photo credit: kimberlyfaye Karl Fitzgerald Around the world, pubs and bars are full of insightful conversations, democracy at work grass roots style, as we try to make sense of the global financial meltdown. 19/10/08 “From neo-liberalism to neo-handouts, the pyramid purveyors know how to baffle the masses” scowled Maxxy. With the financial meltdown moving at a rate of knots, policy … Read More
Maxxy’s Vacant Opportunity
A rising phenomenon sheds light on the housing affordability crisis. March 2007
It’s called vacant land. It can sit there all by itself whilst the world goes whizzing by it, with new houses being built and small business struggling to make ends meet. It looks innocent enough. Infact it is such a subtle part of the community that most don’t even see it. This meek little piece of the planet can outdo them all though, growing in value by triple the average wage increase.
What an amazing effort! Triple what the average wage grows and just one block making as much in lump sums as many small businesses do in a year. How does it do it? It sits back and waits for everyone else to work away, improving the schools and roads. Don’t worry, someone else’s taxes pay for it. It does nothing, but people flock to the area, wanting to live there, pushing its value higher and higher.