🤔 Affordability for Who?
Notes from someone who (half-jokingly) said she might run for mayor
I saw a post on X today from Mayor Ken Sim that said:
“Anyone who’s running for mayor or a non-ABC councillor… they all have said they want to increase property taxes… I’m a math guy and that just makes life less affordable for renters and homeowners.”
And honestly?
My first reaction was: 🤢
Not because I love taxes.
Nobody loves taxes.
But because every time politicians say “affordability,” I wonder:
Affordable for who?
🧭 My reality doesn’t match that math
I’ve been a renter most of my life.
I’ve:
- struggled to find stable work
- lived on very little
- navigated social assistance
- watched friends couch surf or leave Vancouver entirely
- seen seniors and disabled people choose between food and rent
So when I hear that freezing property taxes is the big solution…
…it feels disconnected from the reality I see every day.
Because here’s the thing:
Renters don’t get property tax savings.
Landlords don’t suddenly lower rent because their taxes didn’t go up.
If anything, rent keeps climbing anyway. 📈
So how is that helping the people who are actually struggling most?
🧮 Property taxes are only one tiny piece
Housing costs in Vancouver aren’t high because of property taxes.
They’re high because:
- housing became an investment market 💰
- supply is treated like a commodity
- wages didn’t keep up
- social housing wasn’t built
- speculation wasn’t controlled
Freezing taxes doesn’t fix any of that.
It just sounds good in a headline.
Meanwhile…
What pays for:
- libraries 📚
- community centres
- shelters 🛏️
- parks 🌳
- transit 🚍
- affordable housing programs
City revenue.
So if taxes don’t increase at all…
What gets cut instead?
And who feels those cuts most?
Usually not homeowners in million-dollar houses.
Usually renters.
Low-income folks.
People already hanging on by a thread.
⚽ And then there’s FIFA…
We’re told we can’t raise taxes because it hurts affordability…
…but somehow we can afford:
⚽ FIFA
⚽ mega-events
⚽ tourism branding
I’m not against celebration or sports.
But it’s hard not to notice the contradiction.
We can fund stadiums and spectacle…
…but struggle to fund housing and dignity?
That math doesn’t add up for me either.
🌱 If I ever seriously ran for mayor…
I joked recently that maybe I should run.
(Still joking… mostly 😄)
But if I ever did, my focus wouldn’t be:
“Keep taxes at zero no matter what.”
It would be:
- Housing first 🏠
- Protect core services
- Transparency on executive pay
- Support renters, not just property owners
- More co-ops and social housing
- Community gardens & food resilience 🌻
- Local jobs and small businesses
Because a city isn’t affordable if:
- you can’t find housing
- you can’t access services
- you can’t survive on your income
Even if your taxes are frozen.
💛 What affordability really means to me
Affordability means:
- sleeping safely at night
- not choosing between food and rent
- libraries staying open
- transit you can rely on
- seniors not isolated
- people not pushed out of their own city
It’s about quality of life.
Not just a line on a tax bill.
❓ Some questions I keep thinking about
- Does a property tax freeze actually help renters?
- What services would you give up to keep taxes at zero?
- Should mega-events come before housing security?
- Who benefits most from “affordability” policies?
- If you ran the city, what would you prioritize first?
I’m not a politician.
I’m just someone who has lived the edges of this system long enough to see the cracks.
But sometimes lived experience feels like better math than campaign slogans.
And maybe that’s where real affordability starts. 🌿
— Tina (Zipolita)
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