THE LEGACY OF LEFTISTS IN WARD 30?
they are so busy helping the 'poor' *(I do not mean the old and disabled) they forget about the 'working poor'
We are the forgotten generation.
The generation that works from 8am to 7pm with long commutes.
Instead we subsidize housing downtown for a growing number of people who simply choose to live off the system; as if they need to wake up at 6am every morning for the long trek to work?
We are the generation that makes a good income but is over-taxed and therefore has little hope of ever buying a house or saving for OUR retirement.
Instead we are busy paying for other peoples retirements, including over subsidized government jobs and people that come to Canada to live off our system.
picture by Jason Allies
written by 'Bill' as a response to Torontoist article: Leslieville the New Queen West
As a 13-year 'veteran' of Leslieville, I am fascinated by the take on the neighbourhood by all the newbies (especially Joe Clark). His point about Leslieville being 'protected' from over-gentrification by the high number of social housing projects in the area is quite well taken. These projects are not subject to economic forces and will remain, in some form, forever. And accordingly, there will always be enough addicts, prostitutes and crime in Leslieville to prevent a full-scale transformation into a family-friendly neighbourhood like the Beach or 'prime' Riverdale or even a ubber-hip neighbourhood like Queen West. What Clark probably doesn't know is that this 'insulation' against gentrification was installed quite deliberately by then-councillor (now MPP) Peter Tabuns back in the early 1990s. He saw gentrification coming and ushered in these housing projects, over the objection of the local residents (he once called the Woodgreen building at 1070 Queen East, which takes up almost an entire block with no retail at grade, "the most beautiful building in Riverdale"). What you are seeing now in Leslieville, therefore, is a clash between the free market, which favours Leslieville because of its excellent location and under-priced housing stock, and the legacy of socialist housing policy. What will ultimately emerge should be interesting - and I look forward to reading what Clark and others think of it.all pictures are of the Gardiner Expressway by Cherry Street
2 comments:
I like this comment to the Globe and Mail article by Margaret Wente.
Toronto’s backward on public housing: Get ’em out, not in
- Borgward Isabella
I think most hard-working taxpayers would agree that the truly disadvantaged - those with mental and physical handicaps - deserve social assistance.
That being said, there's probably a limit to our tolerance of, to put it bluntly, freeloaders. Times are getting tougher, and there's no rosy glow on the horizon. Sooner or later taxpayers will demand that their governments cut the freeloaders loose, before eveyone ends up in the poorhouse. Would that be fair? I guess it depends on your philosophy.
What is certainly understandable is the resentment by people who make their own way in life of those who don't seem to mind (who seem to, in fact, consider it their right) to have a roof over their heads courtesy of their fellow citizens.
The corporate world could certainly help more, too, with more on-the-job training programs, profit-sharing plans for employees, and solutions other than mass layoffs when things get a bit tight. They have reneged on their part of the "social contract" as much as the freeloaders have.
- Borgward Isabella
Well said!
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