Like a lot of people my age, I’m not feeling particularly inspired by any of our political parties right now. Three years ago I didn’t care very much about voting – I barely remember who I voted for. Politics seemed so far removed from my life. What could the government possibly do for me?
Things are so different this year. With just a few weeks till the big day, I realised I’d been holding my breath for some amazing housing policy to come out from some direction . None really has.
Look, I don’t know what policy I want to see; I’m not an expert. (Do first home buyer subsidies work or do they actually backfire? Logically it seems to me they might work in the short term though probably not in the long run – but what do I know? What about a capital gains tax? Again, I’m certainly not qualified to say – I’m not sure if it would do anything to fix our crazy property market, but it does seem weird that we are so out of step with other countries on this by not having a capital gains tax.) All I know is there are sharper minds than mine out there and a big problem to solve: a growing population and not enough houses. Rentals are of disgraceful standards and rents are only increasing. Purchase prices are spiralling; mostly people already on the ladder, who can use their current equity, can buy.
This passage jumped out at me from a post I read this week:
As the world urbanizes, we need to start thinking about how to make cities better, not simply bigger. The primary goal of a city should not be to enrich already wealthy landlords and construction companies… Urbanism should not be defined by the egos of planners, architects, politicians, or the über-rich but by what works best for the most people.
And with that, to the rest of the links…
A guide to investing in ETFs in New Zealand and Australia – thanks Save Spend Splurge!
Some tips from Landing Standing on recreating meals from your travels at home
Leslie on the difference between giving to/helping out a parent
The best way to be your own boss? Sell advice on how to be your own boss (hah) quoting 3 bloggers I follow – via The New Republic
