[evandyk]

I have a kid in private schools. The Taylor Swift concerts were/are stuffed with people who can afford to send their kids to private school.

Also, it doesn't matter if you saved in your RRSP so you "don't have to" rely on CPP and OAS. You are going to get the CPP no matter what because it's an earned benefit, and your OAS will only be fully clawed back if your income from those RRSPs is over $140,000 for your household. And any good financial advisor/planner will have structured your finances so that doesn't happen, even if you are extremely wealthy.

 

[Northern Light]

So, the Feds are out w/their Affordability announcement.

They will remove (for 2 months) GST/HST (the latter implies the provincial sales tax, but I'm not sure that's been agreed to) from a wide variety of items..........

Notably, Diapers/Kid's Clothing, Toys, Restaurant/Prepared Meals, all groceries (presumably this means any food item, not yet clear if this would apply to tissue products etc.), as well as Beer and Wine.

***

Swell as far as that goes........but....... it kicks in December 14th. Bit late for holiday shopping for the kids........if they were going to do this, merits aside, surely it should have been done by December 1st at the latest.

***

Also, taking a play from Doug Ford's political handbook............cheques for everyone...........$250 for every person who worked during .....2023. The money would go out in spring.

The only limit is a max income of $150,000 per year.

***

On that............why are we sending cheques to people whose annual income was $149,999 last year? I don't see where $250 is likely to make any difference to them.

We could debate a logical cut off..........$100,000 and give every qualified person $300? $75,000 and give qualifying person $400? $50,000 and give every qualifying person $600?

But surely $150,000 is just excessive and fails to target the need appropriately.

***

This will cost the treasury a pretty penny.

 

[evandyk]

$150,000 isn't excessive when it comes to giving rich seniors OAS (well, it's actually almost the exact point it becomes excessive and is fully clawed back). I think it's also the cutoff for the CCB, so they're probably aligning with that.

Almost $500 in bribes from the government for most Ontarians (I think you have to be in roughly the top 5% of tax filers to have an income of over $150K). It's crazy.

 

[Northern Light]

Here's the full list of temporarily GST/HST exempt items:

 

[Northern Light]

$150,000 isn't excessive when it comes to giving rich seniors OAS (well, it's actually almost the exact point it becomes excessive and is fully clawed back). I think it's also the cutoff for the CCB, so they're probably aligning with that.

I agree that that's probably where the alignment comes from, but I would disagree that its not excessive.

For OAS we could debate where a reasonably clawback would be........but do I think we should be sending cheques to seniors already earning over $100,000 in retirement? No.

I'm a bit more open on a higher cut off for those with children, as those costs can add up quickly......... still....... If I had a choice to give a modest amount to a person earning 150k, or give an extra $100 per month to someone earning less than 60k.......I would absolutely argue for the latter.

Almost $500 in bribes from the government for most Ontarians (I think you have to be in roughly the top 5% of tax filers to have an income of over $150K). It's crazy.

When we're in deficit, at both levels of government too. So the bill goes straight on to the debt, which we will then have to service the cost of starting next fiscal year.

 

[Admiral Beez]

Funny how your list of culprits don't include the voters of your golden era.

Culprits? I'm careful to assign credit or blame to those who were just trying to live their lives as best they can. I voted back then for the MP and MPPs who belonged to the parties I felt would best run the country - that's all we can do, delegate upwards, hope that they do a good job, and hold them to account at the next election. We blame the Boomers (and now Gen X?) as if there is some secret society pulling the strings to its generation's own benefit. Will future generations blame Millennials and Gen Y for the actions of today's politicians on climate change, growing income disparity or popularism? Likely, yes, but those future Canadians will be just as wrong.

Who said they needed to run deficits?

No one. Why do you pepper your posts with these rhetorical dismissives? I asked how we could properly invest in infrastructure and social spending without running a deficit, and you answered it perfectly well. So, why the rhetoric and sarcasm? You're an odd duck KeithZ.

 

[picard102]

Here's the full list of temporarily GST/HST exempt items:

View attachment 613826

Do we have any guarantee from grocers that the price won't just somehow magically stay the same, so they can lift their Q4 profits?

 

[Northern Light]

Do we have any guarantee from grocers that the price won't just somehow magically stay the same, so they can lift their Q4 profits?

I don't think the gov't has legislated on this point; but in respect of grocery prices, HST is not included, its on top.

So any move to recover the tax would involving hiking prices on lots of skus.

 

[picard102]

Will future generations blame Millennials and Gen Y for the actions of today's politicians on climate change, growing income disparity or popularism? Likely, yes, but those future Canadians will be just as wrong.

No one is blaming the Silent Generation, because they were just trying to make it through, same as millennials and Gen Y. It's the generations that have prospered and left things worse off that get the blame.

 

[kEiThZ]

Culprits? I'm careful to assign credit or blame to those who were just trying to live their lives as best they can. I voted back then for the MP and MPPs who belonged to the parties I felt would best run the country - that's all we can do, delegate upwards, hope that they do a good job, and hold them to account at the next election.

When you vote for politicians without any due regard to future investment at all, I'd say you should accept the blame. Those politicians didn't keep underinvesting and running on legacy investments just for kicks. The voters who put them in supported that philosophy. From the same generation that gave us Gordon Gecko and "Greed is good", maybe we can't have expected more.....

Will future generations blame Millennials and Gen Y for the actions of today's politicians on climate change, growing income disparity or popularism? Likely, yes,

If we don't try at all (as the Boomers and early Gen X did) then I'd say it's absolutely fair for future generations to blame us. Unfortunately the store is so bare now, that we need to invest just to keep the house of cards from toppling over. So it's not like Millennials and Zoomers really even have a choice.

Why do you pepper your posts with these rhetorical dismissives? I asked how we could properly invest in infrastructure and social spending without running a deficit, and you answered it perfectly well. So, why the rhetoric and sarcasm? You're an odd duck KeithZ.

It's getting tiresome to hear excuses of how this was difficult. It wasn't. Literally spending a few dollars more on infrastructure, few dollars more on the military and few dollars more on CPP could have avoided the catastrophe that is coming in the next decade for this country. And none of that would have even meant not meeting Martin's fiscal targets. It would have meant smaller tax cuts at worse.

But like I said, this thievery of the future isn't even just the federal level. Every level of government has done this. Municipal governments may actually be amongst the worst.

 

[Admiral Beez]

No one is blaming the Silent Generation, because they were just trying to make it through, same as millennials and Gen Y. It's the generations that have prospered and left things worse off that get the blame.

That's naive thinking there. Today's Millennials and Gen Y stand to inherit billions as the Boomers expires, and overall will likely have things better off than their own grandchildren. The latter may be asking in the mid 22nd century; Granddad, why did your generation vote for populists and not stop government support of Cyberdyne Systems? Just look at the USA, where young adult men voted wholeheartedly for Trump, surely their grandkids (assuming the women will touch them) may well blame them for their choices.

 

[kEiThZ]

$150,000 isn't excessive when it comes to giving rich seniors OAS (well, it's actually almost the exact point it becomes excessive and is fully clawed back). I think it's also the cutoff for the CCB, so they're probably aligning with that.

I mean, we should be cutting off OAS well ahead of that threshold too. What pisses me off all the time is the massive difference in clawback threshold between OAS and CCB. Nothing says more about how much Canadians value seniors more than kids.

Almost $500 in bribes from the government for most Ontarians (I think you have to be in roughly the top 5% of tax filers to have an income of over $150K). It's crazy.

Looking forward to taking the bribes and voting against both these governments.

 

[kEiThZ]

Andrew Leslie (former General and Liberal MP) is absolutely scathing about this government's defence policy. I particularly love this fact:

Canada spent last year, in 2023, more money on consultants and professional services than it did on the Army, Navy, and Air Force combined—which quite frankly, is madness.

‘Canada spent more money on consultants and professional services than it did on the Army, Navy and Air Force combined’: Retired lieutenant-general Andrew Leslie on Canada’s ailing military

thehub.ca

 

[Towered]

Here's the full list of temporarily GST/HST exempt items:

View attachment 613826

Oooooo, action figures!!!

 

[picard102]

That's naive thinking there. Today's Millennials and Gen Y stand to inherit billions as the Boomers expires, and overall will likely have things better off than their own grandchildren.

In 20 years, when Millennials will be in their 60's. Long past the time it would have been fruitful to make anything better. That's if they don't die first, having mortality rates 40% higher than Gen X behind them.