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Canada steps up
to protect housing
Have you ever wondered why the media seems fixated on Canada? It’s because wealthy foreign investors — primarily Americans — who have previously used real estate as a speculative investment, crashing the global economy in the process, are now facing restrictions in Canada. Unlike the United States, Canada has laws preventing real estate from being exploited as a mere financial asset.
Canadians have already witnessed how housing becomes unaffordable when greed takes the wheel. The wealthy are emboldened by their leadership, and their ambitions don’t stop at borders. We cannot allow this expansion to go unchecked. Protecting housing markets isn’t a radical idea; it’s a global effort.
Karl Moore
Hayward
There must be pathway
to equitable state PUC
I am puzzled (and angered) why the California Public Utilities Commission is so bad; why it seems to collude with, rather than regulate, PG&E in so many ways. It is an extreme hardship for ratepayers.
I thought that after the ouster of Michael Peevey new people were appointed and decisions seemed more balanced. Then things changed back. There must be a pathway to more fundamental fairness.
Barbara Morita
El Cerrito
Subsidizing Bay Area
public transit pays off
Re: “BART benefits riders, non-riders alike” (Page A6, Dec. 17).
Writer Peter Nicoll correctly observes that people who don’t ride BART benefit from it through less congested roads.
It’s also worth noting that air pollution is reduced because of cars not being driven and that BART and other forms of public transportation enable people who can’t afford a car to hold a job and thus to be taxpayers rather than being homeless or on unemploymentor welfare.
There are many good reasons that non-riders pay taxes to support public transportation.
Merlin Dorfman
Livermore
Education, not athletics,
deserve Oakland’s funds
Re: “Oakland should invest in young athletes’ dreams” (Page A8, Dec. 15).
James Kimball wants to see the prioritization of funding and support for sports in Oakland, a city so far underwater financially that it will have to cut significant spending just to survive.
I feel for student athletes, but despite their love for the game and their talent, few will make it to the major leagues, and some of those few will retire early due to injury.
The priority for all students is a great education, which provides them the options they most need for a great future. This is sadly where Oakland fails those student athletes the most.
Denise Kalm
Walnut Creek
Nonprofit services keep
the greed in check
Re: “Health insurance workers rattled by public anger” (Page A1, Dec. 13).
I’ve had the same nonprofit, prepaid health plan for 60 years. I’ve never had a claim denial because I’ve never had to file one. I’ve never been denied care. Indeed, I’ve had excellent care, including urgent cancer surgery with schedules rearranged to get me into the operating room quickly.
There are health care solutions, but most Americans have “for-profit” insurance in our rabidly capitalist system.
Because of my experience with nonprofit health care, I’ve abandoned Wall Street wherever possible. All my insurance is through nonprofit companies. My housing is in a nonprofit retirement community. My banking is through a not-for-profit credit union. Reigning in greed is one big fix. Greed is not alright.
Tom Debley
Walnut Creek
Source: www.mercurynews.com