Khan announced he wants to try to persuade foreign investors to instead put their money into helping build affordable homes through a new agency, Homes for Londoners, which plans to build new municipal housing with backing from public and private money.
Something I’ve thought about often, and spoken of a few times, is a kind of investment agency, where you can invest in Vancouver, instead of investing in a bank … returns would be better, and the funds (as Kahn proposes) could build affordable housing.
Vancouverism Bonds?
How about learning from the futures markets, and instead of buying corn futures, buy housing futures, redeemable for a house if things go pear shaped wherever you come from, but not requiring you to physically own any particular housing unit (your safe deposit box in the sky need not be built for you specifically to have access to your funds, just like banks don’t have to have cash on hand for all investments).
Vancouver Futures?
Vancouverism is just another small town conceit!
Bonds are commonly used by the federal government and some provinces to raise revenue outside the tax draw, so why not cities? They will come due with interest, and cities do have access to preferential borrowing rates, but it’s still a valid idea to examine. Canada Savings Bonds have a poor rate of return, but they are safe and convenient.
‘Poor’ is still better than you get in a bank as a return, and as such, investors wouldn’t see so much ‘poor’ as they would $$.
Right now, there is plenty of investment money in search of a home – right now a lot of that is buying safe deposit boxes in the sky, why not give that money an alternative that works for the force of good.
Essentially, this is what the Ontario Teachers Pension Fund provides its members … what if the membership were instead everyone in a city?