THE HOUSING CRISIS
     Obviously the cause of ever rising housing costs is too much demand chasing too little supply. The solution is to increase supply, but governments do everything in their power to restrict it.
     According to the premier of Ontario, Doug Ford, there are 360,000 regulations in Ontario. There are 195,000 by-laws in the city of Toronto, and according to the former mayor of Toronto, Rob Ford, builders are continually subject to extortion by the city.
Want to build an office tower? No problem, we’ll let you do that – so long as you also build us a new library. Want to build a sixty story condo tower? No problem, so long as there are a number of 3 bedroom units, there are subsidized units and it’s only forty stories high – and by the way, we’ll take up to ten years to grant the permit and we’ll tax the hell out of you. And on and on.
     So why is this insanity allowed to go on? One reason is politicians are politicians – they believe that they know what’s best for you. Another is nimbyism. Politicians don’t give a damn about property rights, but do react to NIMBYs. Most people believe that they should have a say in what their neighbour does with his property – no you shouldn’t. If a developer wants to build a sixty story condo tower across the street from your house, that’s none of your business. But there is an area where you should have a say and it has to do with two of your senses – Smell and Hearing. Neither your neighbour nor a developer has a right to stink you out of your home or blow your ears off. The law should enforce a first right of refusal – I was here first so don’t violate my sense of smell or hearing.
     Other than the first right of refusal, the government has no role in what you do with your property or a developer does with his – and in a very short time the housing crisis would be solved.