[curried_haskell]

The fundamental flaw with this is, you don't exist in a vacuum. This all has effects on the city and on everyone else who lives in it. At a certain point, no, they can't do "whatever they want" because ultimately it does affect other people.

[20andup]

This "At a certain point" is, however, subjective. Who can say your "point" is right or wrong. Some people have more tolerance than others. Having a mob mentality of dictating what those limits are is dangerous in my opinion.

I would not oppose having a quantitative measure of how empty homes ultimately harm Vancouver's economy in the long term. I think that would be a much more constructive argument to implement measures to curb this trend.

[mistermann]

> Who can say your "point" is right or wrong.

We've kind of decided on using a democratic process, which indeed is a form of mob rule.

As for the danger of this approach....so multi-millionaires have one less global city they can buy property in completely hassle free....I think they'll find a way to survive.

[20andup]

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ochlocracy

"Ochlocracy ("rule of the general populace") is democracy ("rule of the people") spoiled by demagoguery, "tyranny of the majority", and the rule of passion over reason, just as oligarchy ("rule of a few") is aristocracy ("rule of the best") spoiled by corruption, and tyranny is monarchy spoiled by lack of virtue. Ochlocracy is synonymous in meaning and usage to the modern, informal term "mobocracy", which arose in the 18th century as a colloquial neologism."