Without affordable housing, Vancouver risks becoming an economic ghost town
Vancouver&#x27;s problem isn&#x27;t the house prices.  The problem is to a large extent caused by the author of this piece, the Hootsuite CEO.  The few tech companies in vancouver don&#x27;t pay.  They expect the city to provide them a steady flow of over-educated 20-somethings willing to work long hours for only slightly more than rent.  For the last 15 years the city has provided just that.  The complaints now are that those 20-somethings want to own stuff.  They want a house.  They want to own a dog that isn&#x27;t left alone 10+ hours every day.  They want families.  So it is time to let them go and demand the city provide a new flock.<p>What every company in Vancouver seems to want is an employee who is desperate for work but also independently wealthy.  That might seem a conflict but in Vancouver it is normal.  There are thousands of young people here who are supported by parents who have enjoyed the rise in house prices.  They are desperate for work, but don&#x27;t much care about the pay because they have support.  Hootsuite&#x27;s problem is that many of those kids are now in their thirties, mom and dad have moved, and they want to have an actual life of their own.  That cannot happen at 30k in a city like Vancouver.<p>(Lets see how long it takes for this comment to hit a nerve.  Hoot is a social media company with eyes everywhere.)