@commonwealthcanada
Canadian nonprofit advancing practical solutions to Canada’s housing, affordability, and productivity challenges. Citizen's dividends, land value sharing, and sharing the the value of natural and public wealth. commonwealth.ca
Social media exchange: “Why is our generation unhappy?” Reply: “Rent 50% of my income.”
1/2 of your labour goes to using land
1/4 of your labour goes to the government
How about we tax land instead of hard work?
"Even if you only wanted to buy a home to live in, you're paying for the fact that it's gonna go up in value." - Daryl Fairweather, Chief Economist of Redfin
Ehren Cory quote saying land value capture can fund transit infrastructure that Canadians need.
Transit projects raise land values without property owners doing anything.
Capturing some that value to fund the project is a virtuous cycle.
"What we've seen in the past decade is the largest transfer of wealth from the public to the private sector since the province was founded."
— Paul Finch, President of BC General Employees' Union
Tax the land.
Karl Widerquist quote urging governments to build public wealth funds and pay a basic income dividend from shared assets.
The most influential UBI advocates are generally unanimous that it should be paid as a dividend from public assets — like natural resources and social wealth funds.
CCPA article headline claiming housing crisis isn’t caused by supply shortage but by financialization driving costs higher.
No amount of new homes will solve the financialization of housing.
We should build way more supply, but it won't be nearly enough to overcome unlimited credit bidding up land values.
Land value tax tackles financialization at its core.
Tweet arguing taxes hit work most and calling for a land value tax instead of taxing labor and capital.
We're taxing what people do earn from work MORE than what people don't earn from land.
It's the opposite of what we should do and what's driving the housing crisis and poverty.
Toronto Star headline reading “Want real action on housing? Tax the land,” with image of condo construction and cranes.
"By taxing land rather than buildings, we can incentivize much-needed housing development... this approach facilitates a comprehensive solution to restore housing affordability."
https://www.commonwealth.ca/blog/thestar-oped-want-real-action-on-housing-tax-the-land
Post by Ken Yang: Chart shows corporate profits rising since 1980 while labor compensation share declines.
The only real answer is UBI as a dividend to citizens as shareholders
Elena Mantagaris and Matthew Bianco quote urging Canada to create a sovereign wealth fund to benefit citizens for decades.
Canada should have a sovereign wealth fund that pays dividends to all and invests for future generations.
It's how we leverage our nation's advantages in natural resources, technology, and finance to build common wealth for all Canadians.
Jens Stoltenberg beside quote on Norway taxing oil profits, arguing natural resource rents belong in common to the people.
Norway's sovereign wealth fund reflects a shared belief that the value of nature is something owned in common.
It's time Canadians shared this mindset of safeguarding, not squandering, our natural resource wealth.
Mark Cameron beside quote arguing land value taxes encourage development and fund transit by taxing unearned land gains.
If we tax income, some work less.
If we tax sales, some buy less.
If we tax homes, some build less.
If we tax land, the amount of land stays the same but it's put to better use. That can encourage more housing, fund transit, and replace harmful taxes.
UBI is the collective bargaining of the AI economy.
It’s no longer workers against employers -- it’s humans against machines.
Humanoids are already in our factories and it's only going to ramp up from here.
In the 90s-2000s, globalization and automation displaced millions in manufacturing, including my dad and uncle whose incomes never recovered. The impact of humanoids is going to be way bigger.
"Wealthy on paper, but poorer as a society. That is the paradox of Canada’s housing market."
www.thestar.com/opinion/cont...
Why have babies when you can pay rent instead
"National Bureau of Economic Research, which found that a $10,000 increase in house prices leads to a 2.4 per cent decrease in the fertility rate of nonhomeowners."
www.thestar.com/opinion/cont...
Thanks for the share! It's up on website without the pay wall now: www.gensqueeze.ca/globe_mail_b...
@gensqueeze.bsky.social
Screenshot of Globe and Mail article titled “Building more homes alone won’t fix affordability” by Paul Kershaw
One of the few very visible Canadians shedding light on the hard truth about housing.
UBC's Dr. Paul Kershaw, founder of Generation Squeeze
"We cannot reward housing speculation with tax breaks without expecting home values to outpace local earnings."
Another UBI skeptic flipped because of AI--a contributor to the American Conservative and New York Post
"For years, I opposed Universal Basic Income, firmly and reflexively... That position no longer survives contact with reality."
This image is clearly doctored with the intent to deceive you.
I have never been outside.
(UBI 🤝 LVT is awesome though)
🔰UBI + LVT = huge societal win
Hard to understate how urgently the housing debate needs to move in this direction!
bsky.app/profile/gens...
No amount of building will fix an entire financial and political system geared towards raising land values.
Let's first agree collectively that affordability means lower prices and fewer gains for owners.
Thanks for sharing Floyd! We've got a long list of housing policy solutions. It all starts with a goal for home prices: www.gensqueeze.ca/housing_solu...
Another great piece by UBC's Dr. Paul Kershaw
One of the few very visible Canadians shedding light on the hard truth about housing.
"We cannot reward housing speculation with tax breaks without expecting home values to outpace local earnings."
www.theglobeandmail.com/investing/pe...
If 'land value tax fixes this' were a Canadian nonprofit
