patrick.net

Is this fair?> > I live in Canada and have purchased 5 homes in my life time. I have > bought most of them with a 5 % down payment and made my payments> without fail even in the 80s when the mortgage rates went as high as> 24%. (I was paying 18 3/4 %).> > I left Canada for a number of years and have now returned home. I now> have to pay a legislated mortgage insurance of 2.75% to get a loan > because the government is trying to protect our banks against:> > 1. Borrowers that may default, having taken on too much debt in> order to live in the McMansion house of their dreams. (irresponsible> borrowing)> > 2. Banks that have lent money for 0% down essentially lending the 5%> down payment in order for the purchaser to qualify for the loan that> they shouldn't have got in the first place. (irresponsible lending)> > > All of this is because the banks, with the approval of the> Government, have extended their amortization periods from 25 to 30 to> 35 to 40 years and in doing so have enabled real estate prices to> keep on spiraling higher and higher. Rich foreigners are the only> ones able to buy a house now in Vancouver.> > In order to help those that have taken on irresponsible debt loads> the government has kept lowering interest rates to a level that will> now surely spell disaster for many, once rates return to normal.> > It won't be long now before the bubble will burst here too in Canada> and there won't be anything this silly Government can do to help the> distressed borrowers. We won't have to worry about the banks though> because thanks to this Government they've made sure our banks won't> fail as they did in the U.S. because of the mortgage insurance I have> been forced to pay to protect them!> > I just wonder how long is it going to be before the Government forces> me to pay loan insurance on all other loans because of the> irresponsible mismanagement of debt by both Government, borrowers and> lending institutions?> > > Disgusted Canuck>

Canada is a gigantic social system. Honest hard working people get screwed. The government takes money from people who work hard and spread it around, so everyone has about the same amount.

As a matter of fact, the more you are responsible and "obey the law" the harder you get screwed. The crazier you "break the law" the better deal you get.

Take an example of an incident of a passenger in the grey hound bus, which happened last year(?). This guy took a knief and murdered a passenger next to him. With all the witness (10-20?) on the bus, definitely this was a murder case. But this guy did something smart after he executed the other passenger, he cut his head off, really decapitated the head off, and then ate his flesh (human meat). He went to court, and he was set free!

How about landlord and tenant dispute. Go to court, I have read that in the majority of the cases the judge sided with tenant, and give tenant a break. The landlord gets screwed. The whole system, including the legal system, is a gigantic social system.

Um, not really.

There is a finer line between rich and poor, but there is a definite line. The system helps maintain a minimum level that people are expected to live with. People collecting welfare of other payments aren't living a life of luxury, they're at the bottom of the barrel in terms of living standards.

My parents have been land lords and done fine in Canada, and going to court for a couple of issues. If you follow the laws, you're fine. If you're a landlord who's messing with the laws, you get into court and say "Well, everyone does it!", the judge, like in any US court will say, "that is fine, but that isn't the law". It's like going to court for speeding. Your ticket says 75, you say you weren't going that fast. The judge will simply ask, where you going over 65, the posted limit? "Just by a bit, we all were though...." and the judge will turn around and say "You broke the law, and admitted to it, case is over, bye!" Your single case mention doesn't include any facts, and is at best a single case.

Medical care is about the only difference between the US and Canada right now. Canada is slightly more conservative when it comes to investing, loans, and business practices, but probably a bit more liberal for all other aspects.

Banks in the US also pay fees into the FDIC to ensure that if one bank goes down, there is money to repay the people with savings accounts. Do you think that is "FREE" in some way? No, the public pays for it indirectly, by having less interest paid out.

As far as real estate in Vancouver. It's been listed as the 2nd best city in the world to live in for many years. It's land locked by the ocean and valleys. There isn't a massive highway system. There are a lot of immigrants moving there, because it's one of the nicest places to live. Housing prices are supported by all this. There are enough people willing and able to pay those high prices, that the Vancouver market isn't likely to come down.

We're trained to stand back and wait for properly trained people to come and handle the situation. We defer in most aspects of our lives because it's safe. Medical attention is expensive, much more so than trying to put out a fire in a house. Let properly trained people do that. Even when a plane is hijacked, we're told not do anything (although I'm sure that mentality has changed since 9/11).

I believe the guy was dead almost instantly. At which point, you're risking your life to stop a dead man from being mutilated vs pointing his attention to living people. I saw that as well, and thought about it for awhile. The basic reaction would be to first get the hell out of there, but after 30-45 seconds of calming down and rethinking the situation, you would realize this guy was dead and that you couldn't do anything for him. At which point it comes down to stopping him, or waiting for the police to arrive.

MoneySheep says

Take an example of an incident of a passenger in the grey hound bus, which happened last year(?). This guy took a knief and murdered a passenger next to him. With all the witness (10-20?) on the bus, definitely this was a murder case. But this guy did something smart after he executed the other passenger, he cut his head off, really decapitated the head off, and then ate his flesh (human meat). He went to court, and he was set free!

...and the lesson that we've learned is, when buying a house in Canada, kill the realtor, decapitate him/her and eat the human meat flesh (as opposed to all of the non-human meat flesh that we carry around on our heads). You'll be set free and evidently have a house in which to live.