems, Inc.) is a Taiwanese multinational manufacturer of networking hardware and telecoms equipments. It was founded in 1986 and headquartered in Taipei, Taiwan.

Agreed. I don't like watching videos, so I get grumpy about links to YouTube videos that don't have a blurb.