That is a false dichotomy. Housing is expensive in Canada due to zoning laws forcing a very inefficient use of land, among other reasons.
I lived in Europe for decades, so I know for a fact that making our streets pleasant to walk around isn't some weird utopia, it is the basic reality in many developed countries.
Seriously. I’m in my mid-50s, and the bleakness of my generation is staggering. Nobody wants to be alive anymore.
I'm a decade younger. I thought Gen-Xers were doing decently well, at least compared to younger generations.
What sorts of problems are you folks having? I'd love to learn more.
Living in an area that is beautiful matters, and our urban landscapes are a big part of that. Trees, decorated facades, town squares, they may add some economic cost, but why is that the only cost that matters? What about the emotional cost of living in an ugly noisy jungle of concrete and glass?
Hey, hey! That's an unfair take. They also kill adults, seniors in particular.
I'm looking at 3br condos/townhomes for my car-free family and prices still look insane. We will likely have to leave the GTA.
I'll be perfectly honest: I don't care about the technicalities. Anybody can still buy compostable garbage bags that, to a layperson, sure feel similar to any other plastic bag.
If it is biodegradable / compostable, it should be available for purchase at checkout points for a small fee, regardless of whether it is made of plastic, advanced biopolymers or unicorn semen.
The only place I see with degradable bags at checkout is Whole Foods with their (rather robust) paper bags. All other shops have done away with disposable bags and it's an annoyance to customers when they forget their reusable bags at home.
Threatening or killing somebody using a car is taken way too lightly. People outside cars are very vulnerable to the whims of drivers.
As I understand it, plastic checkout bags are banned federally, regardless of which sort of plastic they are made of. It sounds ridiculous, but that's what the law appears to say.
I wish they continued selling single-use bags and instead required them to be biodegradable/compostable. It's fine to charge for them, too.
Why? Because sometimes shit happens and you go to the grocery store without a reusable bag. You don't want to buy a reusable bag, you already have them at home. And those reusable bags are rarely recyclable or compostable either, so are they really greener than compostable single-use bags?
There is probably no horror comparable to burying one of your children.
At the same time, I don't believe anybody should be forced to live when they no longer want to. Suicidal ideation doesn't come out of nowhere, it is the consequence of a tormented life where the desire to stop suffering eventually overcomes the fear of dying.
I hope all involved find peace.
I can lend money to others without them as middlemen
Private banks are highly regulated businesses to avoid fraud and maintain the trust and stability of the financial system. They also play a key role in the creation of money supply. Banks literally create money when they issue a loan, something no other business can do.
and at the same time they seem to suggest that having money in banks is not risk-free
Because it isn't 100% risk free: your bank can default and if your cash balance exceeds the amount that is insured by the government you can lose that excess.
The central bank cannot go bankrupt because it issues its own currency. You could experience the effects of inflation, but you would be protected from bankruptcy.
That's why authorities are concerned about allowing citizens to hold their savings in central bank accounts.
Developed countries have fewer children than necessary to maintain their population. If overpopulation is your concern, you have to look elsewhere, and the measures you need to prevent it will be different.