The Inflation & Cost of Living Complaints Thread

[The Arrogant Worms]

1 minute ago, Satchmo said:

Plus one for more pay.

 

Nobody has mentioned a teachers pension.   That's another thing that makes it a pretty good job.

 

And, as my wife tells me, the union is so strong it's almost impossible to get fired.

Actually the pension isn't that great.  Many teacher get fired for misconduct.

[bishopshodan]

1 minute ago, The Arrogant Worms said:

And their wage gets spread out over the summer.  Years ago they had no income during the summer but now they are able to average it for 12 months.

 

Most start back getting ready for the school year the 2nd or 3rd week of August

 

Yes they can chose to have it pay out over the summer, or not.

 

Have a few teachers in the fam and my big sis is a superintendent of the district. 

 

Anyway, more pay to all in education and healthcare.

[Ricky Ravioli]

4 hours ago, WeneedLumme said:

That 430,000 in the past few months included a large number of students coming here in September to study. It is NOT 1.7 million per year.

How many of those do you think will be going back after their studies finish?

Edited December 29, 2023 by Ricky Ravioli

[Taxi]

2 hours ago, Satchmo said:

Plus one for more pay.

 

Nobody has mentioned a teachers pension.   That's another thing that makes it a pretty good job.

 

And, as my wife tells me, the union is so strong it's almost impossible to get fired.

Having a pension is huge. Earning $50k/year for the rest of your life really changes your savings and retirement plans.

[Elias Pettersson]

1 minute ago, Taxi said:

Having a pension is huge. Earning $50k/year for the rest of your life really changes your savings and retirement plans.

 

A $50k pension plus the CPP and OAS equates to around $70k, which is exactly what a teacher made while working.  So a teacher has no change in income even after retiring.  

[Satchmo]

1 minute ago, Taxi said:

Having a pension is huge. Earning $50k/year for the rest of your life really changes your savings and retirement plans.

True.   Not sure it's $50K. Google told me about $36K for teachers in BC.  I'd take either one. 

[Elias Pettersson]

3 hours ago, The Arrogant Worms said:

If you can get a full time job.  Teachers also work a lot of hours when they get home marking and getting lessons ready.

 

My cousin is the physical education teacher for an elementary school.  He’s in charge of all physical activities after school.  So he doesn’t get home until 5-6pm.  And he has to travel for tournaments.  Also, high school teachers have to travel all the time for tournaments if they are coaches.  So I agree with you that teachers, especially the ones that volunteer after school, have to do a lot more work than some people think.

[Elias Pettersson]

4 hours ago, Bob Long said:

 

no, its economic. Do the math on % of wages as part of the business. You'll see its not as big as you're making it out to be. 

 

 

? nearly all my wife's family in Italy are renters and doing quite well. 

 

 

I don't care about past failures. Whats the work to do now to fix this. 

 

 

Salaries and benefits can range anywhere between 40-80% of a small business budget.  So, yes it is a big deal.  11% as someone mentioned is literally unheard of in the restaurant industry and other industries that are labour intensive. 

 

I don’t think anyone in Canada really cares how your relatives are living in Italy.  Are your relatives saving for retirement?  How much equity are they building in that home that they own?  Oh wait, they are renting so they will have zero equity for the rest of their lives.  Meanwhile my parents got over $1 million in tax free equity for their retirements when they sold their home in 2013.  Like I said, your Utopian world where everyone is happy doesn’t exist.  Most people in Canada understand the importance of home ownership and building equity in that home for their retirement.

Edited December 29, 2023 by Elias Pettersson

[Bob Long]

1 hour ago, Elias Pettersson said:

 

Salaries and benefits can range anywhere between 40-80% of a small business budget.  So, yes it is a big deal.  11% as someone mentioned is literally unheard of in the restaurant industry and other industries that are labour intensive. 

 

I don’t think anyone in Canada really cares how your relatives are living in Italy.  Are your relatives saving for retirement?  How much equity are they building in that home that they own?  Oh wait, they are renting so they will have zero equity for the rest of their lives.  Meanwhile my parents got over $1 million in tax free equity for their retirements when they sold their home in 2013.  Like I said, your Utopian world where everyone is happy doesn’t exist.  Most people in Canada understand the importance of home ownership and building equity in that home for their retirement.

 

Ok.

 

Sounds like you have a lot at stake in real estate staying how it is.

[chris12345]

2 hours ago, Elias Pettersson said:

 

A $50k pension plus the CPP and OAS equates to around $70k, which is exactly what a teacher made while working.  So a teacher has no change in income even after retiring.  

They don't make $70k.

[Elias Pettersson]

45 minutes ago, Bob Long said:

 

Ok.

 

Sounds like you have a lot at stake in real estate staying how it is.

 

You betcha.  I believe in building wealth through real estate.  It has worked for my family for the last 50 years.  I feel sorry for the kids today who can’t even afford to buy a condo.  They will need to figure out another way to build wealth…

[Elias Pettersson]

13 minutes ago, chris12345 said:

They don't make $70k.

 

Yes, they do.  That’s actually their average.  Salaries start at $59k.  Some make over $100k…

 

[chris12345]

6 minutes ago, Elias Pettersson said:

 

Yes, they do.  That’s actually their average.  Salaries start at $59k.  Some make over $100k…

 

I'm not sure that is correct. The average of the grid is correct at $70k but steps are based on experience?

 

In other words, the average population of teachers do not fall under step 5 (I think)? as they have more than 5 years of experience.

 

The pension is also based on the 5 best years which would all be step 10 (again a guess)?

Edited December 29, 2023 by chris12345

[Elias Pettersson]

17 minutes ago, chris12345 said:

I'm not sure that is correct. The average of the grid is correct at $70k but steps are based on experience?

 

In other words, the average population of teachers do not fall under step 5 (I think)? as they have more than 5 years of experience.

 

The pension is also based on the 5 best years which would all be step 10 (again a guess)?

 

No, the grid is based on education.  Most teachers will automatically qualify at category 5 with a university degree. To get to category 6 you have to obtain your masters degree.  My cousin went back to school to get her masters degree and she went from making $70k to making $90k within 2 years.

 

Pension is based on the 5 best years.  So you have your entire career up until retirement to get those best 5 years.  

Edited December 29, 2023 by Elias Pettersson

[Allegend]

Salary is based on education level and experience. Pension is based on years of experience and 

top five years salary. There are several options for teachers to choose from when applying for a

pension regarding beneficiaries. The option chosen will affect the pension amount. Pensions

almost always increase each January based on inflation. Monthly payments are taxed.

 

 

 

 

 

[chris12345]

5 minutes ago, Elias Pettersson said:

 

No, the grid is based on education.  Most teachers will automatically qualify at category 5 with a university degree. To get to category 6 you have to obtain your masters degree.  My cousin went back to school to get her masters degree and she went from making $70k to making $90k within 2 years.

 

Pension is based on the 5 best years.  So you have your entire career up until retirement to get those best 5 years.  

Ok thanks. Steps based on years?

Edited December 29, 2023 by chris12345

[Elias Pettersson]

10 minutes ago, Allegend said:

Salary is based on education level and experience. Pension is based on years of experience and 

top five years salary. There are several options for teachers to choose from when applying for a

pension regarding beneficiaries. The option chosen will affect the pension amount. Pensions

almost always increase each January based on inflation. Monthly payments are taxed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yes, 100%.  I forgot to mention that within the categories 4,5 and 6 you will also increase your salary based on experience.  So a teacher with a masters degree and 10+ years of experience will be in the $100k range.  

 

In 2023, the teacher’s pension was increased by 6.9% to offset inflation.  The increase to CPI was negotiated by the teachers union a long time ago.

[Elias Pettersson]

12 minutes ago, chris12345 said:

Ok thanks. Steps based on years?

 

Yes.  Forgot to mention the categories are based on education (cat 4 is a non university degree, cat 5 is a university degree and cat 6 is a masters degree).  And within the categories you have levels to increase your salary based on your years of service. 

[WeneedLumme]

11 hours ago, Ricky Ravioli said:

How many of those do you think will be going back after their studies finish?

Most of them will go back home after their education. Some will stay because it's nicer here and because young educated people are the type our government encourages to stay. But the students who arrived here in September definitely do not constitute an ongoing inflow of 100k+ students per month.

[Taxi]

16 hours ago, Elias Pettersson said:

 

If families are deciding on whether to pay $50 for a pizza or stay home and cook they will stay home and cook.  Doesn’t matter what you or I decide to do.  That in turn hurts small businesses.  Increasing wages will always be inflationary because it leads to higher prices and higher demand for goods and services.  I don’t think you are looking at the situation from an economic viewpoint, you are looking at it on a more emotional level.  Let’s pay everyone a fair living wage, let’s make sure we spend our money and support these small businesses, let’s make everyone happy.  Your Utopian life simply doesn’t exist.

 

Co-op rentals aren’t profitable so they need to be developed by the government not by private developers.  People need homes they can afford to buy.  You can’t just expect everyone to be renters all of their lives, they will never get ahead.

 

The governments have had 20+ years to fix the housing mess and have done nothing.  Now the federal government has approved 1 million in new immigrants per year for the foreseeable future while not even bothering to ask the cities to build the infrastructure and the housing necessary to support all of these people.  

You can't solve housing issues, for example, by giving people more money. If you increase wages, you just have more dollars bidding on the same units. 

[WeneedLumme]

11 minutes ago, Taxi said:

You can't solve housing issues, for example, by giving people more money. If you increase wages, you just have more dollars bidding on the same units. 

 

Absolutely correct. But you will never convince some people of that obvious fact. Some will always choose to believe that if everybody in the world was paid at least $1000/hour, we would have heaven on earth and the entire planet's population would be wealthy and living in the lap of luxury.

[Boudrias]

7 minutes ago, Taxi said:

You can't solve housing issues, for example, by giving people more money. If you increase wages, you just have more dollars bidding on the same units. 

Having run a business during the inflation of the '70's and early '80's it was a continuous round of price and wage increases. Finally the Bank of Canada had to raise interest rates to dampen spending and curtail employment. That brought prices back into line. It was hard for many people and businesses. The country's credit situation was much stronger then so I expect more hardship than that time. 

 

If 350,000 Canadians die each year the net population gain thru immigration should be doable. That doesn't mean realistic planning does not have to happen and it has not. When the American economy grows at +/- 3% and Canada flatlines maybe questions are in order.  

[Bob Long]

10 hours ago, Elias Pettersson said:

 

You betcha.  I believe in building wealth through real estate.  It has worked for my family for the last 50 years.  I feel sorry for the kids today who can’t even afford to buy a condo.  They will need to figure out another way to build wealth…

 

you got yours tho. Sounds utopian. 

 

[Jess]

Just looked at housing prices again only to be reminded of how impossible it is for someone to get into the market these days.

 

Sadly, the only likely answer for me will be a lot of patience. Years ago, I dreamed of owning an apartment by the time I was in my early 30s, but as time goes on, it looks like that might not be until my 40s.

 

Used to be that my only issue was saving up enough of a down payment to make lenders happy, but now, due to the interest rates and prices, the mortgage payments are high enough that even if I did have enough for a down payment, I could barely afford to stay afloat while being a homeowner, and that's with an above-average salary. Unless rates or prices change, I'll just have to wait a very long time to save up enough (far more than 20%) to get the payments low enough to manage.

 

It's literally not even worth trying for someone with an average income. You'd just have to rent for life and know that's all you'll ever be able to do.

[Elias Pettersson]

34 minutes ago, -AJ- said:

Just looked at housing prices again only to be reminded of how impossible it is for someone to get into the market these days.

 

Sadly, the only likely answer for me will be a lot of patience. Years ago, I dreamed of owning an apartment by the time I was in my early 30s, but as time goes on, it looks like that might not be until my 40s.

 

Used to be that my only issue was saving up enough of a down payment to make lenders happy, but now, due to the interest rates and prices, the mortgage payments are high enough that even if I did have enough for a down payment, I could barely afford to stay afloat while being a homeowner, and that's with an above-average salary. Unless rates or prices change, I'll just have to wait a very long time to save up enough (far more than 20%) to get the payments low enough to manage.

 

It's literally not even worth trying for someone with an average income. You'd just have to rent for life and know that's all you'll ever be able to do.

My advice to you is to try and get into the market in whatever area you can afford. Most people don’t take this advice and simply wait until they can afford to buy in the area they want and work in. That’s not how you build wealth. I know a guy who bought a property in Kamloops years ago. He ended up selling it and had enough equity to buy a place in the lower mainland. He wound have never been able to buy the house in the lower mainland if he didn’t build up all that equity from the home in Kamloops. 
 

Remember, real estate prices go up everywhere in a rising market. So you are better off owning a home in Kamloops or even Quesnel or Prince George than to own nothing at all. If you simply wait and wait for the right moment you may never be able to get into the market and you will be a lifetime renter with zero equity when you retire. 
 

You can buy a house in Quesnel for $300k. With a $60k downpayment you may be able to cash flow. And then that $60k is now in the market and working for you to build equity in a home. If you can cash flow after your rent it out then you can still save money from your job for more of a downpayment on your next home. Maybe when you sell your home in Quesnel you still can’t afford a home in Vancouver. That’s okay. Buy a house in Kamloops instead and keep moving closer to the lower mainland. Eventually you will have the money to buy your place in Vancouver. 
 

As Rick Tocchet would say, it’s one bite at a time.