Editor,
In your editorial (Food Insecurity Is A Growing Problem In Grey-Bruce, October 17, 2024) you note the growing crisis in this area, and probably in other areas too, regarding food insecurity and you suggest that the solution lies in providing a living wage.
However, therein lies a problem. A rising tide floats all boats and we would inevitably see this increased income reflected in increased grocery products and other necessities of life simply because the people who have to pay the wages also have to cover their own costs via their pricing. It would prove to be highly inflationary.
I do not know the answer, I wish that someone did, but it appears to me that the fundamental cause lies in the dramatically increased cost of housing. I came to Meaford at about the same time as you did and it was possible to buy a house back then for $100,000. It would not be a great house but it would be a house. Today the same house is over half a million dollars, and rental costs have followed suit.
Reasonably priced accommodation is fundamental to our social needs but there does not seem to be the political will to take care of this. There is lots of talk but little action, and developers are resistant to building homes that do not provide massive profits. Who knows where it will all end?
David Blackburn, Meaford
