*Canada’s obsession with housing is stunting our future*
[...]Among the Group of Seven nations, Canada invests the largest share of GDP in housing and the second-smallest share in intellectual property (IP), according to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development.
Housing investment in Canada, which stands at 7.74 per cent of its GDP, is well above Japan at 3.88 per cent, the United Kingdom at 3.96 per cent, and the United States at 4.10 per cent. Part of this discrepancy is because of Canada’s faster population growth, but *much of it reflects our economy’s persistent fixation on real estate*.[...]
[...]By 2007, housing investment as a share of GDP in Canada had broken away from U.S. levels. It topped 7.4 per cent in 2016 and has never retreated since[...]
[...]At the same time, growth in IP investment – which had been rising before 2005 – stalled. In contrast, both the U.S. and the U.K. have steadily increased IP spending since then. The U.S., which leads in IP investment, has fostered a generation of globally competitive tech companies, while Canada’s corporate landscape remains dominated by legacy players.[...]
[...]Money in an economy is like blood in the body – it must flow where it’s most needed. Our brain is only 2 per cent of our body mass yet receives 15 to 20 per cent of the heart’s output.
Likewise, capital must reach vital sectors – when too much goes to one area, others are starved. A healthy economy depends on a strong, risk-taking innovation sector to create exportable products, high-quality jobs and global competitiveness.
We must make private-sector investment in intellectual property more attractive than speculative real estate, through measures such as larger capital gains tax breaks for venture investments, similar to the qualified small business stock exemption in the U.S. New ventures drive lasting job growth and prosperity, while *housing typically creates only short-term employment*.[...]
https://www.theglobeandmail.co....m/investing/personal
