Cara Stern

Missing Middle Initiative | Substack Reviving the middle class for a stronger, more inclusive clean economy. Click to read Missing Middle Initiative, a Substack publication with thousands of subscribers.

And for those who prefer to read rather than listen or watch, here's the episode's transcript.
www.missingmiddleinitiative.ca?r=z9xf&utm_c...

YouTube video by Missing Middle Podcast Nightmare on Craven Road: When Local Politics Derail Citywide Housing Goals

What happens when one city councillor gets Toronto council to vote in favour of “studying” garden suites on a single block, potentially undoing years of zoning reform? @meredithmartin.bsky.social and @mikepmoffatt.bsky.social discuss. Watch the full episode.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=qVQ4...

Toronto's garden suite reforms have only produced 143 units since 2022. It's mind-blowing, considering the city's housing crisis, and it's time to fight back. @meredithmartin.bsky.social would like to see some housing advocates attend the council meeting on Oct. 22 to fight for progress.

Thank you!

Today's Missing Middle: @carastern and I talk to @VassB and @denisehearn_ about corporate consolidation, the kayfabe nature of grocery store product competition and their new book 'The Big Fix'.

Episode is free, as always, on YouTube: youtu.be/Uz5DkpZPH2k

The New Year's Mail Bag episode is up! Tune in to hear @MikePMoffatt, @carastern & I answer viewer questions that were collected throughout the year. Thank you to our *amazing* audience, you sent us some really thoughtful ones, it's been so much fun going through them all!

youtu.be/8GcwswauU3Q

On today's episode of the Missing Middle @carastern & I got to ask a question that's been bugging us for a long time: Are @MikePMoffatt & @andrew_leech friends? It then turned into a discussion about who is meaner, economists or journalists ;)

Today is the Missing Middle's first-ever AMA! Join @MikePMoffatt, @carastern, and me as we answer smart and interesting questions from our amazing audience. Happy Holidays! #CDNpoli

youtu.be/8JoLbEDTpzE...

YouTube video by Missing Middle Podcast How to Argue About Housing at Your Holiday Dinner

With holiday dinners coming up, you know there's a good chance you're gonna be arguing politics with someone, and probably about the economy.

Sabrina Maddeaux and I've got facts to get you ready, and we go up against this bizarro version of @mikepmoffatt.bsky.social

youtu.be/HAbc1I7OIkk

And the solution doesn't have to be US-style healthcare. It could be investing in more capacity, and getting enough hospital staff to match our population growth.

What a brutal, terrifying story.

When I produced for @tvotoday.bsky.social, she was one of the guests I liked to book most on housing because she understood it firsthand as a middle-class millennial...but I also felt like she could be a proxy for my frustrations, so it feels so natural to have her fill in!

Can't wait to watch!

YouTube video by Missing Middle Podcast Boomer Wealth Won't Save Millennials

I'm thrilled to announce that the incredible Sabrina Maddeaux is going to fill in for me on the Missing Middle podcast while I'm on mat leave.

She hosts today's episode about millennials as the jackpot generation. She'll take over fully in the new year.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=hmfD...

YouTube video by Not Just Bikes The World's Dumbest Bike Lane Law Just Passed in Canada

Grateful to Not Just Bikes for making what is essentially a mini doc about how Doug Ford is trying to distract from his incompetence on transit, among many other of his provincial responsibilities.

That's what the bike lane distraction is really about.

Worth the watch.

youtu.be/KgFCQ7jEZxI?...

A crowd of people occupy a street in the Distillery District in Toronto. The day is transitioning into evening and there are twinkly lights overhead. At the left background of the photo is the famous large Christmas tree.

The people yearn for pedestrian streets

This is a really great pick. He did impressive work in his previous role in Hamilton, and I'm so excited to see what he'll be able to accomplish in Toronto!

Congrats @jasonthorne.bsky.social!

YouTube video by Missing Middle Podcast We Can't Afford a GST Holiday

We talk about the problems with the GST holiday and the proposed bribe cheques this week on the Missing Middle podcast. Please listen and subscribe!

youtu.be/ZdK7y-0ledE?...

I've been finding the narrative around the GST holiday fixing a "vibecession" incredibly offensive. It feels like our governments, economists and academics are gaslighting us when they say it's just perception.

We need to rethink how we talk about and measure the economy.

In this episode of the Missing Middle Podcast,
@carastern.bsky.social and @mikepmoffatt.bsky.social discuss the economic absurdity of the election bribe schemes from the Ford and Trudeau governments and the unequal impacts of inflation in affecting Canadians' life affordability.
t.co/1hBBwZMHK9

I read that as 72% of Canadians need to listen to @mikepmoffatt.bsky.social explaining how much those cheques will actually cost them!

I don’t want a $250 cheque I just want to afford a 500 sqft one bedroom

I guess a vibecession is where young ppl are struggling to live but seniors are still thriving

Completely agree with Cara’s frustration in this episode. When I graduated undergrad in 2023 the job market was bad and now I’m graduating with my masters and the job market has just gotten worse. All I want as a young person is to get a job where I can afford the COL

YouTube video by Missing Middle Podcast We Can't Afford a GST Holiday

Check out the full episode of today's Missing Middle podcast where @mikepmoffatt.bsky.social & @carastern.bsky.social ern.bsky.social discuss the so-called Vibecession, gov rebate cheques, GST holiday & how it's an intergenerational wealth transfer from the young to the old youtu.be/ZdK7y-0ledE?...

I'm genuinely trying to understand why he's on pace for another majority. If you care about respect for taxpayers, this party ain't it.

Life has become so much less affordable under this govt, and services are much worse. I'd truly like to know: What's the draw for so many?

It is a great question, but we've watched municipalities fail for so long on housing. Doug Ford is proving with Bill 212 that he doesn't care about what municipalities want if he thinks it's for the greater good. So he ought to do that here.

This is why it's so disappointing that Doug Ford is abdicating responsibility on the housing file.

There's no "local context" that should justify low density near subway stations. If environmental concerns, we can work around them, but right now it sounds like code for "rich people don't want it".

I mean seeing the finance minister Chrystia Freeland say that feels like gaslighting and ignoring people's reality, not your work. :)

I'm not even talking about low-modest incomes. Even people making decent-high incomes but without assets are struggling right now for real, not as a perception.

And remember, these numbers are for commutes for all of Toronto (so not including non-commute travel), including places that have zero safe bike lanes. If we narrow in proximity to bike lanes, it goes way up.

I know economic indicators show things are improving but I also know how terrible the job market is for people trying to improve their lives, and housing costs haven't come down. For those who don't already have, those economic indicators seem meaningless and the "vibes" comment seems gaslighty.

Is it so much a perception that costs continue to rise, or that achieving the normal lifestyle one expects in Canada (being able to afford a home, have kids, etc) is out of reach?

I know there are people who are richer than they think but a lot of younger Canadians are struggling. It isn't vibes.