Everywhere you go, everyoneSA国际影视传媒檚 talking about the same thing. Complaining about the cost of living has become the new complaining about the cold.

ItSA国际影视传媒檚 obvious from how political rhetoric over the election conformed to it being a major issue. Clearly it was what everyone who answered a door was talking about.

Also like complaining about the weather, no one does anything about it. For all the comments ISA国际影视传媒檝e heard about how hard it is to afford anything these days, I havenSA国际影视传媒檛 heard any concrete solutions.

I must point out that living in civilization has always been very expensive. Over my lifetime, ISA国际影视传媒檝e watched advocates for the impoverished point this out to people until they were blue in the face. But it largely fell on deaf ears as the silent majority was shielded from it by privilege of wealth accumulated over a few generations. However, most of that wealth has been spent and the not-so-silent majority is now coping with problems the poor have been enduring for centuries, so now cost of living is a problem.

So how do you reduce the cost of living? Not very easily. Pretty much every solution has a trade-off.

Forcing prices down, also known as deflation, is a political no-go. This was what governments tried in the 1920s when stock markets were going haywire and itSA国际影视传媒檚 blamed in-part for sparking the Great Depression, a repeat no politician wants attached to their legacy. The safer alternative, cranking up interest rates to curb spending, is the Bank of CanadaSA国际影视传媒檚 current strategy.

A classic response would be for workers to demand higher wages, either through strikes or minimum wage legislation, or both. As mentioned previously, wages have largely stayed the same since the 1980s, almost half a century ago. A caveat to higher wages is that businesses normally pass additional expenses on to the consumer, so any reduction of the cost of living is temporary at best. As these wage increases are usually very industry specific, not everyone gets to share in the temporary relief either.

Similarly, cutting consumption taxes like the GST or the carbon tax would provide a temporary reprieve, but any cost savings would quickly be eaten up by inflation.

Universal Basic Income is a possible alternative SA国际影视传媒� where the government sets a minimum standard of income, say $20,000, and writes every single adult a cheque for that amount every year with no strings attached. Any income you earn is on top of that. This has the benefit of helping raise everyone without putting additional strain on employers, and ISA国际影视传媒檓 sure anyone making less than $80,000 a year can just imagine the wonders they could do for their lives and family with an additional $20,000 at their disposal. However, the costs of a program like this would be enormous and would require a massive shift in how government collects revenues, likely involving a massive tax increase on top earners, who undoubtedly would fight it every step of the way and have the resources to do so. ThereSA国际影视传媒檚 no guarantee this would stop prices from continuing to creep up either.

A fourth option to consider is forcing greater transparency from businesses. A SA国际影视传媒渂read cartelSA国际影视传媒� consisting of seven major grocery chains was revealed in 2017 and prompted an investigation by the Competition Bureau. Instead of an invisible hand guiding prices, sleight of hand colluded to artificially inflate the price of bread. We can only guess what else weSA国际影视传媒檙e being overcharged for. But if we were to require all businesses to have the same transparency as governments SA国际影视传媒� meaning we can see everything, from the cost of materials to the cost of distribution, then we would know how much something is worth compared to how much weSA国际影视传媒檙e actually paying for it. Targeting overinflated parts of supply chains would likely bring a noticeable reduction in overall costs.

But knocking out price gouging schemes will also cut into those businessesSA国际影视传媒� bottom lines, and most entrepreneurs who have to choose between a smaller boat and laying off a few employees will usually do the latter.

Solutions to rising costs exist, but all require sacrifices and significant political risk. So I wouldnSA国际影视传媒檛 be surprised if complaining remains our solution of choice.