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It's not xenophobic, it's classist. I'd make a similar statement about domestic rich people, but at least they can make the argument that they contribute to the

It's not xenophobic, it's classist. I'd make a similar statement about domestic rich people, but at least they can make the argument that they contribute to the civics of the city in some way by actually being present and involved. If you expropriated all of the unoccupied mansions and replaced them with normal-priced, mixed housing, the cost of housing in the city would broadly go down, as supply would massively increase. Pricing being bid up amongst specific classes of housing and people is a second order problem - the first order problem is that unoccupied mansions are a criminal misuse of land which must be remedied by taxation.

tomatowurst 5y ago
The crux of the issue are zoning laws that artificially suppress supply. in particular the city of vancouver have resisted rezoning to high density low rise homes because it hurts their voter base who are NIMBY multiple property home owning Canadians who turn around to sell them to whoever will buy them. and then the masses turn around to blame that group. its straight up xenophobia one that has been in Vancouver for a very long time, anti-asian xenophobia in Vancouver is not new. 80s, it was the japanese, 90s, hong kong & koreans, 2000s, taiwanese and mainlanders.
- arrosenberg 5y ago
  Yes, one group of people got rich and now a different group of have-nots are mad at the people left holding the land. That is not an uncommon historical trope. That has nothing to do with what I said - unoccupied mansions on valuable land are an economic crime against the average person. If you want to blame that on zoning laws, you’d probably be correct in many cases, but its also a taxation issue. I’m not from Vancouver, so their xenophobia doesn’t apply to me. Vancouverites burned down their own city after losing the Stanley Cup Finals - I’m definitely not here to defend their character. You can stop going to that well, I only see this as land use issue.
  - tomatowurst 5y ago
    > Yes, one group of people got rich and now a different group of have-nots are mad at the people left holding the land. Very much so and it probably stings even more for that have-not group, that its people from what they perceive to be of "third world origin". There's just no helping such people, instead of seeking ways to better themselves, they choose to live in a state of angst and anger and expect the government to somehow fix it.
    - arrosenberg 5y ago
      You seem pretty obsessed with xenophobia, but its really just easier to target wealthy foreigners than wealthy domestics. This is a class and land use issue - the have nots don’t need to “better themselves” (nor do they need the implied patrimony in that statement), they need homes on affordable mortgages. The government can do that! We know they can, because they have before, you just need the land. Oh look, some unoccupied mansions…
      - tomatowurst 5y ago
        when you aren't affected by it, you are more likely to discount it. the people aren't going after iranians or russian foreigners. they are literally singling out one group by race in Vancouver. Again you don't live here and you don't fall in the category so you won't understand how sensitive this issue is here.
        arrosenberg 5y ago
        I dunno, it kind of seems like I do. My city has the same land use issues, without the alleged xenophobia and we still target foreign wealth way more than domestic. Its just easier.
        tomatowurst 5y ago
        > I dunno, it kind of seems like I do how?

tomatowurst 5y ago

The crux of the issue are zoning laws that artificially suppress supply. in particular the city of vancouver have resisted rezoning to high density low rise homes because it hurts their voter base who are NIMBY multiple property home owning Canadians who turn around to sell them to whoever will buy them. and then the masses turn around to blame that group. its straight up xenophobia one that has been in Vancouver for a very long time, anti-asian xenophobia in Vancouver is not new. 80s, it was the japanese, 90s, hong kong & koreans, 2000s, taiwanese and mainlanders.

arrosenberg 5y ago
Yes, one group of people got rich and now a different group of have-nots are mad at the people left holding the land. That is not an uncommon historical trope. That has nothing to do with what I said - unoccupied mansions on valuable land are an economic crime against the average person. If you want to blame that on zoning laws, you’d probably be correct in many cases, but its also a taxation issue. I’m not from Vancouver, so their xenophobia doesn’t apply to me. Vancouverites burned down their own city after losing the Stanley Cup Finals - I’m definitely not here to defend their character. You can stop going to that well, I only see this as land use issue.
- tomatowurst 5y ago
  > Yes, one group of people got rich and now a different group of have-nots are mad at the people left holding the land. Very much so and it probably stings even more for that have-not group, that its people from what they perceive to be of "third world origin". There's just no helping such people, instead of seeking ways to better themselves, they choose to live in a state of angst and anger and expect the government to somehow fix it.
  - arrosenberg 5y ago
    You seem pretty obsessed with xenophobia, but its really just easier to target wealthy foreigners than wealthy domestics. This is a class and land use issue - the have nots don’t need to “better themselves” (nor do they need the implied patrimony in that statement), they need homes on affordable mortgages. The government can do that! We know they can, because they have before, you just need the land. Oh look, some unoccupied mansions…
    - tomatowurst 5y ago
      when you aren't affected by it, you are more likely to discount it. the people aren't going after iranians or russian foreigners. they are literally singling out one group by race in Vancouver. Again you don't live here and you don't fall in the category so you won't understand how sensitive this issue is here.
      - arrosenberg 5y ago
        I dunno, it kind of seems like I do. My city has the same land use issues, without the alleged xenophobia and we still target foreign wealth way more than domestic. Its just easier.
        tomatowurst 5y ago
        > I dunno, it kind of seems like I do how?