Do you agree that for Canada to thrive, we need to prioritize bedrooms for kids, not cats?
In a recent column for The Globe & Mail, Gen Squeeze founder and UBC policy professor Paul Kershaw invited older, affluent homeowners to put our housing wealth to work.
"Older Canadians worked and lived in an era when blue-collar jobs could pay enough to purchase a home. With the wealth they have since acquired from rising home values, many have ascended to the ranks of the affluent. The financial industry recognizes this. Public opinion does too. It’s time for governments to catch up, by revisiting social-spending priorities and revenue plans to pay for the investments that citizens want."
His column struck a nerve, inspiring 775 comments over 18 hours.
One comment in particular got on OUR nerves:
It's cruel to brag about your Aristo-cat's bedroom when so many families are struggling to afford enough rooms for their kids.
But voices like "Viejo Lector" are loud enough to discourage politicians from taking the bold actions we need to make housing affordable again for all generations. Paul tackled this and other similar comments in his follow-up column in The Globe & Mail:
While my last column suggested that housing wealth should factor into how governments earmark retirement income benefits and raise revenue, comments left by some readers signal that I was getting ahead of myself.
Their comments remind me that politicians generally require the public to provide political cover before they will act on new evidence. This means older, affluent homeowners like me must band together to acknowledge our relative privilege. We must signal there is a path to political success for politicians to respond to the “colossal wealth transfer” that Mr. Poilievre diagnoses.
That's why we're inviting homeowners to join our "Rooms for Kids not Cats" campaign.
Will you join these Gen Squeeze feline friends in showing your support?
As a homeowner, I want to tell my elected leaders that:
- I acknowledge I have gained wealth from rising home prices and believe that homeowners like me should help tackle Canada's housing affordability crisis.
- I do not stand with “room-for-my-cat aristocrats” who belittle people whose wages haven't kept up with the rising home prices that benefited me.
- I want my leaders to respond boldly to growing housing inequalities for the sake of younger and future generations.