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Comment by andsoitis | Hacker News Reader

There is more than just one issue. A voter doesn’t necessarily agree on everything with the person they voted for.

I'm an immigrant and got really burned during the Harper admin (Kenny's handling of immigration destroyed my life). That basically meant my options are Liberal or NDP. NDP policies seem to think if I make more than 200K, I am a rich fat cat (ignore that I have a freakin PhD at the cost of a delay in buying a house - effectively making me far poorer in wealth terms than someone with a mediocre undergrad who bought a place anytime before 2015). Last election, I recall thinking, how can I vote NDP if them winning means I'll leave the country. That means, my only choice is Liberal. I am so fed up with their mismanagement, that I think I need to vote conservative just to make my voice heard, and then if (when?) the xenophobes of that party come out, go liberal again. I dunno .. feels like Canada isn't for people like me.

I only see one solution to right the wrongs of the past (with respect to the housing bubble). Tax wealth annually. Tax home sales the way the US does it.

As a society, we need to acknowledge how zero interest rates were directly responsible for the housing bubble. The people that caused that should be shamed publicly.

Interest rates and tax policy have massive impacts on behavior and the overall economy. It's kind of nuts that we do live in a system where these rules change all the time based on the whims of a bunch of politicians, half of whom are apparently members of an apocalyptic death cult. Or in this case, kinda racist?

"The bridge from Rinkeby makes it easier for criminals to recruit your children into crime," the party told local voters during last year’s campaign.

Speaking of taxing home sales, before 1997 any profit was considered capital gains. After the "taxpayer relief act" in 1997, the first $250k was exempted ($500k if married). So that was like a big flag saying "go forth and make money flipping houses". Side effect in our timeline is the creation of infinite home flipper content for YouTube. Similar signals with zero interest rates. "Buy a house now, no matter what it costs, for tomorrow it will cost more. Oh, maybe buy some guns too while you're at it, the end times are near".

> That basically meant my options are Liberal or NDP. NDP policies seem to think if I make more than 200K, I am a rich fat cat

If you make $200k a year, you've got almost 3x the average household income in canada ($75k). You're way up there in terms of wealth, and don't need any help from the NDP or anyone else.

I like that you entirely ignored their parenthesized statement immediately following what you just quoted. If you're going to respond to a point, at least respond to the entire point the other person makes.

It's not really relevant - he can save for downpayment on a house in most places in the country in a single year while also paying down his loans for a phd. He's so far out of the norm at his income that houses that are unattainable to most people are within reach. Sorry he chose to take out loans to get a phd and has to pay it back - I didn't make that decision. But he can definitely afford a home.

Wealth != income. Someone who bought a house 10 years ago could easily be wealthier than someone pulling down $200k today.

sure but the house isn't income, while $200k is income and enough to buy a house in some parts of this country every 3-5 years, if spent judiciously.

It's so far out the norm of normal income that anyone earning $200k in canada and complaining about the housing situation isn't in touch with what normal people in canada are experiencing and their complaints are ridiculous.

It's like a CEO yelling that you don't know how much they're paying in capital gains tax. It really isn't relevant.

While that income sounds like a lot it doesn't stretch to buying a home every 3-5 years. Are you taking about getting a mortgage? I make more than that but it's unrealistic I'll be owning a fully paid off house in 3-5 years. I could get a mortgage and purchase a house in that timeframe.

After taxes, high COL, sky-high rent, and retirement savings there's maybe a deposit in there.

the average household income in canada is ~$75k. $200k is a lot more "then maybe there's a deposit there". That's paying off a mortgage in record time if thats the priority money. Everyone in canada who is struggling is paying taxes, col, rent, and retirement savings, or they don't even get retirement savings.

You're out to lunch and out of touch.

Ah yes, the economic trick of buying the "average" house thousands of kilometers away from where I live. The average house where I live starts at four hundred thousand. Much more if you want detached.

Thanks the advice. I'll start purchasing property impractically far from my work. Good idea

With that kind of income, I suggest you talk to a wealth manager. There options for low effective interest rate loans. The effective rate on our mortgage is about 1% fixed.

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