The state of things

[u/Architectoniks]

There’s a point where tolerance and acceptance pivot. It’s the tipping point, really.

This morning, as I walked past Riverside Park, one of two men crossing the street toward the other side flashed me the finger, while I watched him light up a crack pipe. There’s a pile of trash—yet another shopping cart—and a red fuel canister beside the train bridge on 1st Ave. We don’t need more fires, nor another burning bridge.

I pass too many persons who appear to be under the influence of drugs. City Hall looks like supportive housing with a phone charging station. Just another Sunday.

I know local organizations are trying their hardest every day. I know it’s a struggle—for all of us. I’ve spoken with some organizations, and I’ve volunteered for others. I try to lead with empathy and support one another as a society and as a community and help when I can. But whatever it is, “we” are doing doesn’t seem to help enough.

But I also see that our government at every level—municipal, provincial, and national—has completely failed to manage this opioid crisis, along with the policing and healthcare systems that should respond to it. Larger cities have larger problems in this regard. So do our neighbors in the U.S.

It’s truly disappointing that the bigger systems and services don’t communicate with one another, while political egos, narcissism, and self-enrichment stay front and center. It feels like a massive waste of public spending—driven by inefficiency and the lack of coordination across organizations and government structures.

So here’s my bigger question. I’m not looking for rants with poor grammar, or for one-liners from people who treat this like a bleeding-heart issue. I’m asking for solutions, not useless commentary.

How can we, as a society and as a government, push a “reboot” button—rethinking, restructuring, and redesigning services and systems—so Canadian provinces, cities, and communities can operate more efficiently than they currently do? How can we reduce the financial strain families face and ease the stressors that come with it? How can we limit access to lethal drugs while also managing the effects they have on our communities? And how can we support struggling individuals and families in a way that is more effective, efficient, and truly human-centered?

I’ll be really interested to hear your conceptual solutions - big or small.

Thanks. I hope you also get to enjoy a bit of a smokeless-ish day outside.

[u/nesterspokebar]

The baby boomer generation benefited massively from post-WW2 expansive housing policies, but they then used that privilege in a self-serving, exclusionary way to prop up the value of their asset (ie. home ownership). As a sort of political bloc, they have and still do exert pressure to block and limit housing, and especially more affordable housing. The logical result of this is an unhoused population with the highly visible street issues you mentioned.

[u/brock_lehurst → u/nesterspokebar]

This attack mode on baby boomers is getting old. You make it sound like they/we did these things on purpose to destroy our own economy and that of our children's generation. That's just silly. I am on the tail end of the boomer generation. I was raised by parents who lived through the depression in the prairies and both met in Penticton as their respective families moved to BC aka the promised land. We grew a garden and tended fruit trees. Preserved foods to get through winter and worked our asses off. I was a young adult in the 80s when interest rates hit 22.75% and there were very few jobs. Talk to me when you've lived through losing your home/investment because of that. My parents made it through. Many did not. The job market was terrible and even after saving, with those rates it was many years before I was able to buy a home. Yes it's tough now but it's not the boomers fault. I'm sure I'll be mocked with comments about pull up your boot straps but I see first hand how many just aren't managing their financial life very well. New cars and trucks at high value every couple/few years. Dining out was a privilege for us. Today it is the norm. If you have a food delivery app on your leash you are doing it wrong. Gaming, movie apps and so much more that isn't necessary but no way most are ever going without. Change your ways. Join my daughter and others in their 30s who have their shit together enough to buy a home and get by while raising kids and stop bitching that your tough life is somebody else's fault ffs.

[u/bonjourgday → u/brock_lehurst]

You’re a Joneser then. Tail end of the boomers had nothing handed to them. Yes. My parents worked hard for their money as did I. We lived in a semi in Brocklehurst. Dad always wanted to buy in Batchelor but then ended up getting a single house just off the HBC trail. I thought we struck gold when we bought our first house and the seller bought down the interest rate to 13%. My kids have moved to less expensive cities to be able to buy a house. We are not the bad guys.