2008-12-04

Disconnect

Stop budgeting like it's the 1950s, scholar tells city

She said the city’s decision-making process, financial and otherwise, is based on an outdated model built for a society where men were families’ sole breadwinners. [...]

“Decades after most Canadian cities dropped the model to better reflect their changing demographics and values, the Ottawa city government still largely follows that thinking,” Ms. Beninger said.

The model promotes suburban expansion to provide homes for mothers and children and city infrastructure for working men, according to her research. The result is city funding going to roads and sewers while things like child-care subsidies, arts funding, and housing programs, all deemed “special interests,” are ignored or threatened while both are needed to maintain a healthy city.

Nice.

Problem with this observation is that the record show that this is what people want, since that is what they buy. Sure, there are alternatives, but they are either not priced appropriately (people don't buy what they can't afford) or are not attractive (people don't buy what they don't want).