To the Editor,
Re: Capitalism is rampant, Letters, April 28.
Capitalism has been and is the main economic system in the western world. It has proven to be far better than socialist systems and has brought prosperity to much of the west.
Capitalism operates on the principle of industry and business being run by private investors and is driven by supply and demand and the profit motive. Socialism is government-control of industry and lacks a proper motive to be successful, is inefficient, and fails to work properly in a world of supply and demand.
When government controls industry and business excessively, innovators and investors take their investments that create jobs to investment friendly countries.
It might come as a surprise but housing prices in Canada are 46 percent higher than in the U.S. One expert believes this is at least partly because Canada is more interventionalist than the U.S. In other words Canada leans more to socialist government control which may be making the cost of real estate much higher.
The writer said most people make maybe $40,000, but according to the website called welcomebc.ca, the median family income in 2017 in B.C. was $84,850. Incidentally, if you search Maple Ridge condos for sale, you will find one for $260,000 which a family earning the median income of $84,850 should be able to afford easily or even with a joint income of a lot less than $84,850. With a $15,000 down payment, mortgage payments would be around $1200 per month which is less than rent for many apartments.
Wayne Merk,
Port Alberni