I almost choked on my tea when reading the latest diatribe from Joe Sawchuk, complaining about the high cost of rental accommodation and the failure of government to address the issue. Surely Mr. Sawchuk realizes that any such attempt to meddle in the function of the free market would be tantamount to the socialism he condemns so vehemently in all its forms?
As a sometime owner of revenue properties I understand how much it costs to operate a rental. The landlord must cover mortgage payments, taxes, utilities and upkeep from the rent, not to mention the damage some tenants can cause. I once had to replace all the drywall and flooring in a basement suite after a tenant’s child tried to flush a teddy bear down the toilet while already existing regulations forbade a rental increase to recoup the cost. Most owners of revenue properties are already balancing their budgets carefully, fearing a late payment or complete default that puts them into a negative balance themselves. Obviously further restrictions will make renting less attractive to an investor and reduce the available stock.
Given the high expense to provide rental homes the obvious solution would be to increase the public ability to afford them, through unionization and an increase in the minimum wage, measures which Mr. Sawchuk has repeatedly condemned as immoral propositions designed to wreck the economy. Even a social progressive like myself has to concede this would lead to further inflation that would punish those of us who live on limited incomes and unindexed pensions, besides being the kind of blatant government overreach that so frequently moves Joe to protest.
Beyond mass homelessness, there is a tried and true solution to the problem. I refer to the kind of low income residences the British refer to as Council Housing, built with taxpayer dollars to provide affordable residences for our fellow citizens with low incomes. Some non profit organizations (like Pacifica Housing in Victoria) are already meeting the need, and for those able to afford the initial payment there are co-operative housing units funded by former federal government grants. What we need to address Mr. Sawchuk’s current complaints are more investments by every level of government to establish more available units, but that would require an increase in taxes to allow further socialist encroachment in the free market system.
I’m sorry, Joe, but the reason nothing can be done about rental rates being too high is the fault of conservatives like yourself who object to any investment in public welfare. Given the resistance to any organized acts of charity on our collective behalf that you put up it has been all we progressives can do to preserve what little was accomplished by previous generations. Frankly, blaming government for failing to act against your frequent and stridently expressed wishes seems a bit disingenuous to this frequent reader.
With respect,
David Lowther
Mesachie Lake
