Bong Sim

40s, Psychotherapist, Husband, Father, Families, Free Speech, Protecting Minors As Adults.

[Bong Sim @BongSim_Psy]

Picture this. You’re 28, grinding a decent paycheck in Toronto. Half your money vanishes into rent before you even see it. Groceries feel like a luxury tax. Your friends who scraped together a down payment five years ago are now sitting on paper gains they can’t touch because the market is frozen solid. This isn’t theory. This is the daily reality for millions of young Canadians in 2026.

And the pattern? Left populism wrapped in compassion. It sells emotion first, data second, and it always ends the same way: bigger government, broken promises, and the very people it claims to help left holding the bag.

Look at the numbers right now. Immigration was dialed back after the pre-2024 surge. Result? National rental vacancy rates climbed to 3.1% in 2025, up from 2.2% the year before. Rents are still rising, sure, but the pace has slowed. More units are actually hitting the market. That’s supply and demand finally catching up. Not magic. Basic economics. Yet the same voices who cheered endless inflows now call any restraint heartless.

Federal deficits sit at 2.5% of GDP this year. Debt-to-GDP hovers around the low end of G7 levels. Growth is limping along at just over 1% in the official projections for 2025-26. These numbers come straight from the government’s own books. If spending stays driven by feel-good slogans instead of hard trade-offs, the squeeze on young families only gets tighter.

The current Canadian left playbook is textbook. Wealth taxes, housing justice, green mandates, corporate crackdowns all sold as national interest. The NDP propped up the Liberals until that deal collapsed in 2024, blocking any real conservative alternative. Tactical math or power preservation? You decide. Now, even with fewer seats, they’re still pushing public grocery stores, rent caps, anti-fossil-fuel leaps. The Liberals under their new leader talk stimulus with occasional restraint, but the instinct remains: expand the state, promise relief, deliver compromises.

This isn’t classic class struggle anymore. It’s post-Marxist discourse 101. The people versus the elites. Perfect for winning seats, terrible for building real worker power. Principles get traded for parliamentary survival. You see pharmacare and dental wins celebrated while deficits balloon and courts keep slapping down overreach like the old Emergencies Act. Handouts and rhetoric, but no deep infrastructure for long-term agency.

Here’s the citizen-first principle that cuts through the noise: prioritizing affordability for the people already here isn’t cruelty. It’s the bare minimum of responsible governance. Endless inflows without matching housing and services were never sustainable. Moderated immigration did ease rental pressure. Data confirms it. But so did record supply coming online. Projections suggest the housing market could stabilize by 2028-29 if we keep building and don’t flood the system again.

Left populism leans toward short-term liberal pacts over genuine revolution. Emotional appeals expand the tent. Then power arrives and deals get cut. The base gets disappointed. Not every single time in human history, but often enough that the pattern is hard to ignore. Venezuela and Argentina aren’t identical to Canada, but the warning lights flash the same: when ledgers lose to feelings, ordinary people pay. The flip side? Tough resets can work when reality finally bites.

The fix isn’t rage or isolation. It’s cold data over demagoguery. Cut the waste. Build homes like we mean it. Prioritize citizens already inside the system without pretending every restraint is bigotry. Liberal democracy survives when politicians serve the people inside the system, not by gaslighting them with short-term cheers.

The young family watching rent devour their paycheck while politicians promise public options? That betrayal is real. It fuels the anger you’re seeing. But channeling it into workable realism beats pure emotional socialism every time.

Because here’s the uncomfortable truth young people need to hear: governments don’t print prosperity. They either enable it through sound rules or choke it with feel-good overreach. We’ve got the data. We’ve got the history, messy as it is. The choice is ours.

Prioritize citizens. Build supply. Live within our means. Everything else is just another round of the same old con.

[Bong Sim @BongSim_Psy]

@Averyflash Calling it “nonsense” and “conservative talking points” doesn’t change the facts. Funding was cut, rent and groceries are still crushing BC families, and ideological programs deserve scrutiny on taxpayer priorities. If you’ve got actual counter-facts, share them. Otherwise this is just deflection.

[Bong Sim @BongSim_Psy]

Big news out of Victoria. BC Conservatives say the NDP quietly cut funding for SOGI 123. Quick note, this is only confirmed by the Conservatives so far, not the NDP, not independent news. Treat it as a claim for now.
But here’s why it matters either way. Rent’s out of control. Groceries keep climbing. And for years, a chunk of political energy went into a classroom curriculum fight instead of your wallet.
That’s the real issue. When a government spends more energy defending ideology than fixing your life, you pay for it. Doesn’t matter which party.
And too many people just cheer for their team no matter what gets announced, without asking one question. Did this actually help me?
I’m not telling you what to think about SOGI. I’m telling you to ask why it took this long, what else got ignored, and to question your own side too, not just the other one.
Because your rent doesn’t care about ideology. Results talk. Everything else is noise.

[Conservative Party of BC @Conservative_BC]

A major achievement for parents all over BC. After years of pressure from the Conservative Party of BC, the BC NDP have given up on SOGI and defunded the program.

[Bong Sim @BongSim_Psy]

@Averyflash BC NDP’s housing moves, foreign buyer tax, flipping restrictions, show effort. But plenty of BC residents still feel things are out of control. CMHC and independent reports confirm the affordability crisis is still serious, driven mainly by supply shortages and regulatory burden.

Calling grocery prices “totally out of government control” is a stretch too. Taxes, regulation, supply policy, energy costs, trade policy, all of it plays a role. Chalking up the pressure people feel to “not the government’s fault” doesn’t match reality.

The real issue is priorities. While tax dollars fund controversial programs like SOGI 123, and rent and groceries are still crushing people, is a classroom curriculum fight really the best use of political energy?

Small spending still matters for direction. If NDP put in real effort on housing, education deserves the same balance, more respect for parents’ input and evidence. This isn’t disinformation. It’s based on actual funding changes and real parental pushback.

We need an honest conversation.

[Bong Sim @BongSim_Psy]

@gibbletron Equity’s “hidden” in liabilities? Then where’s the $54 billion+ in interest coming from? Deficit’s $67 to $72 billion, doubled. Top 20% pay 58.3% of taxes. Kids inherit the bill. None of that disappears with an accounting trick.

“Crown parasites” is a distraction again. The real problem is collectivist big government buying votes with free stuff, $1,890 checks, housing benefits, while killing personal responsibility and individualism.

Trump said it best. Selling free stuff is easy. The results are always a disaster.

So keep defending policies that pile more burden on citizens while calling Canada “rich”? Or actually defend individualism and start by criticizing this populism?

[Bong Sim @BongSim_Psy]

Trump said something a few weeks back that’s the smartest political line all year.

He said communism is easy to sell. Free rent. Free food. Free everything. Vote for me, he said, and I’d be the greatest communist in history. Everybody claps. Then two years later, the country’s a disaster. Every single time.

Now look at home.

Ottawa just sent out a check. A family of four gets eighteen hundred ninety dollars this year. Nobody’s against helping families buy groceries. But here’s what’s not on the check: this year alone, the government is spending seventy eight billion dollars more than it takes in. We’re paying over fifty billion a year just in interest. Not hospitals. Not schools. Just interest.

Combined with the provinces, Canadians owe over two point four trillion dollars. Depending where you live, you’re personally paying eighteen hundred to thirty three hundred dollars a year just servicing that debt.

Housing? The average family now needs almost eight times their income to buy a home. Young couples aren’t priced out because they’re lazy. The math doesn’t work anymore.

Healthcare? We spend huge money, and people still wait fourteen hours in emergency rooms. That’s not a funding problem. That’s a results problem.

And on youth gender medicine, this isn’t some fringe talking point. England’s own Cass Review called the evidence for puberty blockers in minors weak. After that, England, Sweden, and Finland all pulled back hard, under progressive governments, not conservative ones. When the UK’s own doctors say the evidence isn’t there, Canadians deserve to hear it.

None of this makes Liberal or NDP voters bad people. Most just want a fair country for their kids. That’s not the problem.

The problem is the math. You can’t borrow your way to prosperity forever. Somebody always pays the bill. Right now, it’s your kids.

Free is never free. So ask yourself before you vote.

Who’s paying for this, and when does the bill come due?

[Bong Sim @BongSim_Psy]

I’m not spreading disinformation. ARC Foundation itself announced the funding cut, due to provincial budget cuts. Call it “defunded” or not, taxpayer money going to controversial programs deserves scrutiny. Small spending still matters for priorities. Let’s stick to facts instead of labeling everything we disagree with as disinformation.

[Bong Sim @BongSim_Psy]

Falling rent is good news, but it doesn’t justify tax dollars going toward controversial ideological programs like SOGI. Even small spending items matter when it comes to taxpayer priorities. Education shapes kids’ futures. Is pushing ideology while ignoring parents’ input and the evidence really “letting results talk”? Both the economic issues and the education issues deserve honest debate.

[Bong Sim @BongSim_Psy]

@gibbletron You’re missing net debt and cash flow.

Flexing equity and calling Canada “richer than ever”? Deficit’s $67 to $72 billion this year, roughly double. Interest alone is $54 billion and climbing. That money isn’t building hospitals or housing. It’s paying debt. Top 20% already carry 58.3% of the tax load.

“Crown parasites” is a distraction. The real problem is Liberal and NDP populism, buying votes with free stuff. Housing benefits, $1,890 grocery checks. That’s exactly what Trump meant by “easy to sell communism.”

Treating people like they can’t do math, that’s what big government does.

[Bong Sim @BongSim_Psy]

The $10 billion deficit and $250 billion total debt are real problems. That’s exactly why every single $350k expenditure matters. Is taxpayer money going to controversial ideological programs, or should it prioritize core stuff like education and housing? Small spending adds up to massive debt, and that ‘I couldn’t care less’ attitude is part of what makes the problem worse. We need real talk about transparency and priorities.

[The Food Professor @FoodProfessor]

In case you're keeping score.

1⃣Canada has recorded the highest food inflation rate among G7 countries for much of 2026.

2⃣Food inflation has also consistently outpaced overall inflation since Mark Carney became prime minister in March 2025.

[Bong Sim @BongSim_Psy]

@rechievaldez The increased payments of the Canada Child Benefit that are going out today. The middle class squeeze is real. Housing costs exploded from regulation and high inflows. Productivity stagnant, wages lag costs from taxes and rules. This boost is a band-aid pushing dependency over merit. Cut red tape to fix supply so people thrive without more government patches.

[Bong Sim @BongSim_Psy]

@MarkJCarney The Early Learning and Child Care program is saving up to $11,000 a year. Housing costs exploded from regulation and high inflows. Productivity stagnant, wages lag costs from taxes and rules. This program builds dependency over merit. Cut red tape to fix supply so people thrive.

[Bong Sim @BongSim_Psy]

@lisabeare “This is yet another BC Conservative lie about SOGI. It is not defunded.” Housing costs surged far beyond incomes while productivity stagnates and lags the US. Dismissing funding changes as lies and telling parents to only trust teachers is emotional manipulation propping up control over families.

[Bong Sim @BongSim_Psy]

Today the Canada Child Benefit goes up again. Sounds like help. Feels like a band-aid.

Housing exploded because red tape choked supply while demand kept flowing in. Productivity’s been flat for years, so wages can’t keep up with taxes and rules stacked on top of everything. A bigger check doesn’t fix that. It just numbs the symptom.

And too many people cheer the announcement without asking why the squeeze never stops. That’s not kindness. That’s lazy thinking dressed up as policy.

There’s a quieter cost too. Keep people grateful and dependent instead of capable, and you don’t need to fix anything.

Cut the red tape. Build real supply. Let people build their own success instead of waiting on the next check.

[Mark Carney @MarkJCarney]

Today, the Canada Child Benefit is going up — supporting 6 million kids across the country.

[Bong Sim @BongSim_Psy]

@MarkJCarney Today, the Canada Child Benefit is going up. The middle class squeeze is real. Housing costs exploded from regulation and high inflows. Productivity stagnant, wages lag costs from taxes and rules. Cut red tape to fix supply so people thrive without more government patches

[Bong Sim @BongSim_Psy]

You hit forty and suddenly everyone wants something from you. Parents, kids, boss, friends, every problem lands on your desk. Sound familiar?

It’s not a midlife crisis, it’s a workload crisis. More roles, more people pulling from every direction, and if you don’t draw a line, you disappear into everyone else’s problems.

So a few years back I wrote myself a motto. Two lines, and I mean every word.

“Don’t carry other people’s feelings. Hand the hard stuff back.”

People get mad at me for this, especially the second half. I work in a field where my whole job is helping people, so I hear it a lot: “How can you say something so cold?” Fair question. But here’s what happened. I looked around one day and realized I wasn’t helping people anymore, I was carrying them. So I stopped. If it’s not mine, it goes back. If I need help, I ask. If someone helps me, they get the credit.

Burnout doesn’t help anybody. Someone drowning in everyone else’s problems has nothing left for the people who actually need them. This motto isn’t the opposite of caring, it’s what makes caring last.

Turns out forty is a great age to clean house. Not your closet, your commitments.

Don’t carry other people’s feelings. Hand the hard stuff back. Know your limits, and everything gets lighter.

How much of what’s weighing you down right now was never actually yours to carry?

[Bong Sim @BongSim_Psy]

USTR’s Jamieson Greer stood at the Aspen Security Forum and graded the room. Mexico, he said, is being pragmatic, progress is happening. Canada, he said, hasn’t produced anything. Then on June 2nd, USTR made it official: a formal finding that Canada failed to effectively enforce its own forced labor import ban, and a proposed 10% tariff as punishment. Not a threat. A number, on paper.

Here’s why. Since 2020, Canada’s border agency has flagged about 50 shipments suspected of forced labor. Two got blocked. Two. The US blocked 4,619 shipments in 2024 alone under similar law. Same problem, completely different scale of enforcement.

And it’s not just trade. CSIS and the federal Foreign Interference Commission both confirmed it on the record: Chinese Communist Party operatives worked to influence Canadian federal elections and pressured Chinese-Canadian community members and politicians. That’s not opinion, that’s a government inquiry’s finding.

Seventy-five percent of our exports depend on US trust. Two shipments blocked out of fifty flagged. A 10% tariff already proposed. A foreign government confirmed to have interfered in our own elections. And the response from Ottawa has been “strategic autonomy” and a promise that new legislation will fix it eventually.

If the numbers show the approach isn’t working, at what point does calling it strategic autonomy stop being an explanation and start being an excuse?

[Bong Sim @BongSim_Psy]

Liberal government, with NDP influence shaping policy in provinces like BC.

Let’s start honest. A lot of people support these parties for real reasons. Big companies shouldn’t hoard all the gains from AI. Growth should be shared more broadly. Climate change is real. Vulnerable people need protecting. Those instincts are decent, and a lot of Canadians genuinely believe in them.

But look at eleven years of actual results.

Since 2015 Canada’s real GDP per person has barely moved, up only 2 to 3% total. The US grew almost 20% in the same stretch. The average Canadian’s real income has basically stood still for over a decade. The OECD’s own outlook ranks Canada near the bottom of developed countries.

Federal debt has grown from around $700 billion to nearly $1.5 trillion, with net federal debt alone past $1 trillion. Billions in interest every year, and that comes back to you through taxes and prices.

Business investment per worker has fallen to 54% of US levels, down from 87% a decade earlier. When companies stop investing, productivity falls behind, Canada is now roughly 30% behind the US on that measure. Fewer future jobs. Weaker wage growth.

This June the government launched its national AI strategy, built around shared prosperity, the idea that AI’s gains should benefit all of society, not just a handful of companies. That’s real, straight from the government’s own strategy document.

The government also tried something bigger back in 2024, a plan to tax two thirds of certain capital gains instead of half. It got delayed twice, then cancelled outright in March 2025. It never became law. Before that, in 2022, banks and insurers were hit with a one time windfall tax on pandemic era profits, and that one did go through.

The logic is that companies didn’t create their profits alone, so society should share the upside. That lines up with what the government has said.

But companies already pay corporate tax, payroll tax, sales tax, carbon tax, property tax, and a long list of regulatory costs. What they do with what’s left is normally a decision for the business and its shareholders, that’s how markets work. Nobody has ever defined exactly where normal profit ends and excess profit begins. When that line isn’t clear and government keeps reaching for more, businesses lose the incentive to invest. Weak productivity and capital moving elsewhere is part of that story.

None of this means the goals were wrong. A fairer society, protecting the vulnerable, real climate action, still worth wanting. The question is whether eleven years of these specific policies actually delivered them.

The intentions were good. The results were more debt and fewer opportunities for the next generation.

Good intentions don’t automatically produce good outcomes. Canada needs policy that actually helps people without killing the growth everything else depends on.

[Bong Sim @BongSim_Psy]

Let’s talk numbers, because numbers don’t lie even when politicians do.

Canadian households are carrying $3.25 trillion in debt. Almost $2.43 trillion of that is mortgages. For every dollar Canadians take home after taxes, they owe $1.80 in debt, a ratio of 179.6%, the highest in the entire G7. It’s climbed for 6 straight quarters in a row.

14.75% of every dollar you earn is already gone before you open your wallet, just to service that debt.

A quarter point rate hike adds about $6 billion a year in interest nationwide. The ones getting hit hardest are people who locked in 5 year fixed mortgages back in 2020 and 2021, when rates were near zero. The Bank of Canada itself says renewal payments are jumping an average of 15%, sometimes over 20%. That’s an extra $5,000 a year for a lot of households, just to keep the same roof over their heads.

How did we get here. Rock bottom pandemic rates pushed people to borrow more, that’s on everybody. But the Bank of Canada, CMHC, and the OECD have all pointed to the same thing. Massive federal spending and a rapid rise in immigration targets poured demand into housing while supply couldn’t keep up. And here in BC under the NDP, zoning restrictions and permitting delays choked off new construction for years.

The wealthiest 20% of households hold 65.7% of all net worth in this country, averaging $3.5 million each. For them this debt is background noise. For a middle class family, it’s the difference between keeping the house and not.

A lot of people voted Liberal or NDP because the message sounded good. Fairness. Climate action. Protecting the vulnerable. Nobody’s saying those voters were foolish. But good intentions don’t pay your mortgage. And when policies don’t deliver, ordinary families pay first, not the politicians who wrote them.

$3.25 trillion in debt. A ratio pushing 180%. Renewal notices getting worse every quarter. The policies you voted for, look at where they actually landed. Is this the country you thought you were voting for?

[604RAW @604RAW]

A woman in Agassiz shows of their new crosswalk in honour of Canadian veterans 🇨🇦