The snow cannons stand silently on green slopes. Slopes which are meant for sliding down at break-neck speeds on a pair of wooden slats... slopes which, at this time of the year are supposed to be covered by white, glistening snow.
If, at least, the temperatures were not 10 to 15 degrees above the freezing point, but 0 degrees or lower, the snow cannons could be used to produce this white stuff, and the ski races could be held on a narrow white band amidst otherwise green slopes. But, as it is, these snow cannons are probably the only cannons standing mute.
The polititians, Federal and Provincial are, however, far from standing around quietly. They mouth off any time and about everything. Right now the Socialists are on a rampage about "Rent control" .. as if there were not already enough of this in Austria. Now they want to put a ceiling of 7 Euros per m² on all rents... although nobody has yet mentioned a ceiling on the costs to operate an apartment building. The only saving grace for Austrian owners of apartment buildings is the fact that most rents are net rents and the tenant pays for such things as electricity and heating...
But of course the Minister of Housing clamors for more government housing to be built.
We poor Torontonians know what this means: More instant ghettos doomed for delapitation.
I well remember when our company bid for the management of a group of social housing buildings.
In order to prepare an operating budget, we were allowed to examine those properties. (we bid for over 800 suites)
We started on the roof: There was not a single air handling unit which functioned. One exhaust unit in fact housed a pidgeon nest. so you can imagine how long ago this one had broken down.
We walked down the stairs, floor by floor... handrails loose or missing... graffiti on every floor.
All the way down to the underground garage. Serious damage to the concrete slabs. Down to the sump pump pit. There was a pit, but no sump pump.
This was then and probably still is now, Government operated social housing.
So that's what the Austrian Socialists are heading towards.
It's a slippery slope... More slippery than the snowless ski runs in Schladming.
Bertstravels knows:
4 comments:
And then when you just can't keep the buildings standing anymore - you do this: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/story/2012/09/12/toronto-regent-park-revitalization.html
this is a long long address... but I will try it. because I know what Regent Park looked like at the beginning and at the end....
Property Management.. the book written by a Government.
highlight, copy, paste.
I did it the long way.
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