About a month ago I went to a friend’s place in the deep SE suburbs in Calgary to play poker with childhood friends. It was a weekend and public transit service was running every 45 minutes and would end before I was wanting to go home. Thankfully I got a ride out there from a friend.

I am not a big fan of poker so I needed something to get me through the game (yes I know this was poor strategy and yes I lost money). Before we got there we stopped at a liquor store in Cranston. The liquor store was a beehive of activity. Smiles were everywhere. Here a six pack of beer was about $2 cheaper than in Kensington. I was smiling too.

The smile wore off when I regained my focus. I choose to live in the inner city because it is here that I can get by without having car. I don’t have to wait 45 minutes for buses or take expensive cab rides home. I can walk or ride my bike to the grocery store, the bank, the movie theatre, the restaurant, the community centre, and the pub.

The eco footprint in the inner city is lower. Those who live in the outer suburbs contribute three times more carbon emissions from transportation because they drive over three times the distance of those who live in the inner city. They also live in larger homes which further enlarges their eco footprint.

Living in the suburbs is bad for your health too. Living in communities that are designed around the car means you walk less and drive more. The result is less exercise and higher rates of obesity. Recent studies have indicated that those who live in the surburbs have higher blood pressure, levels of diabetes, and heart disease.

Those who live in the inner city subsidize infrastructure costs for those who live in the suburbs. The City of Calgary published a document titled the Cost of Growth Review that calculated the actual cost for the City to provide infrastructure in new subdivisions is $15,695 per housing unit. Whereas the levies charged to developers are only $7,294 per housing unit, a shortfall of $8,401 per housing unit.

What this means is that the cost to build roads, interchanges, firehalls, police stations, libraries, recreation facilities, pipes for water and waste, and the cost of buying more public transit buses costs the City $8,401 per housing unit more to build than what the City charges developers. Of note roadways and interchanges are by far the largest infrastructure cost (33% of the $15,695 total cost per housing unit).

Land is cheaper, so property taxes are lower in the suburbs. The result is cheaper beer in the suburbs. Inner city residents who walk or bike to the liquor store pay more.

So to sum up, those who live in the inner city are healthier, which lowers health care costs, and they subsidize infrastructure costs for those who live in the suburbs. Paying more for beer is the straw that breaks the camel’s back. Enough is enough.

Subsidized health and infrastructure costs are one thing, but subsidized beer prices is quite another. This hits where it hurts – right in the gut. To rectify this injustice, alcoholics, those fond of alcohol, and those that sympathize must mobilize and take to the streets. People in the inner city should demand lower beer prices. Those in the suburbs should be subsidizing those who live in the inner city. Booya!

This will not be easy, people in the suburbs love their cheap beer and they will not give this up without a fight. An enormous amount of energy will need to be summoned to organize and mobilize inner city residents. The fruits of victory will be worth every sip though.

Lower beer prices are just the beginning. Once the buzz of achieving lower beer prices has worn off, inner city dwellers must work on health care and infrastructure costs. These costs should also be subsidized by those living in the suburbs.

                      
                    

Lets raise a glass of fine beer and get on with it. Cheers.