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I would too. And in fact, I'll be more provocative and say that our real estate bubble has the same fundamental problem as the US real estate bubble which exploded gloriously, kicking off the financial crisis. The bubble in real estate has been an extremely slow growing bubble. But bubbles do...

You miss the fundamental point. The only reason why that house is $750,000 to begin with, is that everyone is competing with leverage. Prices are based on what people are willing to pay. And what they're willing to pay, is what the banks are willing to lend them. And what they're willing to lend...

I was merely reacting at all this hatred being lunged at Rastani in the media and blogs, etc. Investment is all about opportunity. And opportunity is created no matter what the market does. Everybody loves speculators when they help leverage up their RRSP stock portfolio to an absurd valuation...

This is a nonsense economic argument. There does not need to be a loser for every winner. If this principle held, every new job one mean one job loss for another. I don't know why so many people subscribe to this fixed pie economic theory.

Rastani merely speaks the truth. I, like Rastani, am positioned to make a lot of money in the event of an economic collapse? Why? Because I'm on the other side of the trade. I do not believe that Western governments are on a sustainable course, and as such, I have chosen to bet against them with...

Whenever police ask me for my information, as they did twice during the G20, I immediately ask them: "am I legally required to give you my ID?" -- if they say "yes", I then ask them "what law requires that I provide you my ID?" As a general rule, I do not volunteer any information to the police...

What we should do is get rid of inflation to begin with. Inflation is a monetary phenomenon and is completely caused by the government. Infation is a tax. It is how governments subsidize their own borrowing and cheap leverage for primary lenders.

Um, okay. What? First of all, I see no reason to attribute the position of being against property-tax-by-valuation a "conservative" position. For instance, I think of members of the Polish side of my family who lived in the Roncesvalles area from the 1950s onward, and were unceremoniously...

Well, of course. I don't support outsourcing merely as a matter of principle. But only as a matter of cost savings. I wouldn't support outsourcing a job that did not meet a set quality standard at an appreciable cost savings. However, if a contractor can provide a service the same service and...

Well, in my particular case -- and at the risk of having said persons find this post -- I have one friend who works for the City and two family members. I can tell you that all of them are simply office bureaucrats, whose skill-sets are entirely replaceable at much lower salaries. I'm even...

To fix traffic congestion in Toronto, and in all urban centres around Canada I would start with a repeal of the Bank of Canada Act, followed by an outright dismantling of the Canadian Mortgage Housing Corporation. I would bring an end to the post-war subsidization of mortgages and consumer...

Yes, the City is bound to deliver these services under the Ontario Municipal Act.

Sure. But note I used the term "bureaucracy". The number of support staff for all these aforementioned positions is very large. And I for one am extremely in favor of cutting police funding -- which is the city's second large budget item after the TTC. Toronto Police are also the highest paid...

Okay, you're more correct-ish than me. I did a calculation in my spreadsheet. But the transition point is actually $88,000. However, Alberta also has no provincial sales tax. And while I don't have time to figure out the numbers, I'm thinking the 8% less sales tax in Wild Rose Country is going...

I was under the impression Toronto is doing this, too. Did the Bloor-Yorville BIA not cover most of the costs of the Bloor Street Revitalization. Did the Bloor West Village BIA and the Roncesvalles BIA not do the same for their gentrification projects? I'm sure people more knowledgable with...

Well, yes and no. Alberta has fewer tax brackets that advance much faster than Ontario's towards it's top marginal rate. If you make more than $80,000 then Alberta's taxes are lower. If you make under that, then Ontario's taxes are lower. Alberta's top marginal tax rate is 39%, while Ontario's...

Well, I'm certainly not going to "try harder" to have any conversation with you going forward. Responding to individual sentence of a multi-paragraph post with an ad hominem quip just shows that you're unwilling to have an adult conversation.

How have I succumbed to his rhetoric? Did you read the linked post I wrote about Ford during the campaign? I've done nothing by repudiate him for being a moron since day one.

"No it's because Ontarians and Torontonians pay very low income tax, very low service fees, and in Toronto's case low property tax." Well, this is certainly a matter that's up for debate. And I'm certainly not trying to be pretentious when I qualify myself in this field as I spend a lot of time...

So you're saying you'd rather focus on making people share your political dispositions. That's a fine and valid approach. I don't think it will get you very far. I think the issue with the public's perception of public sector unions is salient. By the quotes around the word "advice", I'm...